Domingo German (SP-NYY) - I think it's safe to say that German has solidified his rotation spot, regardless who is healthy or not healthy. German spun a strong game Tuesday against versus the Angels, allowing just an unearned run over 6.2 innings with one walk and five strikeouts. German's ERA dropped to a microscopic 1.75 as a result, and in 25.2 innings, his 28:8 K:BB speaks to his upside. German has never been considered an elite prospect, but he's hitting 94-95 with his fastball, and there's no real competition for his job at this point. The 26-year-old doesn't offer elite upside, but German seems to have separated himself form the competition at this point.
Spencer Turnbull (SP-DET) - Turnbull lasted just five innings Tuesday thanks to four walks and two HBP, but he didn't allow a run and ended up with the W. It was his first career win, and it came against the Red Sox, so that's nice. Turnbull now has a 2.77 ERA in 26 innings, with a 26:11 K:BB that speaks to both his strengths and weaknesses. Turnbull had a strong spring with a 1.80 ERA and 15:3 K:BB in 15 innings, and so far so good this year. In terms of the walks, Turnbull has struggles with those at times, including a 3.7 BB/9 last year in Double-A, but he has shown flashes of #3 starter upside, particularly if he can control his fastball.
Dwight Smith Jr. (OF-BAL) - Griffey, Vlad, etc. I'm always fascinated by guys who are named after their fathers. Smith is now firmly on my radar in 12-team mixed leagues. Smith had just one hit on Tuesday, but it was a three-run homer, his fifth, and it left him with a .287/.330/.529 slash line. He's even hitting third, albeit in the Orioles lineup. Smith was traded from Toronto in March for international signing bonus money, and so far at least, this is working out quite well for the O's. So is this real? I wonder. Smith had hit .293/.365/.467 in 101 PA over parts of two previous MLB stints, so draw your own conclusions. He's already 26, but Smith has flashed 15/15 ability, so don't completely discount his hot start.
Yoan Moncada (2B-CHW) - It's not going out on a limb to state that Moncada is looking like a breakout player this year, but it is notable that he was in the leadoff spot on Tuesday. Moncada went 2-for-4 with a double to raise his slash line to .322/.371/.611. I guess what everyone wants to know is whether this is sustainable? A .982 OPS would be tough to sustain for anyone not named Mike Trout, but Moncada has long been a breakout candidate / top prospect, so this isn't shocking by any means. Encouragingly, his 23.7% K% is well below the 32-34% marks he's posted the past two full seasons, so it looks like he's seeing the ball batter, even though he's not drawing a ton of walks. I see him ending up with 25 home runs, and if he's leading off, the steals should climb as well, perhaps into the 15-20 range after he swiped 12 last year despite a .315 OBP.
Andrew Cashner (SP-BAL) - As one of the more inconsistent pitchers in the game, I wrote Cashner off as an option long ago, but lo and behold, after seven one-running innings against the White Sox on Tuesday, Cashner is now 4-1 with a 4.18 ERA. That's four more wins than Chris Sale if you're counting at home. Cashner isn't going to keep this up of course, as his WHIP is still high at 1.39, and a 20:13 K:BB isn't pretty to look at. Cashner is throwing about a mph harder over last year, so that's encouraging, but a 5.6 K/9 indicates that hitters aren't exactly being blown away. Advice: enjoy it while you can, and hope to time his good starts with his bad (good luck with that).
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