Tommy Pham
Pham hit his 13th homer of the season on Thursday, as he continued his breakout campaign. Pham is now slashing .309/.392/.532 in 268 plate appearances, good for a wRC+ of 142. That figure would rank inside the top 20 in all of baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, just to give you a feel for how strong he has been. Add in his 13 steals and the fact that he has done all of this in such a short span, and you have one of the most pleasant surprises in fantasy baseball this season. The good news is it appears to be legitimate as well. Pham has a double-digit walk rate, a 38.2 percent hard hit ball rate, and a 24.4 percent line drive rate. His HR/FB rate is bound to come down a bit (32.4 percent even before Thursday), and his .378 BABIP probably won't last all season, but he should still do more than enough to have value in even 10-team leagues going forward.
Jake Lamb
Lamb broke out of a mini-cold spell with a monster, two-homer, six-RBI game against the Reds on Thursday. Lamb had collected just four hits over his last eight games, but he is now up to 22 home runs and 76 RBI. Lamb is on pace to improve from what was already a breakout season in 2016, as his BA, RBI, and HR should all end up higher than last year, which were all career highs. Lamb is just 26 years old, and it will be interesting to see if he has become more durable in 2017. I don't mean that in terms of injury, but more in terms of his second half. A year ago, Lamb hit 20 homers before the break and only nine after the break. He once again had 20 homers before the All-Star Game this season, and owners would be disappointed if he only hit nine in the second half this year (especially if his second half wRC+ was 68 like last season). I have higher hopes for Lamb in his second full season.
Patrick Corbin
Corbin has been excellent over the past six weeks, giving up no more than three runs in any of his eight starts in that stretch. Corbin went 6.1 innings and allowed just one run on seven hits and a walk, while striking out six against the Reds in Cincinnati on Thursday. Corbin has also been a big-time strikeout machine this season and especially of late. He has five straight starts with at least 6 Ks, and he has 53 strikeouts over 47.1 innings in the aforementioned last eight starts. Corbin's ERA still sits at 4.43 for the season as a whole, but his FIP (4.18) and xFIP (3.80) both suggest a pitcher who has been a bit unlucky. His strikeout rate is a career high, and his walk rate is down over a batter per nine from last season. He's also giving up less hard contact than last season, and his ground ball rate (50.3 percent) is still excellent. He's likely not as good as he has been over this recent hot stretch, but he's still a viable arm, even in shallower leagues.
Trevor Rosenthal
Rosenthal didn't exactly wow in his audition for the Cardinals closer on Thursday, allowing a run on two hits and a walk in two thirds of an inning, while taking the loss against the Mets. The Cardinals are in a closer-by-committee situation, and it appeared as though Rosenthal was the man of the hour due to recent comments from Mike Matheny. Matheny won't love what he saw from the fire balling righty on Thursday, however, and one has to wonder whether he'll be given another chance. Rosenthal has a 3.89 ERA on the season, but his FIP (2.24) and xFIP (2.60) are far superior. He's striking out 14.11 batters per nine and is really limiting hard contact (23.7 percent) despite the speed at which his pitches come into home plate. That being said, he won't have much value in most leagues if he isn't the closer, so keep an eye on this situation for now. I still like him the most out of the Cards pen for the long term.
Daily Fantasy
Gerardo Parra ($16)
Parra has been tearing the cover off the ball since his return from the DL, with seven multi-hit games in nine attempts. He has three consecutive multi-hit games, with an insane seven hits in his past two outings. He's got 12 runs since his return, two homers, and 12 RBI. He's thoroughly enjoying the friendly confines of Coors Field, as six of those nine games have been at home. Parra gets to play at home again on Friday, as the Rockies play host to Justin Williams and the Pirates. Parra has been an animal in Coors this season, slashing .436/.458/.663 at home, compared to .277/.304/.410 on the road. He's basically been twice the hitter at home, per wRC+, and he's one of those crazy-split players who are perfect to abuse in daily leagues. Williams has been halfway decent of late, but it doesn't seem sustainable, especially in the pitcher hellscape that is Coors Field.
