Taj Bradley, SP, TB
Bradley was phenomenal against the Reds on Tuesday striking out 9 batters in 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just 3 hits and 1 BB. In two starts with the Rays now, he has compiled a 17:2 K:BB across 10.1 IP, en route to a 2.61 ERA and 2.15 xFIP. He is an excellent situation fantasy-wise pitching for one of the best teams in baseball and in a pitcher's park, and with Jeffrey Springs expected to miss the rest of the season, Bradley is here to stay. He needs to be picked up wherever he's available.
Lucas Giolito, SP, CWS
Giolito tossed 6 no-hit innings against the Phillies on Tuesday, allowing just 1 BB and striking out 7 in the second game of a doubleheader. Giolito has now pitched well in 3 of his 4 starts this season although the one rough outing has left him with a somewhat bloated 4.29 ERA. He owns a 23:4 K:BB across 21 IP and has been limiting hard contact (33.3% HardHit% entering Tuesday). The one major knock on him is that he has been allowing too many flyballs (48.0% FB% entering Tuesday) which could eventually come back to haunt him. Still, his early season results suggest that he will do a lot better than his 4.90 ERA from a year ago.
Lance Lynn, SP, CWS
Lynn had another rough outing against the Phillies on Tuesday allowing 5 ER's on 10 hits and 3 BB's in 5.1 IP, raising his ERA to 7.59 through 4 starts this season. On the bright side, he struck out 7 and didn't allow a HR for the first time this season. Lynn has had plenty of tough luck in the early going with a .404 BABIP and 25.0% HR/FB% and he owns a respectable 4.03 xFIP. His 4.22 BB/9 is disappointing though, especially after he posted an elite 1.41 BB/9 across 21 starts last season. He should continue to provide fantasy value via his strikeout totals, but unless he cuts back on the walks, don't count on him to help your ratios.
Chris Sale, SP, BOS
Sale had his best outing in years against the Twins on Tuesday, striking out 11 in 6 IP, while allowing 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB's. Sale's ERA is still an unsightly 8.00, but he has now struck out 30 batters in 18 IP while producing an xFIP of 3.23. He hasn't simply been the victim of bad luck; he has been allowing a lot of hard contact (48.6% HardHit% entering Tuesday) and has a BB/9 of 4.50. But if the strikeout stuff is still there, as it appears to be, he could be in for a nice bounceback season, assuming he stays healthy.
Trea Turner, SS, PHI
Turner had a rough day at the office on Tuesday, going 0-8 with 4 strikeouts across both games of a doubleheader against the White Sox. Turner is still hitting .303 for the season, but the power has been all but non-existent, as he has just 4 XBH's on the season and no HR's. His 30.9% HardHit% is easily a career worst, and his Barrel% is a miniscule 1.8%. On top of that, his SwStr% is a career worst 16.6% (career 10.2%) although he has still managed to keep the strikeouts from getting out of control. It's still too early to be too concerned about the superstar, but fantasy owners are hoping to get a little more out of their first round pick.
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