Growing up I loved Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs. The 1998 Home Run duel between Sosa and Mark McGwire was a highlight of my childhood and was ultimately where my infatuation with baseball and statistics began. That infatuation then grew exponentially a few years later when my father took me to my first Major League game between the Cubs and Rockies at Coors Field. We sat a few rows up behind home plate where I witnessed Slammin' Sammy hit three, 3-run Home Runs, in three consecutive innings. I was elated, it was as if the game was scripted for me. I've personally witnessed a lot of great sports games since then, from Brett Favre at Lambeau to LeBron James in the finals, but nothing compares to the show that my favorite player put on for me at my first baseball game.
Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS Bogaerts went 2 for 3 with a homer and four RBI on Monday night against the Mets. The talented shortstop hit a two-run homer to give the Sox the lead in the 5th and then added...
Avisail Garcia, OF, MIL Garcia went 1 for 3 with his 28th home run of the season on Monday night. The 30-year-old is enjoying a breakout campaign in 2021 and has been swinging a hot bat recently, with three homers...
Tyler Mahle, SP, CIN Mahle hurled 6.0 innings of shutout ball on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh. He surrendered five hits, walked one, and struck out four on the day. At 12-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 10.45 K/9, the 26-year-old...
Robbie Ray, SP, TOR On Wednesday afternoon, Ray struck out 13 and surrendered one run en route to his 12th victory of the season. The big southpaw is enjoying his best major league season here in 2021. Ray's hefty 11.87...
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL Goldschmidt went 2 for 4 with a pair of solo homers on Wednesday afternoon against the Tigers. He later walked, stole a base, and scored the game-winning run for the Cardinals in the bottom of the...
C.J. Cron, 1B, COL Cron went 2 for 4 with a double and three RBI on Wednesday afternoon. Cron has been in the zone recently. Since August 3rd, the 31-year-old is batting .449 (22-49) with seven homers and 25 RBI....
Nelson Cruz, DH, TB Cruz went 2 for 4 with a pair of homers and five RBI on Tuesday night. Since coming over to the Rays, the ageless wonder has struggled, hitting a paltry .198 with a 29.9% K%. However,...
Adam Wainwright, SP, STL Wainwright threw a complete game shutout on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. He allowed just two baserunners (two Colin Moran singles) and struck out seven while throwing a tidy 88 pitches. It was the 39-year-old's third complete game...
Kenta Maeda, SP, MIN Maeda surrendered five runs across 5.0 innings of work on Tuesday night in Cincinnati. He allowed seven hits and walked one while striking out nine in the contest. Ultimately Maeda was undone by the long ball...
Harrison Bader, OF, STL Bader went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a home run on Tuesday night in Cleveland. The 27-year-old center fielder is red-hot right now. This was his second consecutive three-hit game, and he...
Brandon Lowe, 2B/OF, TB Lowe has struggled for much of the 2021 campaign but has caught fire as of late. Since June 23rd, he is hitting .300 with eight homers and is leading the league with a 1.228 OPS. Lowe...
Gary Sanchez, C, NYY Sanchez went 2 for 3 with a homer and a walk on Tuesday night against the Phillies. The 28-year-old backstop now has three homers over the past five contests and his 17th on the season. The...
Jake Odorizzi, SP, HOU Odorizzi turned in another solid performance, giving up two runs on seven hits across 6.0 innings of work on Friday night against the Yankees. The oft-injured Odorizzi seems to be fit again and is starting to...
Kyle Gibson, SP, TEX Gibson gave up two runs across 5.2 innings and improved his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season. The veteran righty is enjoying a career year so far in 2021. He currently owns a 2.17...
Kevin Gausman, SP, SF Gausman gave up two runs in eight innings of work against the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon. The 30-year-old gave up four hits and struck out six on his way to improving his record to 8-1 on...
Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, LAA Ohtani hit his 19th homer and stole his 10th base of the season in Oakland on Wednesday night. The versatile 26-year-old has taken his offensive game to another level so far in 2021. He is just...
Austin Meadows, OF, TB Meadows went 2 for 5 with a homer and five RBI on Thursday afternoon. The Rays' outfielder has been red-hot recently and is now riding a seven-game hitting streak. Meadows is 11-25 with five home runs...
Craig Kimbrel, RP, CHC Kimbrel collected his 10th save of the season against the Pirates on Tuesday night. He gave up a leadoff double but was able to get the next three hitters to protect the Cubs' one-run lead successfully....
Ozzie Albies, 2B, ATL Albies went 2 for 4 with a pair of home runs on Saturday evening against Pittsburgh. Since enduring four consecutive 0-4 games, Albies has come alive the past couple of days. Over his past two games,...
Spencer Turnbull, SP, DET Turnbull no-hit the Mariners on Tuesday night in Seattle. He surrendered just two walks and struck out nine in the contest. Turnbull has been solid this season, but he really put it all together in this...
Alex Wood, SP, SF Wood improved his record to 4-0 with 7.0 innings of one-run ball against the Rangers on Monday evening. Wood struck out seven while allowing four hits and three walks. Wood has been very consistent so far...
Trever Rogers, SP, MIA Rogers gave up one run in 5.0 innings of work and collected his fourth win of the season on Friday night. The 23-year-old struck out six while allowing four hits and walking two in the outing....
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, TOR Guerrero Jr. went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI on Wednesday night in Boston. He added a pair of walks in the game, which really personifies his improvements at the plate this...
Wilson Ramos, C, DET Ramos hit a pair of round-trippers on Tuesday night in Houston. He now has six homers on the season, which leads the entire league. The veteran backstop has reinvented himself so far in his short tenure...
Joe Musgrove, SP, SD Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in the 53-year history of the San Diego Padres franchise on Friday night in front of 25,757 fans in Arlington. The lone blemish on Musgrove's fantastic night was when he plunked...
John Means, SP, BAL Means allowed just one hit across 7.0 shutout innings in Boston on Friday afternoon. The southpaw gave up a leadoff single to Kiki Hernandez to start the game, then allowed just one more baserunner (via error)...
Arizona Diamondbacks Starters to consider beyond Bumgarner With Zac Gallen going down with a hairline stress fracture in his throwing arm, the D-backs rotation behind Madison Bumgarner is relatively unproven. Merrill Kelly has been named the second starter, with southpaw...
Toronto Blue Jays Pearson progressing but won't be ready by opening day The Jays top prospect Nate Pearson (groin) is reportedly throwing a bullpen session today but won't have enough time to get fully stretched out by the time the...
Boston Red Sox What kind of Fantasy value is there in the starting rotation? Chris Sale (Tommy John) should make his way back to the mound this season but the timetable for his return is still unknown at this juncture....
Chad Kuhl, SP, PIT Kuhl hurled seven scoreless innings en route to his second win of the season on Thursday afternoon. He gave up just two hits, walked three, and struck out five in the contest. Kuhl has really struggled...
Dylan Bundy, SP, LAA Bundy notched his 6th win of the season on Monday afternoon in LA. He gave up three runs on five hits and struck out three in the contest. Bundy has been a pleasant surprise for the...
Travis D'Arnaud, C/1B, ATL D'Arnaud went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBI on Sunday against the Mets. He extended his hitting streak to five games and has now collected a hit in 11 of his last 12...
Zac Gallen, SP, ARI Gallen went seven strong innings on Friday, giving up just one run on five hits against the Giants. The youngster impressed in his first big league action last season and has backed it up in his...
Randal Grichuk, OF, TOR Grichuk went 2 for 4 with a three-run homer on Monday but was pulled late due to "lower back tightness." The speculation is that this was just a precautionary measure and that Grichuk should be fine...
Sean Newcomb, SP, ATL Newcomb gave up six earned runs in just 4.1 innings of work on Friday against the Mets. The southpaw surrendered a pair of homeruns and gave up six hits in the outing. After two short starts,...
Mark Canha, OF, OAK Canha hit his first home run of 2020 on Monday afternoon against the Angels. He is now batting .333 and has recorded at least one hit in each of his three starts this season. Canha isn't...