Gavin Stone
Stone was absolutely electric for the Dodgers on Monday night, tossing 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K. He only allowed five hard hit balls and collected an incredible 37% CSW. Stone thrives on strike throwing, execution, and weak contact. His stuff is also respectable, which all combined makes for spark outings like this one every now and then. He isn't a strikeout guy all the time (18.7% on the season) but he can be when it all clicks. He's also consistent, as Stone has posted 12 starts of 22 with at least 5 IP and 2 ER or less. He is one of my favorite extra starters, especially against weaker opponents.
Other Notes...
Yusei Kikuchi
Many felt that Houston overpaid in trade value for Kikuchi at the deadline, but he has been really good in all four of his starts so far. Kikcuhi went 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, marking his fourth start in a row of allowing only 2 ER or less. Houston tweaked Kikuchi's pitch usage, spiking his Slider usage from 19.3% in July to 32.4% in August. It came at the expense of Curveball usage, which dipped from 12.5% in July to 4.9% in August. Kikuchi's curveball had a .425 xwOBA against it in July, and his slider had a .276 xwOBA against it in the same span. Sometimes it's really that simple. I view Kikuchi as a spot-starter moving forward.
Zach Neto
Neto went 1-4 with a solo homerun, as he continues to be one of the best hitters in a brutal Angels lineup. Neto has turned it on a bit in August, as he's slashing .279/.371/.574. His hard-hit rate, EV, Barrel%, and LA Sweet Spot % are all actually down from last year, but his xwOBACON is up a substantial .033 points and his wOBA is up 0.036 points. His popup percentage is up 2.1% and his weak contact % is up 2.5%. This dynamic can only be caused by Neto have a large number of "middle" contact balls that aren't hit particularly hard nor particularly ideal launch angles, yet land in a goldilocks zone that still allow the balls in play to fall for hits, and that is what xwOBA and xwOBACON are picking up. Neto is somewhat worse than average in the whiff chase, and bat speed department. All this is to say that I don't think we are getting a "breakout" as much as it looks like.
TJ Friedl
Friedl was super productive at the plate on Monday, going 3-4 with 2 R, HR, RBI. He is a really tempting player to roster in fantasy. Friedl went 18 HR - 27 SB last year while batting .279, certainly making him playable. His HR% has jumped from 3.2% to 4.6%, and his full season pace would have him just under 20 SB. Unfortunately, Freidl is really just left handed Isaac Paredes. He doesn't hit the ball hard at all (85.6 EV, 31 Hard Hit %), lacks bat speed,and has expected figures don't like him as well (.298 xwOBA, .231 xBA). His offensive profile is entirely driven by being to hit deep, pulled fly balls every once in a while, making him a risky play.
Adrian Del Castillo
Del Castillo went 2-4 with R, 6 RBI, HR, BB, K in a highly productive Monday at the plate. He was called up only two weeks ago, but is slashing - across nine games. It's from a really small sample size, but Del Castillo is posting a .532 xSLG and a 22.2% Barrel rate, both of which are sky high and therefore unsustainable. I'm a bit split on the profile, as he is whiffing at 31.6% thus far, which is leading to a 34.4% strikeout rate. That being said, Del Castillo was excellent in AAA before his call up. He posted a .428 wOBA across 452 PAs, while only striking out 16.8% of the time and walking 11.5% of the time. Strikeout rates normally rise from the minor leagues to the majors for obvious reasons, but Del Castillo's has doubled. I don't think the K rate is representative of what we will see moving forward, but neither is the offensive output. He most likely ends up somewhere in the middle. Nonetheless, catchers that can hit are at a premium, and it makes Del Castillo a priority add unless you're rolling out one of the bigger guys.
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PHOTO COURTESY: Spanneraol
