David Festa, SP, Twins
David Festa had the best start of his young career on Monday, striking out nine over five scoreless innings against the Cubs. He only allowed two hits, two walks, and zero runs. He induced 14 whiffs on 36 swings, leading to an excellent 39% whiff rate and 35% CSW rate. Both of his secondaries were on point, as 8 of his whiffs were on his changeup and 5 of them were on his slider. After getting hit hard in his first two big league starts, he has pitched to a 1.88 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP over his last 3 starts with 22 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. There may be some growing pains as he settles into the big leagues, but his 13.28 K/9 in AAA this season shows that he has ace upside long-term. He is worth an add in any 12-team or deeper leagues based on his strikeout potential alone.
Tyler Fitzgerald, SS/OF, Giants
Tyler Fitzgerald went 2 for 4 with a solo home run on Monday, continuing his stretch of being one of the hottest hitters in the league. Since the All-Star break, he is hitting .361 with 15 runs, 10 home runs, and 17 runs batted in. He has shown no signs of slowing down, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually. He has a strikeout rate of 31% on the season, and even since the break he has struck out almost exactly 31 percent of the time. That is too many free outs for someone who doesn't hit the ball as hard as someone like Aaron Judge, so I expect that to catch up to him soon. He could still be a usable player for fantasy in the second half but don't expect him to keep up elite or even great production.
Ty France, 1B, Reds
Ty France went 3 for 5 with a solo home run on Monday, his first with the Reds. It was an encouraging sign for France, who is slashing just .224/.308/.356 with nine home runs on the year. After the Mariners designated him for assignment, they ultimately ended up sending him to Cincinnati, where he has some hope to turn his season around. Not only does he get to leave Seattle, which is known as one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in the league, but he lands in Great American Ballpark, which is one of the best places for hitters. Assuming he can maintain an everyday role with his new team, this puts him back on the radar as a corner infield option in 15-team roto leagues.
Logan Webb, SP, Giants
Logan Webb picked up his ninth win of the season on Monday against the Nationals, allowing four hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings. This was a solid start, but certainly not on the same level as the complete game shutout he threw in his last time on the mound. Still, he has shown that he is still one of the most reliable pitchers and consistent pitchers in the league, thanks to his 95th percentile 58% ground ball rate. Fifteen of his twenty-four starts have been quality starts, which is rare to find in this day and age. Webb remains a top-20 starting pitcher for standard roto leagues, and a top-15 pitcher for H2H leagues or roto leagues with quality starts as a category.
Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds
Elly De La Cruz went 4 for 5 with three runs, three RBI, two doubles, and two home runs on Monday. It's just more of what you would expect from one of the most exciting players in the league, and he is now slashing .261/.347/.496 with 20 home runs and 57 stolen bases on the season. It's safe to say that he won't match Ronald Acuna's 41 home runs from 2023, but he is well on his way to surpass the 73 stolen bases that he had. He still strikes out 30.2% of the time which can lead to cold streaks here and there, but it simply doesn't matter for a player who possesses so much raw power and speed. Not only is his 30.1 ft/sec sprint speed in the 99th percentile, but his 114.7 mph max exit velocity is in the 6th percentile. He even hit a ball as hard as 119.2 mph in 2023, which places him in the top 1 percent of the league. De La Cruz will clearly be a mainstay in the first round of fantasy leagues for years to come.
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