Carlos Rodon (SP - Yankees)
Rodon allowed 2 ER over 6 innings Tuesday, striking out 7. It was a great start as he carried a perfect game into the 6th. Rodon has been pretty solid over the past 3 starts after a rough patch where he gave up 13 runs over 3 previous starts. He has racked up the strikeouts with a 31% K rate. Rodon has used his slider in particular this season as wipeout pitch as opposing batters are hitting .122 with a 46.5% whiff rate against it. Rodon will look to keep the good times rolling vs the Padres next Monday in what will be a 2 start week.
Cody Bellinger (1B/OF - Yankees)
Bellinger went 2-4 with a double, HR, 3 RBIs and 2 walks. Bellinger had been struggling after a strong opening weekend so it was nice to see him contribute to the Yankees barrage Tuesday night. He is hitting the ball with a little extra authority as his 42% hit rate is his highest since 2019. Some of those big swings may not be connecting though as hie 22.4% K is a 7% increase from the past two years. Even with his struggles hitting in a loaded Yankees lineup gives him plenty of opportunities and he could be a big source of RBIs if he can get the Ks and put more balls in play as the summer continues.
Ben Rice (1B/DH - Yankees)
Rice went 3-5 with a pair of home runs and scored 4 runs. Rice has been absolutely mashing through the first month of the season as the Yankees primary DH has been hitting the ball with authority (94.8 exit velo / 60% hard hit rate) to give him a gaudy .998 OPS. Rice has also swiped a pair of bags and with the emergence of Trent Grisham at leadoff Rice has slid down in the order to number 3 and has provided ample protection to Aaron Judge. Rice has been so hot in fact that opposing teams simply cannot pitch around Judge. About the only thing fantasy owners could want is for Rice to catch to give him eligibility there but he should be played with confidence at first base going forward.
Jorge Mateo (2B -Orioles)
Mateo picked up the start at 2B and went 1-3 and broke up Carlos Rodons no-hitter in the 6th inning. Mateo entered the game with just 22 PAs in 14 games but could see an uptick in playing time with Jordan Westburg being place on the IL. Mateo had a solid 22 where despite a .221 batting average he hit 7 triples, 13 home runs and stole a league best 35 bases. Since then, however, he has seen a steady decrease in playing time thanks to the wave of young Oriole infielders. While contact issues persist if he can get on base he can run and could be a solid source of skills if he gets some run in the Os infield. He is a possible fill in in deep leagues if Jazz Chisholm Jr. misses time with the injury he sustained Tuesday if you are looking to replace steals.
Luisangel Acuna (2B/SS - Mets)
Acuna went 2-4 with 2 runs and a stolen base. Acuna has been raking the past few games with back-back multi hits games which have boosted his batting average over .300. Acuna was the winner of the Mets backup infield contest with Bret Batty heading down to AAA when Jeff McNeil recently returned but Acuna has now been in the lineup 4 of the 5 games since McNeil has been back. He has a sub 20% K rate and has drawn walks at an 8% clip as well and has shown a little pop with a 42% hard hit rate. His calling card is his defense and speed and with 7 steals and a batting average at .300 Acuna could provide some surprise value from your middle infield spot.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
