Kyle Schwarber, OF, Phillies
Kyle Schwarber had a monster game on Tuesday to lead the Phillies to a 10-9 win over the Blue Jays. He went 5 for 6 with 3 home runs and a double, tallying 4 runs and 6 RBI. His final home run, a three-run blast, put the Phillies up 10-8 in the ninth inning against Toronto closer Chad Green. This was his first game with a home run in almost three weeks, and it brings his season total to 31 to go along with 92 runs and 88 RBI. His .245 batting average is also a significant improvement over .197 and .218 marks over the past two seasons, so it's no wonder that he has been a clear top-10 outfielder for fantasy purposes. This could be a sign of the start of a signature Schwarber hot streak, and he could almost single-handedly carry your team through the fantasy baseball playoffs.
David Peterson, SP, Mets
David Peterson continued his stretch of dominance by pitching his best game yet on Tuesday against the Red Sox. He allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out eleven batters in six innings. This was his sixth straight start where he has allowed two earned runs or less, and he actually has only given up more than two runs twice all season. He's the most recent example of an extended hot streak that seemingly makes no sense according to any underlying data. Despite his 2.75 ERA on the year, his xFIP is 4.17, his xBA of .211 is in the bottom 11 percent of the league, and his 81:40 K:BB in 98.1 innings shows that he strikes out too few and walks too many batters to be a standout pitcher at this level. Still, he has found a way to get it done solely based on his 90th percentile 52.7% groundball rate and some luck. Now isn't the time to speculate with so little of the season left, so I would continue to start him at this point while he continues to find a way to get the job done. Just don't be surprised if he has a blowup outing soon, and don't expect him to be a highly-ranked fantasy asset going into 2025.
Kyle Harrison, SP, Giants
Kyle Harrison got lit up on Tuesday, giving up six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 2.2 innings. This is coming on the heels of a five-run outing his last time out, so it's safe to say he is in a skid at the moment. His profile wasn't encouraging even when he was successful, as he has an average exit velocity of 90.7% (9th percentile) 23.8% whiff rate (38th percentile), and a 4.79 xERA (19th percentile). He is still only 23, so he has time to figure it out, but as of now, it's clear that he is a below-average major-league pitcher. His favorable home park certainly helps him over-perform his expected stats, so I would consider him a streaming option at best for when he is facing a weak offense at home.
Carlos Rodon, SP, Yankees
Carlos Rodon reached the double-digit strikeout mark for the second time this season, punching out 11 over 6 innings against the Rangers. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks. He was extremely hard to hit this time out, collecting 19 whiffs on 50 swings and 99 pitches, good for a 38% whiff rate and 19% swinging strike rate. His slider was especially dominant, collecting 10 whiffs on 16 swings. It's been an up-and-down season for Rodon, who has now had a good start every other start for his past five starts, with two poor starts sandwiched between them. He's still someone who you'll want to play the matchups with, and he'll look to continue his success next time out against the Royals.
Justin Martinez, RP, Diamondbacks
Justin Martinez recorded his 8th save on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts over 1.1 innings against the Giants. He came into the game with 2 outs in the 8th inning to preserve a two-run lead, and he got out of that inning despite giving up a one-run single to the first batter he faced. The Diamondbacks tacked on an extra run of support in the top of the ninth before sending Martinez back out for the bottom of the inning, where he gave up another run but ultimately shut the door and recorded the save. Torey Lovullo recently said that they want to get Paul Sewald back in the closer role, so a shaky outing like this could put Martinez on the outside looking in. He still got the save in the end, but make sure you keep an eye on Arizona's bullpen usage if you currently have Martinez in your lineup for saves.
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