Joe Biagini (SP/RP, TOR) - Biagini started his fifth game of the year and it was a good one, as he finished with a line of 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's. It was the first time this season he's gone more than five innings, but the Jays let him go for 95 pitches so he's to the point where he is fully stretched out as we head into June. He's been all over the map as far as his pitch deployment per start, but he threw 26 changeups in this start, which represents 27% of his pitches - and got 31% whiffs on the change. The pitch gets 57% ground balls too, so the fact that he has thrown as many of them today as ever could be a good sign for his value going forward as he hopefully sticks with the increased use of it. He should be squarely on everyone's radar at this point, and is worth a speculative pick up in mixed leagues. He'll face a tough Yankees offense in his next start, however.
Steven Souza (OF, TB) - Souza finished Sunday's marathon game with the Twins 3-8 with 2 RBI and was 1-2 in stolen base attempts. He's now hitting .262/.378/.464 in 202 plate appearances, with an ISO that has crept just over .200. It's hard to imagine a 29% K rate being an improvement, but it certainly is when taking into account his 34% mark from last year. Not only has he cut his K's, he has nearly tripled his walk rate from a year ago to 15%, and he has done so by chopping his chase rate down by 7%. He's still making just 70% contact, but he most likely will never have a very good contact rate. The stolen base attempts were actually his first two of the season, and it's looking unlikely that he'll even get to the seven steals that he put up last year. He also has been pretty terrible against lefties with a .288 wOBA, and the Rays like to get platooney with it, so there remains the possibility he sits against all lefties at some point down the road. Even so, it's looking like he'll maintain mixed league value throughout the season, particularly in OBP formats.
Danny Duffy (SP, KC) - Duffy was touched up for six runs over four innings, walking three and striking out only two Indians. His 9.42 K/9 from a year ago seems like a pipe dream at this point as his K rate currently sits at 7.08. His walks have also risen from 2.10 to 3.28, although his results have been the same as his ERA now sits at 3.54, which is just a shade over his 2016 ERA of 3.51. His velocity is down a few ticks from last year, which explains some of the regression, although on the bright side his hard contact is down to 30% from 37% last year. He has also been adept at limiting the home run ball, with a 0.52 HR/9. However, he had a 13% HR/FB rate last year and owns a 9% career rate, so if/when he does see home run regression you could see his ERA start to rise closer to his 4.62 xFIP. He has also had a hard time staying healthy throughout his career, so you might want to consider shopping Duffy if you can still get full value for him.
Josh Tomlin (SP, CLE) - Tomlin fired a complete game against the Royals, allowing just one run on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Who didn't see that coming? He entered the contest with a 6.70 ERA, although his FIP was 3.73. His FIP actually rose to 3.74, but his ERA fell all the way to 5.79 with the effort. A lot of this success can be chalked up to the fact that it was the Royals he faced, as the last time he pitched against them he gave up one earned over seven innings. They're a really bad offensive team, and this goes to show that you should be streaming against them consistently. Tomlin does have a microscopic 0.64 BB/9 over his 56 innings of work, but he also lacks strikeouts, with a 6.27 K/9 that limits his upside. With Danny Salazar shifting to the bullpen, Tomlin should continue to start for Cleveland, but he's a deep-league streaming option only. He will be worth a look again for his next start though, when he faces...the Royals, again.
Matt Shoemaker (SP, LAA) - Shoemaker took a step back after three sharp outings, giving up four runs in 4.2 innings with no walks and three strikeouts. He allowed two more home runs in this game, which is a problem he dealt with even last year. There are still positives to take away from this start though, such as the lack of walks and the usage of his splitter. Over his first seven starts he was using his slider more and his splitter less, but over his previous three successful outings he had used the splitter more than any other pitch and pushed the slider back down to his fourth offering. There will be better days ahead for the Maker of Shoes, and he's worth owning in most leagues despite this disappointing showing.
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