Matthew Boyd (SP-DET) went 6 strong against the tough Twins lineup on Saturday, surrendering 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits while walking none and fanning 6 on 87 pitches (56 strikes). The 29 year-old southpaw now owns a 7.27 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 through 34.2 IP (7 starts) on the year. Although the ERA is ugly, his 4.29 SIERA and 4.60 xFIP entering the contest indicated that some better starts were on the horizon for Boyd, and so Saturday's outing constituted some correction to the mean. The longball remains an issue for Boyd, as he had a 1.9 HR/9 (18% HR/FB) in 2019 and a 2.5 HR/9 (23% HR/FB) entering the game, and true to form he surrendered a big fly to Twins slugger Nelson Cruz in an otherwise strong start. His xFIP still sits at 4.46 following the outing, so further correction should be coming as his .343 BABIP remains high and the 62% strand rate is low.
Luke Voit (1B-NYY) provided the Yankees with half of the team's production against the Mets on Saturday as he went 1-4 with a solo homer in the contest. The 29 year-old slugger slimmed down prior to the start of the season and it certainly doesn't appear to be hurting his power; he is now batting .308 with 12 dingers and 22 RBI through his first 101 PA of the 2020 campaign. While he's not walking quite as often as in the past (8% in 2020, 11.5% career), he's trimmed his strikeout rate to 26% (28% last year) while logging an excellent 47% hard-hit rate (45% career). While he's maintained a healthy 24% line-drive rate, he's traded a bunch of grounders for flyballs, with the former rate sitting at just 29% and the latter at 47%, which allows him to maximize the charge that he tends to put into the baseball when he makes contact. Many fantasy experts expected him to take a step forward last season, but it appears that he's just doing it a year late.
J.A. Happ (SP-NYY) held the Mets scoreless over 7.1 innings on Saturday, scattering 3 hits and walking none while recording 5 punchouts on 90 pitches (64 strikes). The 2020 campaign had been a disaster for Happ entering the contest, as he owned a 6.39 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 4.26 K/9, and 7.11 BB/9 through his first 3 starts (just 12.2 IP). But the 37 year-old lefty showed that perhaps he can still be of some use to fantasy owners by stifling the other New York team on Saturday. His control seemed to be back to form (2.35-2.91 BB/9 each season since 2014), although he's not a great source of strikeouts at this point in his career (7.81 K/9 last season). In this one, he mixed up his 4-seam fastball and sinker to induce groundballs at a 67% clip, so look for that to be a significant part of his game going forward. Happ is widely available in fantasy leagues (he's available in over 85% of ESPN leagues) and appears slated for a rematch with the Mets next week.
Carlos Carrasco (SP-CLE) tossed 6 shutout innings against St. Louis on Saturday, giving up a pair of hits and walking 2 while fanning 6 on 85 pitches (54 strikes). The 33 year-old now owns a 3.75 ERA, 11.25 K/9, and 4.25 BB/9 through his first 7 starts of the 2020 campaign (36 IP). While he's punching out batters at a career-best clip (previous high was 10.8 in both 2018 and 2019), his control has been way off (2.3 career BB/9) and his 41% groundball rate is tied for a career low with last season's clip. Carrasco's average fastball velocity is down slightly (about half a mph) from last year to 93 and he's only deploying that pitch a career-low 38% of the time as he leans heavily on his change-up (26%), slider (23%), and curve (14%). Overall, his 3.89 xFIP indicates that his surface numbers are pretty reflective of his actual performance.
Jose Ramirez (3B-CLE) went 2-5 with a solo blast against the Cardinals on Saturday. Uncharacteristically, the 27 year-old is a steady producer so far in 2020, as he's now hitting .254 with 7 longballs, 22 RBI, 27 runs scored, and 8 stolen bases through 151 PA on the year. He has historically been a boom or bust type, with high highs and really rough lows, so this sort of steady production is a bit unusual for him. But his fantasy owners will certainly take it. As usual, Ramirez is getting on base often (13% walk rate) but, uncharacteristically, he's striking out at a 20% clip (12% career) and making below-average hard contact (31% in 2020, 33% career). His average exit velocity is down to 87.5mph (89 the last 2 seasons) and he's pounding the ball into the shift (51% pull rate, a career high) although his 24% line-drive rate is a career best. And yet he's been a 5-category contributor. Enjoy the ride if you own him.
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