David Phelps
Phelps did well in his third start of the season for Miami, getting the win in 5.1 innings of two-run ball. Phelps tallied eight strikeouts while allowing four hits and just one walk. Phelps moved from the bullpen to the rotation at the beginning of August and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his three starts. In fact, Phelps has allowed just three runs total. The other good news is that Phelps has gone deeper in each of the three starts, and struck out more, signs of progress for a pitcher who has been used as a starter in less than half of his career outings. Phelps is sporting a 2.48 ERA on the season as a whole, but much of that came out of the pen. In an admittedly small sample size, however, his numbers have been similar as a starter. Phelps has earned streaming potential at this point, and his next start, in Pittsburgh on Saturday, looks like a solid match up for the 29-year-old righty.
Charlie Blackmon
There is no player in baseball hotter than Charlie Blackmon right now, no exaggeration. In his last 10 games, he has nine home runs, and only three of those have been thanks to Coors Field. Blackmon does get the benefit of the thin air of Colorado for his next five games, which makes him just about the most attractive option in fantasy baseball moving forward, as well. Blackmon has had an interesting 2016 campaign. Coming off a 17-home run, 43-steal season, Blackmon has already eclipsed that power total (now at 21 home runs), but is not stealing at nearly the same rate (15-for-21 so far). It's not as if he hasn't been getting on base. His .323 batting average and .382 on-base percentage are both well higher than 2015, and in fact, are both career-high marks. Blackmon is sporting a career-high hard hit ball rate; career-high fly ball rate; and a (basically) career-high line drive rate. It's not hard to imagine the power sticking around, and the average staying at least above .300. Having Coors is a great boon, but Blackmon is a legit fantasy player, regardless.
Robbie Ray
Ray made it just five innings Monday, but he tallied five strikeouts, allowed just one run and got the win. The biggest detractor on Ray was his eight hits and two walks allowed, making for an ugly WHIP. Ray is owned in just 21.1 percent of leagues, despite owning the fifth-best K/9 among starting pitchers in baseball in 2016. Ray's 4.47 ERA doesn't do him justice, as his 3.62 FIP and 3.39 xFIP show a pitcher much more in line with where Ray could be in the not-too-distant-future. The biggest part of Ray's profile that stands out is his .359 opponent BABIP, a figure that, even with Ray's propensity to go for strikeouts, should drop sooner than later. Ray is prone to a high hard hit ball rate, but he also induces a solid percent of ground balls, and is due for a bit of regression in terms of his HR/FB rate. Overall, the signs point to Ray being worth a roster spot in all leagues right now, and as a sneaky pick in 2017.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Edwin Jackson
Now to be clear, this is not a long-term Edwin Jackson plug, anyone who's FIP (5.15) is nearly as high as his strikeouts per nine (5.65) shouldn't be even thought about in long-term fantasy, but as a daily play Tuesday, Jackson holds some intrigue. For one, Jackson is coming off two straight very strong starts. He went seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and just five baserunners in Pittsburgh last Wednesday, and eight innings of eight-hit, three-run, no-walk, five strikeout ball at home against Milwaukee the Wednesday before that. Jackson won both of these starts, and is 3-1 since returning to the bigs as a starting pitcher for San Diego. Four of his five starts have been Quality Starts, and he's gone at least five innings in all five. (And has gone at least six innings in the four good starts.) The match up Tuesday is also intriguing. Jackson gets to face the middle-of-the-pack Rays offense (98 wRC+ in 2016) at Tropicana Field, the fifth-lowest run scoring stadium this season. The Rays also sport the third-highest strikeout rate this season (24.3 percent). Jackson is by no means a lock, but as an UBER cheap option, you can spend a lot on hitters with Jackson as a starter.
DraftKings: $5,800
Cameron Rupp
Rupp continues to be a must-play for me, as long as he is in the starting lineup. Rupp has scored positive points in his last nine starts, no small feat of consistency at a shallow catcher position. He also has a high ceiling, however, as he has home runs in three of those nine games, and eight runs and 12 RBI during that stretch. The advanced metrics like Rupp to keep up this success, as well, as has been noted here before, he is a Stacast King, and owns a 34.1 percent hard hit rate. That figure ranks eighth among catchers in 2016. He's also a well-rounded hitter, with a 30.7 percent opposite field hit tool that ranks first among all catchers this season. Tuesday's match up sees Rupp take on Kenta Maeda and the Dodgers at home in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has been Coors Field Lite lately, with bombs flying out of Citizens Bank Park left and right the past few weeks. The last three games in Philadelphia have seen a combined 11 home runs, with at least three coming in every game. Rupp is a good guy to chase those home runs with. Just double-check he's in the starting lineup. The Phillies have Monday off, so that helps his chances, too.
DraftKings: $4,000
