Marcell Ozuna continued his torrid start to the season by going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer Saturday vs. the Mets. Ozuna wasted no time by taking former teammate Michael Wacha deep in the bottom of the first to give Atlanta a quick 2-0 lead, kickstarting the Braves' 7-1 victory. The long ball was Ozuna's third in eight games thus far, giving him six RBIs overall. With most of Atlanta's top batters starting slowly, Ozuna has been a key driving force behind the team's 6-3 start. After a pair of solid seasons with St. Louis, Ozuna is hitting like he did during his final season with Miami, when he hit .312-37-124 in the best offensive season of his career. If he maintains the recent improvements to his plate discipline, the 29-year-old could be headed for another big campaign, so fantasy owners should think twice before selling high on him.
Ronald Acuna Jr. went deep for the first time in 2020 on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs in a 7-1 win over the Mets. Acuna finally showed some signs of life at the plate after getting off to a horrendous start in 2020, which included an MLB-high 17 strikeouts over his first eight games. While he did strike out again on Saturday, he more than compensated by delivering his first home run and RBIs of the year. Coming off a near 40-40 season in 2019, Acuna has the potential to be one of the premier players in baseball when he's at his best, so fantasy owners who ride out his early struggles will likely be rewarded in the long run.
Julio Urias earned his first win of the season on Saturday, yielding two runs over six strong innings as the Dodgers cruised to an 11-2 victory over the D-backs. After firing five innings of one-run ball in his season debut, Urias was sharp again on Saturday while LA's bats erupted behind him. He allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out five over the course of his 90 pitches, notching his first win and quality start of the year. Already in his fifth big-league season, the 23-year-old has yet to fully realize his potential, but after pitching primarily out of the bullpen last year he appears ready to make an impact on the rotation this year. He's slated to make his next start against the Giants at home, lining him up for another strong outing.
Kyle Freeland notched his second win of the year on Saturday, spinning six shutout innings against the Padres while allowing just two hits and one walk. He also struck out four, needing just 83 pitches (51 strikes) to record his second straight quality start. After an abysmal 2019 in which he went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA, Freeland is looking more like the Rockies ace who went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA in 2018. Since he's not a big strikeout pitcher, he'll need to keep his home run rate well below last year's 2.2 HR/9 mark and limit his walks as well. He'll take aim at a third consecutive victory on Thursday when the Rockies host the Giants.
Tyler Chatwood turned in his second straight tremendous outing to begin the season on Saturday, blanking the Pirates over 6 2/3 innings while racking up 11 strikeouts. He allowed three hits and two walks in a dazzling follow up to his strong season debut, which saw him register eight strikeouts over six innings of one-run ball. The pair of strong outings is a step in the right direction for Chatwood, who was relegated to the bullpen last year because of control problems. His command has been outstanding thus far based on his 19:4 K/BB ratio, but he'll need to keep his walks down in order to remain effective. He also hasn't been much of a strikeout pitcher historically (career 6.5 K/9 prior to Saturday), but missing more bats could help him rebound as well.
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