Shohei Ohtani-Dodgers-DH
Shohei Ohtani was 2-4 with an HR (46), 1 R, and 1 RBI in the win against the Guardians. He is hitting .291 with 46 HR, 113 R, 101 RBI, and 46 SB. It is one of the best fantasy seasons in history. Currently, it is the 9th best season ever by auction dollars earned. He has an outside chance of catching Ronald Acuna Jr. for the best season ever as he tries to become the first player to eclipse 50 HR/50 SB. Ohtani has elite plate skills (11% BB and 23% K) paired with elite quality of contact (20% Barrels and 59% Hardhit). He is a pure joy to watch and we should cherish his greatness.
C.J. Abrams-Nationals-SS
C.J. Abrams was 1-4 with a HR (19) against the Pirates. Abrams is hitting .238 with 19 HR, 74 R, 64 RBI, and 28 SB. He has hit the ball harder this year (7% Barrels and 40% Hardhit) and increased his fly ball rate which has led to a career-high in home runs. His first half gave a lot of optimism that he had become an elite fantasy player (.268 AVG with 15 HR, 59 R, 48 RBI, and 15 SB in 89 GP). However, he has tanked in the second half (.170 AVG with 4 HR, 15 R, 16 RBI, and 13 SB in 42 GP. Abrams has experienced some bad luck (.209 BABIP) but he has also struck out more (25% K) and has struggled to drive the ball (.088 ISO). It is hard to determine if the first half was the best we will see from Abrams or if he simply wore down as the season went on. The good news is that he is only 23 years old so there is still time for growth.
Michael Harris II-Braves-OF
Michael Harris II was 0-5 with a run scored against the Blue Jays. Harris II is hitting .244 with 9 HR, 39 R, 35 RBI, and 8 SB in 91 GP. It has been a disappointing season for the young outfielder. The prevailing thought coming into the year was that the only downside to his game was his low spot in the Braves lineup at the beginning of the year. Injuries and poor performance have occurred while he has hit leadoff a lot due to other Braves getting injured. Harris II is striking out more (22% K) due to chasing a lot out of the zone (44% O-swing). This has also resulted in lower barrel rates (9%) and hardhit% (44%). The potential for a 20 HR/20 SB season is still there but he will need to become more disciplined at the plate as pitchers have begun to exploit him out of the zone.
Luis Castillo-Mariners-SP
Luis Castillo went 3 IP and gave up 2 ER on 5 H, 1 BB, and 3 K's against the Cardinals. He left the game early with a hamstring injury. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday that will determine how long he is out. Castillo has a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP through 175.1 IP. Seattle has been the perfect spot for him. Castillo has seen his strikeouts drop this year (24% K). Unfortunately, he has also seen a major drop in his swinging strike rate which supports the drop in strikeouts. He's lost some effectiveness of his fastball both the four-seam and sinker. Batters hit .165 against this fastball and .236 off his sinker last year. This year they are hitting .200 against the fastball and .291 against the sinker. They are not major jumps but enough to justify going from a 3.34 ERA to a 3.64 ERA. Castillo either needs to miss more bats like last year or get ground balls like he did in the past. He finished inside the top-10 in auction dollars earned last year but is currently ranked #29 with three teammates outearning him (Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, and George Kirby).
Gunnar Henderson-Orioles-SS
Gunnar Henderson was 3-4 with a stolen base against the Rays. Henderson is hitting .282 with 36 HR, 108 R, 85 RBI, and 18 SB. He has not slowed down all year and has transformed into one of the top fantasy players in the game. Henderson has plus plate skills (11% BB and 22% K) and hits the ball hard (12% Barrels and 54% Hardhit). He has the potential to take his game even further if he gets a little bit more aggressive by walking less and putting more balls in play. He's been a top-10 overall player in auction dollars earned (#7 overall) in his breakout 2024 season.
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