Gerrit Cole
Cole made another rehab start in AAA tonight, obviously dominating a helpless Rochester lineup. He went 4.1 innings, throwing exactly 70 pitches, and punched out 10 batters while allowing no runs. This was his third rehab start. The prior two had gone swimmingly, so it is super encouraging for him to still look like his dominant form. It is unclear how many more rehab starts he has, but I'd be knocking at the door of his owner in your league to see if the asking price is fair before he blows up.
Other Notes...
MacKenzie Gore
Gore put together an excellent outing on Friday night, going 7 innings, striking out 10, and allowing only one earned run. His 38% CSW allowed him to routinely get ahead of and put away hitters. Gore has surrendered 3 ER or less in all but one start this season, so the consistency is commendable. The issue with Gore is that he is only an average strike-thrower and really only misses barrels some of the time. There has been a lot of contact against him this season, as his .256 xBA against is only good for 34th Percentile. He lacks arsenal depth, as the Changeup has been hit around a bit this year (.596 xSLG against) and the Slider has been just ok (.398 xSLG). In the age of quality Sliders being thrown at quantity, Gore relies on a curveball from a low release point, negating some of the deception. The low release point and lack of a quality slider/changeup make it hard for him to keep the ball out of the air (35.7 GB%, 17th Percentile). That being said, I really like some of the elements Gore brings, but just want to temper expectations. I like him as a filler against weaker matchups in H2H leagues.
Luis Gil
The rookie tossed 5 innings of one run ball against the Red Sox, but it was by no means clean. Gil danced around 8 hard hit balls and four walks, requiring 104 pitches to get through those five innings. It was nice to see him battle though. He's had a solid June, allowing only 4 ER in 16.2 innings. The walks are a problem (11.9%) but he's managed them to date. I'm not sure I'd buy high on Gil. While xERA (2.64) and FIP (3.05) say it's legit, xFIP (3.63) and his low GB% (37.3), high LOB% (82.8), and crazy low BABIP (.185) point to some regression. I think he's a solid start but not sure he can keep this up long term. You can buy in dynasty if you want but I wouldn't overpay.
Hunter Brown
Brown came into today with a 5.49 ERA, which would've ranked third highest amongst qualified starters, but he isn't qualified because Houston has to pull him from games early. Dig aside, Brown made light work of the Tigers by cruising through seven shutout innings, walking none and allowing no runs while punching out nine. He set a season high for punchouts and innings, and now has back-to-back scoreless starts. I'll certainly applaud Brown for the effort, but I'm not rushing to add him at all. Brown throws his fastball 40% of the time, but it has a 92.9 EV and 21 LA against it. xBA (.250) says that its performance against (.323 BA) is profoundly unlucky. It seems like Brown really needs to execute from game to game, as there is little room for error in his arsenal.
Alex Verdugo
Verdugo had quite the day against Boston, his former team, going 3-5 with a R, HR, 4 RBI. He is a favorite of mine in points leagues where plate discipline matters. He refuses to punchout (13.9%) and is a league average walker (7.9%). He's actually well on pace to break his career high HR and RBI totals. Again, he's an underrated player in points leagues, and would have no problem buying at a fair price.
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