Aaron Judge - Aaron Judge launched his 12th homerun of the season on Monday night, effectively raising his three true outcome percentage to 52.9%, or roughly 20% higher than the league average. Judge is slashing .287/.417/.569 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI and 35 runs scored. He does have two steals, but it's unlikely he'll stay on this pace for the rest of the season. He's doing everything he needs to do to return his owners the value they are seeking after taking him in the second round, but his .287 batting average does seem a little high, especially with a contact percentage of just 66%. Look for the batting average is come down a little, but Judge remains an elite hitter.
Gleyber Torres (NYY) - Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres hit two home runs against the Rangers out of the ninth spot in the batting order. With that, Torres suddenly has 6 homeruns in just 95 plate appearances. He's also now slashing .325/.394/.578. Torres isn't known to have much game power, but that's not to say he doesn't have the raw power. His scout rating has a future game power rating of 55 with a raw power future rating of 60. Could we possibly be seeing a young prospect blossoming before our eyes? It's certainly possible, but his hard rate number of 32% says he's likely going to need to hit the ball hard on a more consistent basis before he officially takes a step forward.
Masahiro Tanaka (NY) - Masahiro Tanaka had a forgettable outing on Monday, tossing 5 innings while allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, 2 homeruns while giving up a total of 4 earned runs. Tanaka's 4.95 ERA is extremely ugly, but his 1.10 WHIP isn't nearly as ugly and his 3.90 xFIP also backs that narrative. He's been a little unlucky with sequencing, as evidenced by his 65% strand rate. He should get a little better the rest of the way, but it's definitely becoming a challenge to continue trusting him.
Nick Castellanos (DET) - Nick Castellanos took Jose Berrios deep in the first inning for his 4th homerun of the season. While the power numbers have yet to catch up, Castellanos is once again having a fine season, largely driven by his exceptional 45% hard hit rate. It's actually an interesting phenomenon because his pull rate is up by 8% this year, which normally easily translates to higher home run totals. Castellanos' .394 BABIP is a little high, even for him with a .329 career BABIP. The increase is likely due to a 7% increase in line drive rate, which in general is a great thing for his value to the Tigers, but fantasy owners would probably prefer a slightly higher launch angle.
Domingo German (NYY) - Domingo German is an interesting second pitcher option on DraftKings on Tuesday's slate. He draws a nice matchup in what's arguably a neutral park shift to Texas and he's priced just $6,600. German was supposedly available out of the team's bullpen during last weekend's series against Kansas City, but the opportunity never arose. German was roughed up in his last outing on May 12th, his second start of a young major league career. On Tuesday, he faces a Rangers team that has struggled against right-handers this season, posting just a 77 wRC+ (league average is around 100), .292 wOBA, .148 ISO and just a 26% hard hit rate.
