Frankie Montas (SP-OAK)
Montas allowed 1 ER in 6.2 innings, striking out 10. He looked strong in this one generating 18 swinging strikes and 6 groundballs. His 4.41 ERA is a little high but he has really been undone by a handful of completely terrible starts. Of his 18 starts he has allowed 6+ runs in 3 starts and 3 runs over less in 14 of the other 15 starts. 6 of his 14 home runs allowed have come in those 3 starts as well. Montas gives you decent K number 9.16 K/9) and limits walks (2.61 BB/9) but he has yet to pitch a full season making 30+ starts so It will be interesting to see where his season line pans out. I can envision an ERA closer to 4 then 5 with a 3.5-3.75 fip. Montas is still a bit tough to read considering he is 28 and by no means a prospect anymore - so how he pitches the second half of 2021 may impact his future value a lot.
Lance McCullers Jr. (SP-HOU)
McCullers Jr. allowed 2 ER over 7 innings, striking out 8. He had a sluggish 1st inning giving up a few doubles and both runs, but settled down after and caught the A's off guard with 27 called strikes. Injuries have kept him from reaching his true potential as 2020 was his only mostly healthy season but when he has been healthy he has delivered. McCullers Jr. has a career 3.61 ERA / 3.36 FIP over 107 career games and has put together a nice season this year pitching to a 2.94 era with a 10 K/9. His walks are up a bit sitting at a career worst 4.8 BB/9 and his 3.83 fip reflects the inflated walk number - but he has also countered that with an 80% strand rate. McCullers continues to rack up Ks and groundballs (53.6% - 3rd in the AL) with the walks the only thing have really dragged him down as it has prevented him from pitching deeper into games. He is a nice source of wins and Strikeouts for your squad.
Matt Olson (1B-OAK)
Olson went 1-4 with a 2B and an RBI. Olson has put up MVP numbers for Oakland in 2021 leading the team in HR (20), RBIs (56) and even batting average (.283) - which is nearly 30 point higher than the next Oakland hitter. Olson has always shown a penchant for bigtime power as he has 123 career home runs in 500 games but the batting average is a nice development as he has pulled the ball at a career low (31%) and is shooting the ball more up the middle (52.9%) as well as going oppo at a career high 16%. He is seeing the ball exceptionally well sporting an 78% contact rate and 10% swinging strike rate - both career bests as he has cut his K rate almost in half (31% in 2020, 16% this year). If your stuck with Olson following a subpar 2020 you are being handsomely rewarded.
Jed Lowrie (2B-OAK)
Lowrie got the start at DH and went 2-4 with an RBI. After not playing 2020 and picking up just 9 PAs in 2019, Lowrie is showing he still has something left in the tank as he has put a solid .257/.331/.399 line with 18 doubles and 7 home runs. This is his 3rd stint with the Athletics, and all have been relatively productive but maybe his best two season came from 2017-2018. While his 2021 effort isn't quite going to match that effort that saw him play just about every game and pop a combined 86 doubles and 37 home runs, he has used a slightly above his career average .305 babip and a nice 10% BB rate to be relevant for the A's and for middle infield fantasy purposes.
Chas McCormick (OF-HOU)
McCormick went 2-3 with an RBI. McCormick has provided the Astros with a solid bat (.248 AVG, 10 HR, .821 OPS) as he has filled in at all 3 outfield positions for them in his Rookie season. McCormick but up decent, but not overwhelming minor leagues numbers from 2017-2019 and was mainly an on base guy as he drew more walks (67) then strikeouts (62) at AA/AAA in 2019. His game has transitioned a bit as he is still walking at an 8% clip but has a 30% K rate - a possible adjustment to Major League Pitching. The tradeoff though, has been 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 54 games - not too bad. He doesn't hit well vs lefties (.216 average) but is a nice bench piece.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Click here for details: https://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
