Ben Rice (1B/DH-Yankees)
Rice continues his torrid start with his 3rd home run of the season. Now sporting a .306 batting average and 1.086 OPS, Rice has seemingly taken over as the Yankees everyday leadoff hitter. He displays characteristics of a more "modern" top of the order hitter as he has drawn 7 walks and struck out 11 times over 11 games while displaying big power with 6 xbh. He is 2 for 3 on the bases this year; his speed is sneaky as he stole double digit bases multiple times in the minors. The only thing holding him back from being a true fantasy monster is positioning. He has picked up most starts at DH while spelling Paul Goldschmidt a few times at 1B. If Rice can snag enough starts behind the dish to gain C eligibility that will really elevate him.
Mitch Keller (SP - Pirates)
Keller pitched 7.1 shutout innings striking out 6. He may have even turned in an overall better line then the pitcher he opposed, Erick Fedde who threw 6 no-hit innings. Keller opened the season with a strong start vs the Marlins (6 Ip, 1 ER) followed by a clunker vs the Yankees (3.2 IP, 7 ER) so it was great to see him get back on track. Keller will take a 4.24 ERA into two starts next week at home vs the Nationals and Guardians. He could be a great streaming option in weekly leagues as the Pirates have not gotten much from their bullpen so I would expect Keller to pitch deep.
Kyle Stowers (OF - Marlins)
Stowers went 1-4 with a walk and a run scored Wednesday. It continues a trend from spring training for Stowers who added a walk and a strikeout to his season's stats to give him 8 and 14 respectively. He stuffed the stat sheet in the spring with 12 BB and 18 Ks but didn't do much else as he hit .175 with zero extra base hits. Stowers showed pop in the minor leagues and has made good hard contact so far (52%) but has put 66% of his batted balls on the ground. If Stowers can get some additional lift I think the ceiling here is a "three true outcomes guy" - meaning HR, Ks and BB will make up most of his game.
Max Meyer (SP-Marlins)
Meyer shutout the Mets over 6.2 Innings, striking out 4 while allowing 2 hits. Meyer has been solid for the Marlins through 3 turns in the rotation. The third overall pick of the 2020 draft struggled to a 5.68 ERA last year thanks to giving up 14 home runs in 11 starts. He has given up just 1 so far this year and his strikeout numbers early on are near what they were in the minor leagues. The Marlins have good fortune churning out starting pitchers and Meyer may be the next in line. Meyer has a two start fantasy week lined up for next week in what will be a very telling couple of starts as he will face the potent Diamondbacks and Phillies offenses.
MLB Debut- Tsung-Che Cheng (SS - Pirates)
Cheng made his MLB debut Wednesday going 0-2 with a cs while hitting 9th and playing SS. Injuries across the Pirates infield allowed him to get the call despite a 1-14 start at AAA. He checked in at 17 on MLB.coms preseason ranking for the Pirates and while he hit .225 last year mostly at AA he drew walks at an 12% clip and hit 11 home runs and stole 17 bases. The Pirates don't have a long term SS and he should draw a few starts a week at both 2B and SS since he has a good glove.
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