Pete Alonso, 1B, NYM
Alonso went 5-5 with a HR and 6 RBI against the Braves on Thursday, as he tied the NL rookie HR record with his 39th dinger. After a relatively rough July in which Alonso hit just .171, he has rebounded so far this month, hitting .320 with 5 HR's and 14 RBI through 13 August games. BA will probably remain somewhat of a struggle for Alonso as he currently has a 29.3% K% this month and a 25.8% mark for the season. But if he's hitting 50 HR's, no one will really care about that.
Brian Anderson, 3B, OF, MIA
Anderson went 3-4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI in a win over the Dodgers. Over his past 18 games, he is hitting .324/.413/.732 with 7 doubles, 7 HR's, and 18 RBI across 80 PA's. In his first two big-league seasons, Anderson hit for a solid average but minimal power; he managed just 11 HR's in 765 PA's. But the power has suddenly developed, and he now has 20 HR's this season in 493 PA's. He has increased his FB% from 31.9% in the first half to 41.3% in the 2nd half and has a solid 43.9% Hard% this season. With the uptick in power, Anderson has become a viable fantasy option, especially considering his spot in the heart of the Miami lineup.
Walker Buehler, SP, LAD
Buehler was roughed up against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday, allowing 5 ER's on 5 hits, 3 BB's, and 2 HBP over 4+ IP's, while striking out 6. Buehler has mostly been excellent this season, but the poor performance against one of the weaker teams in the NL still comes as a bit of a downer, especially after he struck out 11 in 7 shutout inning against the same Marlins team when he faced them at home in July. The home/road discrepancy that he's displayed against the Marlins recently is in some ways a microcosm of his season. In 11 home starts this season, Buehler has produced a 2.33 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 11.54 K/9, and 0.86 BB/9. In 12 road starts, his ERA now sits at 4.37, with a 1.26 WHIP, 9.53 K/9, and 2.51 BB/9. He had significant splits last year too - 1.93 ERA at home, 3.45 on the road. Buehler is still good enough to start regardless of the venue, but it's a worthwhile trend to keep monitoring.
Yu Darvish, SP, CHC
Darvish struck out 10 without a BB in 7 shutout innings against the Phillies on Thursday, allowing just 4 hits in the ballgame. After struggling mightily earlier in the season, Darvish now has an incredible 87:7 K:BB in 66.2 IP over his last 11 starts. His 3.38 ERA over that span is quite solid and his xFIP is under 3.00 during this stretch. He has still struggled with the longball, allowing 13 HR's over the 11 starts, but his 24.5% HR/FB% is probably a bit unlucky. At this point, it seems fair to say that Darvish is back on track and can be trusted in fantasy leagues moving forward.
Charlie Blackmon, OF, COL
Blackmon at home is always a good idea - after all, he's hitting .411/.461/.807 with 17 HR's in 45 games at Coors this year. But that's especially true in games like Friday when he'll be facing the Marlins' Sandy Alcantara, who has an awful 6.02 xFIP against LH-hitters this season. DraftKings Value Play Salary $5,500.
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