Zach Plesac won his third straight start by firing seven one-run innings against the Royals on Monday, scattering seven hits and striking out four. Plesac was at the top of his game on Monday, keeping Kansas City off the board until surrendering a solo shot in the seventh and throwing 67 of his 96 pitches for strikes. The 25-year-old sophomore has gotten off to an incredible start this year with five straight quality starts to begin the season, resulting in a sparkling 1.32 ERA. He also owns an incredible 34:2 K/BB ratio over 34 innings, which speaks to how superb his command has been thus far. Coming off a solid rookie showing in which he went 8-6 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP last year, Plesac seems to be establishing himself as one of the better arms in the game. Fantasy owners should continue to ride him while he's hot.
Byron Buxton broke out of his recent slump by going 2-for-4 with a double and a solo homer on Monday against the Tigers, helping power Minnesota's 6-2 victory. After going just 5-for-33 with no extra-base hits over his previous 10 games, Buxton belted his sixth homer of the season and added his second double for good measure. Despite the recent cold spell, Buxton's still hitting a decent .250 on the year, which is solidly above his career mark of .237. He's also been hitting for more power, average a homer every 14 at-bats compared to 1 homer every 33 at-bats prior to this year. His plate discipline has gone completely out the window, however (1:23 BB/K ratio), and he hasn't made his customary impact on the bases with just one steal in two attempts. Accordingly, Buxton has been virtually unplayable in points leagues or formats that use OBP rather than batting average, especially if he's not helping much in the steals department. Buxton's tools make him worth rostering in standard leagues, but he still lacks the polish needed to be a star. Now 26, Buxton is running out of time to be the sum of his parts and put it all together.
Luke Voit ripped his 14th homer of the year on Monday, going 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk against the Blue Jays. voit, who entered the game mired in a 2-for-23 slump over his previous six games, wasted no time in busting out of his rut by slamming his first homer of the month in the 1st inning. That ended a seven-game homerless drought for Voit, which had been his longest stretch of the season thus far. On a per-game basis, Voit has been one of the best power hitters in baseball since being traded to the Yankees in 2018, tallying 49 homers and 124 RBIs in 194 games in pinstripes across parts of three seasons. He's also hit for solid averages despite his high strikeout rates, batting .272 for his career. While he doesn't add anything on the bases, Voit's ability to provide elite power in the lineup without hurting fantasy owners in batting average makes him a must-start whenever he suits up.
Dylan Moore fueled Seattle's 8-4 win over Texas on Monday, going 2-for-5 with a double, a homer, two runs and four RBIs. After clubbing his sixth home run of the year in the third inning, Moore followed up his big blast with a bases-clearing double in the fourth to key a five-run inning for the Mariners. Expectations were modest for Moore in 2020 after his underwhelming rookie campaign last year (.206/.302/.389) at age 26, but he's emerged as arguably Seattle's best hitter as a sophomore with a .934 OPS and 13 extra-base hits in 25 games thus far. He's also flashed great speed on the bases with eight steals in 11 attempts, making him a well-rounded fantasy option and a must-start in all formats.
Chris Bassitt bounced back from a handful of rough outings by twirling seven shutout innings against the Astros on Monday, scattering seven hits while striking out four. After a strong start to the season, Bassitt had been struggling lately with 13 earned runs and 22 hits (including five homers) allowed over his last four starts covering 19 2/3 innings. He rebounded with an efficient outing against Houston, however, needing just 89 pitches to get through seven innings unscathed. The victory was his first since Aug. 12 and lowered his ERA to 3.12. His 7.1 K/9 rate limits his fantasy ceiling, however, and will make it more challenging for him to enjoy similarly dominant outings. Due to his lack of swing-and-miss stuff, he's more of a matchups play in fantasy.
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