Carlos Correa went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBIs, and two walks on Saturday vs. the Padres. Correa stuffed the stat sheet in Houston's 11-8 loss to San Diego, reaching base four times and belting his eighth home run of the year. After an ice-cold start to May, Correa has turned things around over the past several weeks, batting .370 with six extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, and 13 walks over his last 15 games. While his production has been a bit up and down this year (and throughout his career), his overall numbers are still excellent, particularly for a shortstop. His .277 average is right in line with his career .276 mark, as is his .816 OPS (.830 career). The key with Correa is whether he can stay healthy, but when he's on the field he remains a must-start in fantasy lineups.
Austin Meadows powered Tampa Bay to a 5-3 win over Philadelphia on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, and a walk. Meadows put the Rays up early with his first-inning two-run shot off Zack Wheeler before coming through with a go-ahead single in the 8th inning. That makes back-to-back multi-hit games with long balls for Meadows, who now has 11 dingers and 36 RBIs in 48 games. While his .229 average isn't great for fantasy owners in standard leagues, his 26 walks give him more value in points leagues and OBP formats. He's also hitting for excellent power, as 26 of his 41 hits have gone for extra bases. Meadows has been a three-true-outcomes hitter (43 percent) this year, making him similar to other top batters in the modern game.
Alex Cobb earned the win on Saturday after firing seven scoreless innings against the A's, yielding just three hits (all singles) and two walks while striking out eight. Saturday was the longest and most dominant outing of the year for Cobb, who has now allowed one earned run or less in each of his last three starts. After a bumpy April that saw him post a 7.16 ERA over his first four starts, Cobb has settled down in May, lowering his ERA to 3.78. He now holds a 43:12 K/BB ratio in 33 1/3 innings this year, making him a fair bet to sustain his current success if he stays healthy. Cobb will shoot for his third straight victory against the Mariners at home late next week.
Jose Abreu had a huge doubleheader against the Orioles on Saturday, going 4-for-6 with a home run, a double, five RBIs, and two runs scored. The reigning AL MVP helped power Chicago to a doubleheader sweep, tallying three hits and three RBIs in the first game before blasting a two-run homer in the second game. The big day gives Abreu an astounding 45 RBIs through 47 games thus far, which would be even more impressive if he didn't already average a full RBI per game last year. While his .271 average is significantly down from last year's .317 mark, it's still well above average in the current offensive environment. With 11 homers already as well, he's on pace to surpass 30 in a season for the fifth time in his career, making him an indispensable fantasy option even at age 34.
Salvador Perez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer on Saturday against the Twins. Perez put Kansas City on the board with a game-tying four-bagger in the third inning, evening the game at 2-2. The long ball was his 10th of the year, giving him nine consecutive seasons with double digits. The six-time All-Star is currently on pace to eclipse his career high of 27 homers from 2017 and 2018. He's become an even more prolific slugger since the start of last year, smashing 21 taters with 63 RBIs in just 87 games since the start of the 2020 season. While most catcher start to wear down in their 30s -- especially ones who play everyday -- Perez is hitting better than he ever has. With so few backstops capable of providing consistent, quality fantasy production, Perez is a rarity in today's game and is highly valuable in fantasy baseball.
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