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| Thursday, April 14, 2022 |
| Happy Thursday, everyone! Wednesday's action featured the combination of our first perfect game sighting and also our first 2022 season controversy. Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw was ultimately in some cases drafted as an overlooked mid-round pitcher but instead looked like vintage Kershaw in his debut. The future Hall of Famer pitched seven perfect innings and struck out 13 in the most unhittable pitching performance of the young season. And then, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to pull him. |
| While we're all well aware of Kershaw's injury history and that he didn't pick up a baseball until January after dealing with elbow issues last season, he was only through 80 pitches when Roberts pulled him. And if you were watching along, it wasn't like Kershaw was laboring through any moment of the game. Long term, it's probably a winning decision by Roberts -- and the Dodgers didn't exactly lose anything in the short term either -- but there have only been 23 perfect games thrown in the history of baseball, and the most recent one came when King Félix Hernández did it against Tampa Bay all the way back on Aug. 15, 2012. All I'm saying is that it would've been fun to see. |
| Overall, Kershaw induced an absurd 20 swinging strikes on 80 total pitches -- 17 of those 27 whiffs coming via his slider. We're going to dive into all of the other important takeaways from Wednesday's action, including Vlad Guerrero's assertively dominant three-homer night, and everything else you need to know if you missed out on the slate. |
| But first, in case you missed it on Wednesday, Scott White delivered us a few more names to target on our waiver wires. He also broke down whether or not you should be buying or selling on early-season breakouts like Marlins SP Jesus Luzardo and Mets SP Tylor Megill. Chris Towers also dove even deeper on some of Fantasy Baseball's early breakouts and who their current breakout can be compared to from years past. And for those of you who are already looking to shake up your roster, Chris has you covered with a trade values chart for both H2H and Roto scoring formats. |
| And of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify. |
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| Vlad doing Vlad things |
| If you followed Scott's rankings, you probably ended up with a whole lot of Vlad Guerrero on your roster in snake drafts, and on Wednesday he gave a glimpse of why that's such an excellent luxury to have. Vlad shook off an early scare when he was spiked early in the game to rip off three home runs and a double -- in the process he became the only Blue Jay to ever hit three homers off the Yankees. While Vlad won't give you the speed that other early first-round picks offered, he might make up for it and then some in the other four categories. |
| Robert the early front runner for this year's Vlad |
| Before the season began, I asked the Fantasy Baseball Today triumphant to name which player they thought had the best chance to become this year's Guerrero. In other words, which player who wasn't selected in the first rounds of 2022 drafts would be a sure-fire first-round pick in 2023. Chris went with Byron Buxton (of course), Frank went with Nick Castellanos and Scott -- who in perfect Scott White form admitted beforehand to lacking imagination -- went with Christian Yelich. I didn't participate on the published panel, but wrote in the thread -- Luis Robert. |
| And in Roto leagues, Robert has to be the early runaway favorite for this honor. On Wednesday, he added another home run -- that's back-to-back days for Robert. But his box score yesterday didn't just feature a home run. It also included two stolen bases to bring his bags total to a league-leading four (now tied with Guardians OF Myles Straw). Here are his sparkling Roto totals so far: 350/.381/.700 with two homers, three RBI and four stolen bases. |
| Speaking of stolen bases... |
| Wednesday's stolen base getters included a few 'surprise bags' as well. |
| Myles Straw, OF, Guardians 1 (4)Tyler Naquin, OF, Reds 1 (1)Trea Turner, SS/2B, Dodgers 1 (1)Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros 1 (2)Cooper Hummel, C, Diamondbacks 1 (1)Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Diamondbacks 1 (1) |
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| Shoutout to FBT newsletter subscriber and award-winning podcast listener Jordan Feivelson who has been touting Diamondbacks C Cooper Hummel as his NL-only steal, and if he's providing even any speed from the catcher position, he's probably worth considering elsewhere. Hummel batted leadoff on Wednesday, by the way. |
| Entering the SP1 (Top-12) discussion? |
| Logan Webb, SP, Giants: Webb has picked up right where he left off as one of the most dominant pitchers in Fantasy Baseball during the second half of the 2021 season. He went eight strong innings on Wednesday and generated 15 swinging strikes on 96 pitches in a game he was totally in command from start to finish. On the season, Webb's stat line reads: 1.29 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, nine strikeouts and just one walk. |
| Five more standout hitting performances |
| Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets: Alonso collected a three-run homer to go along with a pair of RBI doubles and he's now racked up 10 RBI on the young season. If you drafted him as a sneaky breakout candidate who for some reason slipped into the fourth rounds at the beginning of draft season, you're very happy right now. Bryce Harper, OF, Phillies: This one wasn't a standout to me for any kind of dominant performance from the consensus first-round pick, but it was his first home run of the season and a reminder not to panic if you drafted him. Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Tigers: It has been a slow start to the season for one the top prospects in baseball, so it was great to see him rip his first home run of the year and his career.Owen Miller, 2B, Guardians: The unsuspecting 25-year-old is off to an incredible start and that included a pair of home runs and a single on Wednesday night. Miller is now 11-for-21 with two home runs and five doubles. He appears to be here to stay at first base and will soon gain eligibility there as well. He's still probably someone more so worth rostering in deeper leagues, but we couldn't fault you for taking a swing in one of those formats. Cody Bellinger, OF, Dodgers: Bellinger hit his first home run of the season to go along with a double and a walk. And this home run was launched vintage Bellinger style. It was also his first RBI of the season and he even added a stolen base to his total earlier this week. |
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| News and lineup notes from Wednesday |
| Every night the Fantasy Baseball Today team dives into all of the happenings around the MLB from top performers to injuries, trades and more. The podcast is a must listen for any diehard, if I do say so myself. Tune into the podcast to hear the FBT crew expand on the news and notes below. |
| Padres SP Blake Snell is expected to be placed on the IL Thursday. That means MacKenzie Gore is on track for his MLB debut Friday against the Braves. He's 58% rostered. Twins OF/1B Alex Kirilloff was placed on the IL because of that surgically-repaired right wrist and does not have a timetable. Trevor Larnach was recalled by the Twins (5% rostered for those in deeper leagues).Blue Jays OF Teoscar Hernandez exited early with left side discomfort and is headed for an MRI. If he misses extended time we could see Raimel Tapia pick up more playing time.White Sox OF Eloy Jimenez left after fouling a ball off his ankle. X-rays came back negative.Orioles SP John Means left his start due to left forearm tightness. I hope it's nothing too serious, but pay attention to the name Grayson Rodriguez. He's arguably the best pitching prospect in the game. The problem is he's only made one start at Triple-A, and the Orioles don't really have a reason to rush him.Braves SP Max Fried left in the sixth inning of his start after being struck by a comebacker in his leg. He said afterwards that he feels fine. Trevor Bauer will remain on administrative leave through April 22 in a joint agreement by MLB and the players association. He's still 80% rostered. Red Sox SS Trevor Story returned to the lineup Wednesday and went 2-3 with an RBI.Phillies RP Corey Knebel was reinstated from the COVID IL after he reported flu-like symptoms.Giants OF Heliot Ramos was sent back to Triple-A after Wednesday's game. He was 2-6 with a walk and a run scored. Phillies 2B Jean Segura left after being hit by a pitch in his left arm. He experienced some numbness in his hand but said he hopes to play Thursday.Tigers 2B/SS Javier Baez was scratched Wednesday due to right thumb soreness. A.J. Hinch said he's hopeful Baez will return Thursday.Mariners RP Ken Giles is still about two weeks away from throwing because of a tendon strain in his middle finger. White Sox SP Lance Lynn started his throwing program Wednesday and said that he's further along than anticipated in his recovery from knee surgery.Giants SS Brandon Crawford was out of the lineup Wednesday with a wrist injury. He's hopeful he can rejoin the lineup on Friday.Brewers RP Aaron Ashby will make his first start of the season Sunday against the Cardinals. It's unknown whether he'll remain in the rotation.Rays SP Luis Patiño was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL with that left oblique strain.Mariners OF Kyle Lewis has started taking live batting practice at the team's spring training complex. As Frank noted, the Mariners outfield will get even more crowded once he returns. If Julio Rodriguez or Jarred Kelenic is still struggling, they could find themselves on the outs. |
| Lineup notes |
| Brewers 1B Keston Hiura has basically handled the short-side of a platoon to start the season.Mariners OF Jarred Kelenic and Jesse Winker were both on the bench against a lefty.Diamondbacks C/OF Daulton Varsho was not in the lineup against lefty Framber Valdez. Varsho is 2-16 with five walks to six strikeouts through five games. |
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