Andrew Heaney (SP - TEX) - Now that's what I'm talking about! I'm glad we had the courage of our convictions to stick with Heaney this week after his opening debacle against the O's, as Heaney put up the kind of start on Monday that was typical of him in 2022: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 10 K on 93 pitches. The control was iffy and he allowed a ton of flyballs per usual, but 19 swinging strikes in 93 pitches is phenomenal and gives you an idea of the ceiling here. Because of the limited arsenal (primarily FB/SL) and the iffy control he isn't likely to go deep into games, but he has been missing bats at an elite level and has a very solid offense supporting him. Love him as a back-end starter in just about all formats due to the upside.
Sean Murphy (C - ATL) - Murphy's lack of playing time thus far in 2023 has been a concern for those of us that believed that he would be a top-10 C this season, but the concussion suffered by Travis D'Arnaud Saturday should mean that Murphy will be the clear #1 catcher for the Braves for the next few weeks at least, instead of #1B. Murphy celebrated on Monday with a 3 XBH performance that included a game-winning 2-run walkoff HR, his first as a Brave. Murphy's combination of average to above-average contact and power is rare for a catcher, hence our enthusiasm for him in escaping Oakland for Atlanta this season....I fully expect him to provide top-10 value at the position this year even if he only accumulates 400-450 AB.
Zac Gallen (SP - ARI) - In his 3rd straight matchup against a top-10 2023 offense, Gallen finally looked like last year's version of himself. The 27 year old scattered 3 singles and a walk over 7 shutout innings, striking out 11 Brewers in a dominant performance. The GB rate was back to normal, he still allowed little hard contact, and the command returned....everything looked as it should. The schedule improves for him from here, with another tough matchup at home against the Padres sandwiched between a trip to Miami and a visit from the Royals. I'm going to consider "all systems go" here for Gallen now, and assume that he's back to the SP2 version of himself.
Gleyber Torres (2B - NYY) - Torres bounced back from a rare 0-fer on Sunday with a walk, double, and triple in the Yankees 3-2 loss to Cleveland on Monday. It's been noticeable to me (and the stats bear it out) that Torres has changed his approach to what has worked for him during hot streaks over the past few years, and that is a focus on driving the ball the opposite way. His contact rate through the first 8 games would be by far the rest of his career (up 9% to 83.8%), and the EV and ISO hold up against his best work to this point. Despite the length of time that he's been in the public eye, Torres is still just 26 and has always seemed to have the potential to perform at this higher level.....a 20/20 or even 30/30 season could very well be in the cards.
Shane Bieber (SP - CLE) - Bieber managed a 3rd straight QS on Monday, holding the Yankees to a pair of 1st-inning runs over 7 innings, walking 3 and fanning 4. There are some continuing warning signs with Bieber, as the velocity has continued to drop and the bat-missing has followed. He has never been better than average in terms of limiting quality contact, which just leaves his very good control as a major asset in the three major areas that we watch most closely for pitchers: SS%, BB rate, and GB rate. Bieber shouldn't be expected to fall off a cliff or anything, but I'm becoming concerned about his ability to remain a SP1 for fantasy purposes. I think he'll be fine, but I wouldn't mind quietly shopping him in hopes of finding someone that will still value him as one of the game's best.
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