All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 5

Quickly putting his 2025 struggles in the rearview mirror, Sandy Alcantara delivered the league's first complete game shutout with a dominant performance in just his second start of the season. The Marlins ace needed only 93 pitches to set down the White Sox offense, allowing only three hits and no walks while striking out seven. This follows an impressive season debut in which he held the Rockies to only one unearned run in seven innings last week. The Rockies and White Sox could battle for two of the game's worst offenses so it's important to temper the excitement, but Alcantara is looking more and more like the 2022 Cy Young Award winner rather than the post-Tommy John Surgery sample of last year.

Andrew Painter, SP, PHI Painter was stellar in his major league debut on Thursday against the Nationals. He gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out eight batters in 5.1 innings. Painter averaged 96.7 MPH...

Chase Burns (SP-CIN) was electric as he earned a win against the Pirates on Monday, firing 5 innings of shutout ball in which he scattered 1 hit and 3 walks while recording 7 punchouts on 78 pitches (46 strikes). Although...

Carmen Mlodzinski-Pirates-SP Carmen Mlodzinski went 4.1 IP and gave up 2 ER on 6 H, 0 BB, and 8 K's against the Mets. Mlodzinski split his time between the bullpen and rotation last year. He made 34 appearances with 12...

Dylan Cease drops 12 Ks in his 2026 debut. Murakami has a HR in all of of MLB games. David Hamilton: is he the starting 3B for MIL?

Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians Plenty of rookies have gotten off to hot starts in 2026, but DeLauter is leading the pack. He launched another home run on Friday night after hitting two on Thursday, giving him three bombs in the...

Carson Benge, OF, Mets Carson Benge impressed in his MLB debut, going 1 for 3 with a solo home run, two runs scored, two walks, and a stolen base. This performance perfectly describes who he is as a player and...

Corbin Carroll- OF- ARI- Carroll is one of the hamate bone brigade who may be ready for Opening Day. He has begun swinging a bat with both hands. Carroll's progression of baseball activity gives him a timetable to be ready...

As the regular season ends today it's time to start taking an early look at which players are due to rebound in 2026, based on differences between their results and underlying metrics. Jo Adell- OF- LAA- Stats- Adell experienced a...

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs Pete Crow Armstrong went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run on Friday against the Cardinals. It was his 30th home run of the season, officially locking in a 30 home run, 35 stolen base campaign. It's...

Yandy Diaz-Rays-1B Yandy Diaz was 1-2 with a run scored against the Orioles before leaving early with a groin injury. Diaz has had a monster second half (.329 AVG with 11 HR, 35 R, 30 RBI, and 0 SB in...

George Valera (CLE - OF) - 24 year old rookie George Valera has hit 2 doubles and 2 homers (including the big 2-run HR in the 3rd to put them ahead for good on Wednesday) in the past 5 games...

Gunnar Henderson, SS, Baltimore Orioles Henderson went 1-2 with 2 RBI, BB on one hard hit ball. It has been a down year for the first round pick, as his OPS has plummeted from .893 to .786. Fortunately, he is...

Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves Ozzie Albies was removed from Monday's game with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. After being one of the larger busts in fantasy this season, it was hard to imagine a scenario where things...

Corbin Carroll- OF- ARI- Hot- Carroll went 2-for-5 with a double, homer, 2 runs, 4 RBI, and a steal. The steal was his 30th of the season and enrolled him as a member of the 30/30 club, as he has...

Shane Bieber (SP-TOR) earned a quality start against the Royals on Saturday, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk while fanning 4 over 6.1 IP. The 30 year-old RHP allowed a pair of homers while throwing 58 of...

Elly De La Cruz is finally off the schneid. The dynamic shortstop hammered a 6th-inning fastball 366 feet for his first home run since July 31. It was his 20th long ball of the season. He also walked twice and was caught stealing once. He is now hitting .262 with 20 homers and 35 stolen bases. It's a far cry from the 25 homers and 67 steals accumulated in 2024.

Trevor Story (SS-BOS) continued his comeback season as he went 2-4 with a solo homer, 2B, and an additional run scored against the Athletics on Thursday afternoon. After recording a combined 274 PA during the 2023 and 2024 seasons because...

Carter Jensen (C - KC) - After playing sparingly since coming up on 9/2, Jensen singled and walked twice on Wednesday in his 4th straight start for KC. The 22 year old has excellent plate discipline, very good power, slightly...

Connelly Early, SP, Boston Red Sox I'll save the puns, but Early was excellent going 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. He allowed five hard hit balls. This was only his second big league start, so...

Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays Trey Yesavage was called up to make his major league debut on Monday against the Rays, where he allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out nine over five innings pitched....

The gist: do these pitchers with the top 5 highest strand rates concern you for 2026? Take a closer look at defensive context, *BABIP and consider just how good these SPs really are. *BABIP measures a player's batting average exclusively...

Tanner Bibee, SP, Cleveland Guardians Bibee threw a CGSO tonight, posting 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K in a truly dominant night. This was obviously a really encouraging start for Bibee as his 20.3% K rate, 4.69 ERA, and 3.82...

Kevin Gausman, SP, TOR Gausman was spectacular against the Astros on Thursday, throwing a complete game shutout, allowing just 2 hits and a BB while striking out 9. He has been phenomenal since the all star break, compiling a 2.25...

Paul Skenes-Pirates-SP Paul Skenes went 5 IP and gave up 0 ER on 2 H, 0 BB, and 8 K's against the Orioles. Through 30 GS, Skenes has a 1.92 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He has pitched over 300 IP...

Soto had only one hit on Tuesday, but he stole his 30th base of the season, perhaps one of the most unpredictable outcomes of 2025. He is ninth in all of baseball in stolen bases, a remarkable feat for a player who entered the 2025 season averaging less than 10 stolen bases per year. Meanwhile, four more home runs would set a career high in that category, which pretty negates any possible discussion of a disappointing season. Yes, his batting average is lower than expected at .261, but Soto may finish the season as the only 30/30 player in MLB.

These 5 players have speed to burn and are candidates to steal even more in 2026. *Sprint Speed: A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second window." Brenton Doyle OF...

Jacob Misiorowski (SP-MIL) put together arguably the most complete start of his young MLB career against the Pirates on Sunday afternoon as he allowed just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while racking up 8 strikeouts over 7...

Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF-CHC) went 1-2 with a 2B and run scored against the Nationals before departing the contest with a contusion suffered when he fouled a ball off his right knee. The 23 year-old is considered day-to-day and seems likely...

Launch Angle: Does it matter? There is a need to hit the ball high in order for it to travel over the fence, but Barrel Rate plays into it, as does playing time and team context, of course. Looking forward...

Freddy Peralta, SP, MIL Peralta continued his fantastic stretch against the Phillies on Thursday, tossing 5 shutout innings, while striking out 8 and allowing just 2 hits and 3 BB's. He has now not allowed a run in five straight...

Nick Kurtz (1B-ATH) went 1-3 with a 2B, RBI, and walk as he returned to action following a three-game absence (oblique). The 22 year-old will look to continue his push to be Rookie of the Year as he now boasts...

Aroldis Chapman- RP- BOS- Great Player- Chapman saved his 28th game of the season for the Red Sox. He is sporting a 1.00 ERA and 1.77 FIP. Chapman's 12.83 K/9 is not surprising nor is his fastball velo of 98.5....

Wyatt Langford-Rangers-OF Wyatt Langford was 0-3 with 1 RBI and 3 BB against the Athletics. Langford came into the game swinging a hot bat (.356 AVG, 3 HR, 16 R, 6 RBI, and 2 SB in his last 14 GP)....

Jackson Chourio- OF- MIL- Hot- Chourio had a successful return from the IL yesterday. After getting a homer robbed in his first AB he singled. Then in the 9th Chourio hit his 18th homer of the season. He is now...

Brenton Doyle-Rockies-OF Brenton Doyle was 0-4 with 3 Ks against the Astros. Doyle has been one of the hottest hitters in the league during the second half. He is hitting .373 with 7 HR, 17 R, 20 RBI, and 5...