Nick Castellanos, OF, CIN
Castellanos went 3-5 with a double, a HR, and 7 RBI in a blowout win against the Phillies on Monday. Castellanos had only hit 2 HR's in his previous 30 games, but he did hit 13 doubles in that span. He's always been more of a doubles guy than a HR guy, but he has a chance to surpass 25 HR's for the 3rd time in the last 4 full seasons. Since 2018, he leads MLB with 142 doubles, 13 ahead of the 2nd place Xander Bogaerts. Doubles won't directly help you in many fantasy leagues, but they will help you collect more RBI and runs, and Castellanos is on pace for more than 100 in each of those categories. His .347 BA will come down along with the .405 BABIP, but keep in mind that he has a career BABIP of .335 and has hit .285 or higher in 3 of the last 6 years. He doesn't get as much attention as some of the other big stars in the NL, but he should continue producing excellent numbers hitting in the middle of a strong Reds lineup.
Trevor Bauer, SP, LAD
Bauer allowed 2 ER's on 8 hits in 6 IP against the Giants on Monday, striking out 8 and walking 1 in the contest. Bauer has a solid 3.45 ERA this month, but he has seemed a lot more hittable, allowing 31 hits (including 6 HR's) in 31.1 IP across 5 June starts. His WHIP this month is an uncharacteristic 1.47, after he produced a 0.83 mark through April and May. Only three times this season has Bauer allowed 6 or more hits in a start, and all three of those instances have come in his last 5 starts. He's still getting lots of strikeouts but the EV against him has gone up a couple of mph this month. It's not clear what has changed, but Bauer will have to figure that out if he wants to return to being among the SP elite.
Alec Bohm, 3B, PHI
Bohm went 2-3 with a 2B, a run, and 2 RBI against the Reds on Monday, as his BA continues to climb back up after a rough start to the season. He is now hitting .333 in the month of June, although that has come with a .446 BABIP. He has been hitting the ball very hard this year (92.6 EV) but his K% has jumped from 20.0% in 2020 to 26.8% this year, making a repeat of his .338 BA from last year unrealistic. He also hasn't been able to translate his high EV into HR's because he doesn't hit enough fly balls (22.4% career FB%). Right now, Bohm seems like a guy who can hit for a solid BA due to him being a high BABIP-er, but he will have to start putting more balls in the air to become a real fantasy difference maker.
Kyle Freeland, SP, COL
Freeland had a strong outing against the Pirates on Monday, striking out 7 in 5 shutout IP, while allowing just 3 hits and 1 BB, but left the game after suffering a leg injury while running the bases. After a terrible start to his season, Freeland has had two very good starts in a row, posting a combined 14:2 K:BB and allowing just 1 ER in 11 IP over those two starts. The recent success is encouraging, but Freeland's track record is not, as he has never recorded a K/9 above 8.00 or an xFIP below 4.00. Half of his games are at Coors, but he hasn't been great on the road either with a career 4.14 ERA (4.75 xFIP). The 2.85 ERA that he managed in 2018 seems like the clear outlier in his career at this point.
Freddie Peralta, SP, MIL
Peralta was excellent again on Monday, allowing 2 ER's on 2 hits in 6 IP, while striking out 8 and walking 4. Peralta has been great all year, but he has been especially dominant recently, not allowing more than 2 ER's in 9 consecutive starts. During that stretch, he has compiled a 1.47 ERA, and a 69:20 K:BB across 55 IP. Overall, Peralta's 12.62 K/9 ranks 4th best in MLB, although his 3.83 BB/9 leaves what to be desired. There's been some luck here with a .186 BABIP and a 48.8% FB% which could ultimately lead to more HR's allowed, but the high strikeout upside makes Peralta a strong fantasy play nonetheless.
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