Dylan Bundy, SP, LAA
Bundy notched his 6th win of the season on Monday afternoon in LA. He gave up three runs on five hits and struck out three in the contest. Bundy has been a pleasant surprise for the Angels this season. He is now 6-3 and owns a solid 3.29 ERA. Bundy hasn't completed a season with an ERA lower than 4.02 during his six-year career. He posted a 4.79 ERA last season, and a 5.45 ERA in 2018, so it's safe to say that this is a breakout campaign for the 27-year-old. Like many pitchers this season, Bundy has dramatically changed his pitching style in 2020 by relying more heavily on his off-speed pitches. His FB% is just 40.5% which is 13.1% lower than his career average. The change is certainly paying dividends as he is posting career bests in both SwStr%, and O-Contact%; which has him striking out batters at a career best rate of 9.87 K/9. Bundy has thrown 65.2 innings this season, a far cry from a full season, but he will be a pitcher to consider in the later rounds next season.
Jose Ramirez, 3B, CLE
Ramirez blasted his 16th homer of the season on Monday night. He finished the game 2 for 3 with three RBI and a pair of walks. Ramirez is now slashing .290/.376/.595 on the season and has swiped 10 bags. His painstaking 2019 campaign had fantasy owners at odds with how to rate him coming into this season; he has certainly made those who took a chance on him quite happy thus far in 2020. The results have been much better this season but interestingly most of his advanced metrics this year don't differ much from his rough campaign a season ago. His plate discipline stats are all relatively similar besides his O-contact% being 4.5% higher. Additionally, his Hard% is actually 8.0% lower this year and his K% is 3.8% higher. So Ramirez's 2019 season might just have to be considered an anomaly. Don't be too hesitant to grab him in the first couple rounds next season.
Kyle Gibson, SP, TEX
Gibson followed up his extremely impressive complete game shutout last week in Houston with an absolute dud in LA. The 32-year-old gave up just one run and one hit in the first three innings but then the wheels fell off in the 4th. He gave up seven runs (6 earned) on four hits and two walks in the frame. Gibson has been on the fringe of fantasy relevance a few different times during his eight-year career but has been quite dreadful in his first year with the Rangers here in 2020. His 5.87 ERA is 2nd worst in the majors (qualified starters) and his 5.67 FIP ranks 3rd worst. It's the control that has killed Gibson in 2020; his 4.26 BB/9 is a career worst and is the second highest in the league. Considering he is getting into the backend of his career, it's very unlikely that Gibson will be a viable fantasy pitcher in any format for the rest of his career.
Aaron Civale, SP, CLE
Civale went six innings and snagged his fourth win of the season on Monday night against the Central Division leading White Sox. It wasn't the most impressive outing as he gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks, however, he did manage to get through six innings once again; something he has amazingly done in all 11 of his outings this season. Civale currently sports a 3.99/3.87 ERA/xFIP which isn't amazing but his consistency and depth have made him a serviceable fantasy option. He has only given up more than three runs in four of his starts and his 70.0 innings pitched currently ranks 4th in the majors. He is just 25 years old and he posted an impressive 2.34 ERA in his first 57.2 big league innings a season ago so he's certainly worth keeping an eye on for the 2021 campaign.
Jared Walsh, 1B, LAA
Walsh extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a grand slam on Monday night. He is batting .396 (21-53) with 7 homers and 21 RBI during the streak. The youngster has been ridiculous in his 84 plate appearances this season. Thus far he is batting .312 and owns an absurd .415 wOBA. Walsh has been incredibly efficient with his at bats; more than half of his 24 hits (13) have gone for extra bases, which has his ISO sitting at a bulky .390. Walsh had a career batting average of .203 and had just one homer to his name before this season, so who knows what kind of player he will be over a full season...but certainly don't stop riding him now if you are still vying for a fantasy championship in 2020.
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