Alex Bregman-Astros-3B
Alex Bregman was 0-4 with a walk against the Athletics. Bregman is slashing .262/.372/.448 with 8 HR, 37 R, 33 RBI, and 6 SB. His overall numbers are down from last year and what fantasy owners expected coming into the year. The interesting part of that is that virtually all of his skills have improved. He is swinging and missing less, walking more, hitting the ball harder, hitting it in the air more often, and swinging less out of the zone. This means that better times are likely to be coming in the future which is good news for Bregman owners and a good opportunity to buy him before he gets hot.
Eduardo Escobar-Twins-SS
Eduardo Escobar was 1-4 with an RBI against the Tigers. Escobar has been extremely hot in the month of June so far with a .391 AVG, 4 HR, 5 R, and 16 RBI. He has shown the Twins that he needs to be playing every day even with the return of Jorge Polanco on the horizon. Escobar on the year is hitting .290 with 12 HR, 31 R, 42 RBI, and 1 SB. The underlying skills are solid with 22% K, 7% BB, and .570 SLG. He is hitting the ball hard (42%) and in the air 47% FB which gives his power spike legitimacy. The one concern is that he is a free swinger and he is chasing more balls out of the zone (40%) which has resulted in a career-high 13% swinging strike rate. This could eventually catch up to Escobar if pitchers start attacking him off the plate but for now just ride out this hot streak.
Lance Lynn-Twins-SP
Lance Lynn went 6.2 IP and gave up 3 ER on 5 H, 1 BB, and 9 K's against the Tigers. Lynn on the year has a 4.98 ERA (4.78 SIERA) and 1.68 WHIP. The good news is that he has pitched much better recently after a disastrous start to the year. He has a 2.93 ERA since the beginning of May. The issue is that while his ERA has improved his underlying skills still look shaky. Lynn's walk rate is still over 10% during this time period. He's not missing enough bats (22% K, 9% SwStr) outside of today's start to walk that many guys, especially in the American League without the added benefit of facing the pitcher. Keep an eye on the walk rate and he is someone to avoid in his next start against Boston.
Michael Fulmer-Tigers-SP
Michael Fulmer went 7 IP and gave up 1 ER on 5 H, 1 BB, and 4 K's against the Twins. Fulmer has a 4.13 ERA over 80.2 IP with 20% K and 9% BB. His numbers overall are slightly worse than league average. The tough part about Fulmer is that he has a plus changeup and slider with a fastball that average 96 mph. He has the stuff to be a strikeout pitcher but too often he leans on weak contact and quick outs. This is a trend that has been going on since he came up to the big leagues, so it should not be discounted. Everything he has done so far this year is in line with his career averages which means his production matches the skills. His ERA indicators agree as well with a 4.27 SIERA. Until he makes a fundamental shift in his philosophy he is likely to remain a league average starter.
Mike Clevinger-Indians-SP
Mike Clevinger went 7 IP and gave up 1 ER on 5 H, 1 BB, and 11 K's against the White Sox. Clevinger was a popular name rising up draft boards towards to the end of draft season and he has handsomely rewarded those who took the chance. He has a 3.15 ERA over 91.1 IP with 20% K and 9% BB. His biggest issue coming into the year was his control and he has improved on that dropping his walk rate from 12% to 9%. The strikeouts are down but his 11.4% SwStr signals that we could continue to see an uptick in his strikeouts like today's start. Clevinger also has above average first pitch strike rates and chases out of the zone. He has done a good job of limiting home runs (0.64 HR/9) which is important if you are going to be wild at times. He gets the White Sox against next time out, which is another plus matchup.
DraftKings Value Plays: OF Daniel Palka (CHW)-$3,600 & OF Randal Grichuk ($3,600)
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