Gavin Williams, SP, CLE
Williams was dominant against the Twins on Thursday, striking out 11 in 7 shutout innings, while allowing just 2 hits and no walks. He also tossed an immaculate inning in the 4th inning. This marked the third consecutive start in which Williams struck out 11 batters, and the 5th time that he has reached that mark this season. Over those last 3 starts, he has walked just 1 batter next to the 33 strikeouts. While his ERA is currently higher than last year, his underlying numbers have all improved. His WHIP has dropped from 1.27 to 1.10, his K/9 has jumped from 9.29 to 11.11, and perhaps most importantly, his BB/9 has plummeted from 4.46 to 2.64. All of this has led to his xFIP shrinking from 4.08 last year to a shiny 2.98 this season, good for 5th best among qualified pitchers. If he can keep up this level of improved control, he could find himself winding up somewhere in ace territory.
Ty France, 1B, SD
France hit his 16th HR of the season against the Braves on Thursday as he continues to go through perhaps the greatest power surge of his career. He has now hit 6 HR's over his last 9 games and 10 in his last 26 contests. The uptick in homeruns is no fluke either - over his previous 9 games, his average exit velocity was 98.3 and his HardHit% was an astronomical 70%. Thursday marked the 10th consecutive game that he hit a ball at least 102 mph. For the season, France's power metrics all dwarf his career averages, as he currently boasts a 49.7% HardHit% (career 39.9%), 12.0% Barrel% (career 7.1%) and 20% FastSw% (14.5% in 2024-25), so it should be no surprise that he's on pace to shatter his career-high of 20 home runs. His K% is also much higher than in recent years, but the additional power output has more than made up for it. He obviously won't keep up his current level of hitting, but the increase in power appears to be legit.
Ian Seymour, SP, TB
Seymour entered the game as a bulk reliever against the Blue Jays on Thursday, and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 1 BB in 6 IP, while striking out 7. It was a nice bounceback for Seymour who had scuffled a bit over his last two starts, after pitching well in his first few turns as a starter/primary pitcher. Despite his recent hiccups, he still seems like a good bet going forward. Over his last 7 appearances, he has a middling 4.33 ERA, but that comes with a 1.02 WHIP, 45:8 K:BB, and an xFIP in the low 3.00's across 35.1 IP. Those numbers will work in fantasy leagues.
Tyler Locklear, 1B, ARI
Locklear was a late addition to the lineup on Thursday, and went 3-5 with a double, a HR, and 3 RBI against the Cardinals. The extra base hits were his first of the season as he is now 5-13 in 4 games since joining the Diamondbacks last week. Locklear already tasted some big league action in 2024 and 2025 for the Mariners and Diamondbacks and hit 5 HR's across 165 PA's, but he also hit just .169 with a 38.2% K%. He hit well at AAA this season, batting .313 with 8 HR's in 54 games, and he was especially hot in the final week before his call-up, going 14-25 (.560) with 4 doubles and 5 HR's in his last 6 games. So far, he has carried the momentum to the big leagues, and if that continues, the Diamondbacks will have to keep finding ways to get him into the lineup.
Kazuma Okamoto, 3B, TOR
Okamoto went 0-3 with 2 K's against the Rays on Thursday, and is now 0-22 with 8 K's in 7 games since the all-star break. Over his last 20 games, he's hitting .141 (10-71) although he does have 3 HR's in that span. This is the type of player that Okamoto has been in his rookie season for the Blue Jays. He strikes out a lot (31.0% K%) which makes him a BA liability, but he has also hit the ball hard (46.2% HardHit%) which has put on pace for a 30-HR season. Overall, the good probably outweighs the bad, as long as you can tolerate slumps like the one he's in right now.
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.
