Dakota Hudson (SP-STL) - Hudson improved to 5-3 Tuesday with seven innings of one-run ball against the Marlins, a team who had Curtis Granderson and his .182/.273/.347 slash leading off and whose cleanup hitter (Starlin Castro) has four home runs. Nonetheless, it was a nice outing for Hudson, who lowered his ERA to a strong 3.47 in 72.2 innings. Hudson in reality is lucky to be that low with the ERA, as his 1.50 WHIP is ugly, and his 51:33 K:BB is even uglier. Hudson has a 1.99 ERA in his last five starts covering 31.2 innings, though his 20:12 K:BB in that span speaks to a lack of dominance. Hudson is just 24, so there's time to refine all of that, though he's never been really dominant considering his 6.5 K/9. Either way, at least his spot is secure.
Zack Wheeler (SP-NYM) - Wheeler isn't exactly making his case for a big free agent contract this winter. Against a surprising Yankees lineup Tuesday, Wheeler surrendered nine runs (five earned) on 10 hits (2 HR) over 4.2 innings. He did post a 6:1 K:BB, but the outing took his ERA to 4.87 in 88.2 innings. Wheeler had posted four consecutive QS's prior to Tuesday, though that came with a cumulative 4.13 ERA, so he hasn't exactly been spectacular. On the plus side, Wheeler's 99:26 K:BB equates to ratios of 10.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9, leading to a FIP (pre-Tuesday) of a more reasonable 3.55. Translation: the results should be better going forward. Wheeler has actually improved his velocity nearly a full mph to 96.8 mph on average with his fastball, so there is really no reason to consider Tuesday's poor outing a sign of bad things to come.
Scott Kingery (UT-PHI) - I think I really missed a buy low opportunity with Kingery this year. The versatile Kingery hit his seventh homer on Tuesday and is now batting .324/.365/.630. 18 of his 35 hits have gone for extra bases, and he's pretty much forced his way into the every day lineup, though his position could continue to vary from game to game. With Odubel Herrera's administrative leave still ongoing, Kingery should continue to play a lot of center field, and assuming Herrera eventually returns, he could find himself on the bench often considering his .222 BA. Kingery has drawn just five walks all year, but he's now homered three times in the past two days, so we will overlook that for now.
Jon Duplantier (SP-ARI) - Duplantier lasted just three innings Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits in a loss to the Phillies. He saw his ERA rise from 3.27 to 4.32 in 25 innings with a 24:9 K:BB. Duplantier was coming off a semi-impressive outing in which he gave up just two runs in five innings while striking out seven against the league-leading Dodgers, so we will give him a pass in this one. Duplantier is also still building up stamina after spending time in the Arizona bullpen, and he lasted just 76 pitches in this outing. Duplantier was often behind, throwing first-pitch strikes to just three of 17 batters, though he did walk just one while striking out one. Duplantier was limited to 74 innings last year due to biceps and hamstring issues, so don't expect a full starter's workload in 2019. He can though be useful in spurts, but probably not until the second half once he's fully stretched out.
Dominic Smith (OF/1B-NYM) - Smith was 1-for-4 with a double and run in Game 1 Tuesday against the Yankees, leaving him at .354/.446/.582 with an excellent 18:12 K:BB in 79 at-bats. He played first base in this one with Pete Alonso as the DH. Smith has also logged eight games in left field, and once the Mets exit interleague play this week, that's probably where we will see him the most. Once Robinson Cano returns from a quad injury next week, we will have to see how things go. Todd Frazier is hitting well at third, and with McNeil playing second now, he'll need a spot, and that seems likely to be left field. In addition, Brandon Nimmo returns with his .200 BA soon, so unless Smith continues his torrid hitting, he's likely going to find himself on the bench or in Triple-A.
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