Growing up I loved Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs. The 1998 Home Run duel between Sosa and Mark McGwire was a highlight of my childhood and was ultimately where my infatuation with baseball and statistics began. That infatuation then grew exponentially a few years later when my father took me to my first Major League game between the Cubs and Rockies at Coors Field. We sat a few rows up behind home plate where I witnessed Slammin' Sammy hit three, 3-run Home Runs, in three consecutive innings. I was elated, it was as if the game was scripted for me. I've personally witnessed a lot of great sports games since then, from Brett Favre at Lambeau to LeBron James in the finals, but nothing compares to the show that my favorite player put on for me at my first baseball game.
Alex Wood, SP, SF Wood improved his record to 4-0 with 7.0 innings of one-run ball against the Rangers on Monday evening. Wood struck out seven while allowing four hits and three walks. Wood has been very consistent so far...
Trever Rogers, SP, MIA Rogers gave up one run in 5.0 innings of work and collected his fourth win of the season on Friday night. The 23-year-old struck out six while allowing four hits and walking two in the outing....
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, TOR Guerrero Jr. went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI on Wednesday night in Boston. He added a pair of walks in the game, which really personifies his improvements at the plate this...
Wilson Ramos, C, DET Ramos hit a pair of round-trippers on Tuesday night in Houston. He now has six homers on the season, which leads the entire league. The veteran backstop has reinvented himself so far in his short tenure...
Joe Musgrove, SP, SD Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in the 53-year history of the San Diego Padres franchise on Friday night in front of 25,757 fans in Arlington. The lone blemish on Musgrove's fantastic night was when he plunked...
John Means, SP, BAL Means allowed just one hit across 7.0 shutout innings in Boston on Friday afternoon. The southpaw gave up a leadoff single to Kiki Hernandez to start the game, then allowed just one more baserunner (via error)...
Arizona Diamondbacks Starters to consider beyond Bumgarner With Zac Gallen going down with a hairline stress fracture in his throwing arm, the D-backs rotation behind Madison Bumgarner is relatively unproven. Merrill Kelly has been named the second starter, with southpaw...
Toronto Blue Jays Pearson progressing but won't be ready by opening day The Jays top prospect Nate Pearson (groin) is reportedly throwing a bullpen session today but won't have enough time to get fully stretched out by the time the...
Boston Red Sox What kind of Fantasy value is there in the starting rotation? Chris Sale (Tommy John) should make his way back to the mound this season but the timetable for his return is still unknown at this juncture....
Chad Kuhl, SP, PIT Kuhl hurled seven scoreless innings en route to his second win of the season on Thursday afternoon. He gave up just two hits, walked three, and struck out five in the contest. Kuhl has really struggled...
Dylan Bundy, SP, LAA Bundy notched his 6th win of the season on Monday afternoon in LA. He gave up three runs on five hits and struck out three in the contest. Bundy has been a pleasant surprise for the...
Travis D'Arnaud, C/1B, ATL D'Arnaud went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBI on Sunday against the Mets. He extended his hitting streak to five games and has now collected a hit in 11 of his last 12...
Zac Gallen, SP, ARI Gallen went seven strong innings on Friday, giving up just one run on five hits against the Giants. The youngster impressed in his first big league action last season and has backed it up in his...
Randal Grichuk, OF, TOR Grichuk went 2 for 4 with a three-run homer on Monday but was pulled late due to "lower back tightness." The speculation is that this was just a precautionary measure and that Grichuk should be fine...
Sean Newcomb, SP, ATL Newcomb gave up six earned runs in just 4.1 innings of work on Friday against the Mets. The southpaw surrendered a pair of homeruns and gave up six hits in the outing. After two short starts,...
Mark Canha, OF, OAK Canha hit his first home run of 2020 on Monday afternoon against the Angels. He is now batting .333 and has recorded at least one hit in each of his three starts this season. Canha isn't...
Boston Red Sox Delayed start to the season might aid ailing Sox After DFA'ing Hector Velazquez, the Red Sox signed former Astro Collin McHugh to a one-year deal. McHugh hasn't pitched since August 30th due to a flexor strain, but...
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Should you go with the young righty or the veteran lefty in the desert? ESPN's 2020 H2H categories rankings has Zac Gallen ranked 40th and Robbie Ray ranked one spot behind him at 41st in their preseason starting...
BOSTON RED SOX The loss of 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts is obviously the most impactful off-season development for the Sox. Newcomer Alex Verdugo, who was acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Betts deal, is most likely to...
Kevin Newman, SS, PIT Newman hit a pair of dingers and drove in five of the Pirates six runs on Friday against the Reds. The rookie shortstop has contributed across the board this season in his 522 plate appearances. He...
Danny Santana, OF, TEX Santana hit a Grand Slam for his 27th homer of the season on Thursday afternoon. It was his only hit in the game, but it was a big one. To say Santana is having a career...
Mike Soroka, SP, ATL Soroka won his 13th decision of the season yesterday, limiting the Phillies to just two runs and five hits in 5.0 innings of work. Soroka has been the best rookie starting pitcher this season by miles....
Mike Foltynewicz, SP, ATL Foltynewicz won his third straight decision with 6.0 innings of one-run ball in Washington. The 27-year-old has been pitching very well as of late; he boasts a miniscule 1.84 ERA over his last six starts (34.1...
Jorge Soler, OF, KC Soler hit his 44th homer of the season on Thursday afternoon off of White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. He has now gone deep three times in the past two days and six times over the past...
Howie Kendrick, 1B, 2B, 3B, WSH Kendrick went 3 for 5 and hit his 14th homer of the season on Thursday night. The three hits brought his average up to a stellar .323 on the season and the 14 homers...
Jon Lester, SP, CHC Lester tossed 6.0 shutout innings on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. The southpaw didn't surrender a run but he was under duress for most of the contest. He gave up four hits and walked a season high...
Bo Bichette, SS, TOR For the first time in his young career, Bo Bichette failed to record a hit. He started his career with an 11-game hitting streak and had hit a double in each of the last nine games....
Jason Heyward, OF, CHC Heyward went 2 for 5 with a triple and a home run on Sunday afternoon. He now has 17 homers and has his average up to .276 on the season. The addition of Nicholas Castellanos figures...
Michael Pineda, SP, MIN Pineda threw 7.0 innings of one-run ball on Thursday night in Miami, but was ultimately denied his 8th win of the season as the Twins bullpen blew a 4-1 lead in the 9th inning. Pineda has...
Ketel Marte, 2B, ARI Marte continued his breakout campaign on Monday evening with his 23rd home run of the season. He finished the night 2 for 4 and tallied three RBI, which gives him 65 for the year. Marte has...
Nelson Cruz, DH, MIN Cruz exploded for three home runs on Thursday evening against the White Sox. He has now homered in four consecutive games--and five out of the last six--giving him 25 total on the season. Additionally, Cruz is...
Mike Leake, SP, SEA Leake came within three outs of completing the first perfect game in the MLB since August 15, 2012 (Thrown by his teammate Felix Hernadez). LAA's Luis Rengifo served a base-hit to right field to break up...
Ketel Marte, SS, ARI Marte went 4 for 6, with a pair of doubles, on Thursday afternoon against the Rockies. The hot-hitting Marte now has four consecutive games with three or more hits, and it's his fifth game in a...
Taylor Rogers, RP, MIN Rogers recorded his second save in as many days against the Royals on Saturday night. A minor back issue kept Rogers from action for a few days this past week, but he is clearly past that...
Shohei Ohtani, DH, LAA Ohtani hit for the cycle against the Rays on Thursday evening. He would finish the night 4 for 4 with three RBI and a pair of runs. Ohtani was basically the Angels' only offense on the...
Alex Gordon, OF, KC Gordon went 3 for 5, with a home run, on Thursday afternoon against the Red Sox. Gordon now has 10 dingers and his average has climbed up to .285 on the season. The 35-year-old is enjoying...