Eye Opener for Eovaldi

It was another memorable day on the Major League Baseball diamond on Wednesday, but mostly because of outstanding pitching performances and not due to many offensive explosions. We've come to expect gems from Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, etc. However, Nathan Eovaldi was a blast from the past, re-emerging as a useful fantasy option in his season debut. There were also a pair of players with the same last name swatting homers in Kansas City, although the two were not related. It was a fun day of action. Let's get started!




Wednesday's Fantasy Five

Eovaldi was making his first start in the majors since August 2016 after battling back from a pair of surgeries to his pitching elbow. It was uncertain how well he would pitch in his season debut, especially since he was touched for eight runs over just four innings in his final minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham. He lasted just 70 pitches in the debut, but the pitch restriction wasn't due to poor performance. Eovaldi sizzled by twirling six no-hit innings, yielding just one walk with four strikeouts in the victory, throwing 46 strikes. He recorded first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 19 batters he faced, impressing even the most skeptical fantasy owners. He'll be a very hot property off the waiver wire after this outstanding performance. He'll have a stern test next time out when he matches up with Max Scherzer in Washington D.C. next Tuesday. Perhaps we'll get a better understanding on how well he is back.

Speaking of Scherzer, he improved to 9-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.92 in another impressive outing. The multi-colored eyed starter spun eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, one walk and 12 strikeouts in a victory in Baltimore. His heroics spoiled a quality start by David Hess of the O's, who allowed just one earned run, four hits and a walk over six innings. Scherzer threw 83 of his 112 pitches for strikes, recording a game score of 89 in the peerless performance. He has recorded 11 or more strikeouts in four of the past five outings, and he has managed quality starts in nine of his past 10 assignments. He retired 24 of the 27 batters he faced, picking up his eighth straight win. Scherzer has struck out 10 or more batters on 72 different occasions.




Jorge Soler had a huge game in Wednesday's 11-8 win against the Minnesota Twins, racking up two singles, a double and a home run with two runs scored and two RBI. He might not have the fantasy following of many others on this list, but he certainly put smiles of the faces of those who rolled the dice on him in DFS. The 26-year-old Cuban outfielder entered the game with just one multi-hit game over the past 14 outings, going 6-for-56 (.107). So this was quite the surprise, as he racked up multiple extra-base hits in a single game for just the fourth time this season. He has a long way to go before he re-gains the trust of fantasy players in mixed formats, but he is a strong play in AL-only leagues while running hot.

Corey Kluber normally has a lot of trouble with Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox, but he dominates the rest of the team. The first baseman for the Pale Hose was hitless in three at-bats with a walk and two strikeouts, so you can imagine how well the Klubot did before seeing the exact stats. The two-time Cy Young Award winner allowed just two singles and a double with no walks and 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings against the ChiSox to move to 8-2 while lowering his ERA to 2.02. Is another Cy Young Award in his future?

Matt Kemp finished Wednesday's 8-2 victory against the Phillies by posting a double, a home run and four RBI across four at-bats, pushing his batting average up to .345. He has re-emerged as a No. 1 fantasy outfielder type in most formats, as he is up to 14 doubles, seven homers and 30 RBI. Kemp is on pace for 21 homers and 88 RBI, so he still has a long way to go if he wants to record his fifth-career 100-RBI season. Most of his production has come across the past couple of weeks, as he has 12 RBI over the past 11 outings.

Fantasy Game of the Night

The battle between the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals was a very entertaining affair. It was a rare victory for the Royals at home, as they're still just 9-19 in 28 games at Kauffman Stadium this season. We touched on Soler above, but he was not the only Kansas City hitter to shine. Mike Moustakas posted a double, his 12th home run and four RBI, giving him at least one extra-base hit in three consecutive outings. Hunter Dozier recorded his first Major League homer, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. It had to be rather confusing for the radio and television announcers, as Brian Dozier of the Twins, no relation, also went deep. Also unrelated, Alcides Escobar and Eduardo Escobar were on opposite sides facing one another. Ryan Goins showed off his wheels with his first triple of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. Jon Jay went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. It wasn't a memorable performance for Brad Keller, who was making his first Major League start. He lasted just three innings, allowing an earned run, three hits and a walk with one wild pitch and three strikeouts. There will be better days for Keller, who was replacing Erik Skoglund in the rotation.

As far as the Twins are concerned, it was a nightmare performance for Fernando Romero. He was touched for eight earned runs, nine hits and a walk while recording just five outs in the 52-pitch performance. Aaron Slegers, not necessarily someone to count on in fantasy just yet, yielded just two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen to give his team a chance. The hitting star was Miguel Sano, as he posted a single and a double with a run scored and three RBI across five at-bats. Ehire Adrianza posted his first homer of the season, going 2-for-4 while also adding a double, too. Still, he is batting just .234 and he is only worth a look in the very deepest of AL-only play. He was one of three Minnesota players to post two or more RBI.

American League Quick Hits: Eduardo Rodriguez was tremendous, allowing two earned runs, three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays, running his record to 6-1. … Craig Kimbrel secured his 18th save, while J.D. Martinez smacked his 18th bomb of the season. … Teoscar Hernandez was the hitting star for the Jays, collecting his eighth homer of the campaign. … Michael Brantley went 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored to extend his hitting streak to 19 games, longest in the majors this season. He is hitting .343 overall, and .366 (20-for-82) during the impressive stretch. … Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion went back-to-back off of Chris Volstad for their 17th and 13th homers, respectively. … Luis Severino just missed the cut for the Fantasy Five, allowing two earned runs, four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings to improve to 8-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.31. Next up for Severino is a favorable matchup in Detroit in one of the doubleheader games on Monday. … Dallas Keuchel slipped to 3-7, allowing four earned runs, seven hits and three walks with seven strikeouts across five innings. He still has a rather solid 3.65 ERA, but run support continues to elude him. … Nicholas Castellanos collected three hits, including two doubles, pushing his average back to .325. He has hit safely in four straight, and nine of the past 10 outings while posting six multi-hit performances during the span. … Johnny Field racked up his fifth double and his fifth homer of the season, improving his overall average to .265. He is worth a look in deeper AL-only fantasy formats. … Matt Moore (elbow) was back from the 10-day disabled list, but he didn't have the same type of success as Eovaldi. He was knocked around for five runs - four earned - and eight hits with two walks in the no-decision. … Robinson Chirinos picked up a pair of singles, a double and three RBI over five at-bats but he is still hitting a dismal .204. … Jean Segura racked up his third consecutive multi-hit game, and he has hit safely in five in a row. He enters the final day of May with 14 games of two or more hits.

National League Quick Hits: Alex Reyes was making his season debut after recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. He allowed just three hits and two walks over four scoreless innings, but he was lifted early due to fatigue. As long as he checks out he faces a favorable matchup next time out on Tuesday against the Marlins. … Adam Duvall cranked a grand slam, his 10th homer of the season, in a Hump Day loss to the Brew Crew. … Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto each collected three hits in the win against Milwaukee. … Raisel Iglesias was back from the 10-day disabled list and he was used immediately, nailing down his ninth save. … Patrick Corbin registered 10 strikeouts, but he suffered just his second loss in seven decisions this season. … Jason Vargas outdueled Julio Teheran, yielding just two hits and a walk while working five scoreless innings in a win, his second in five decisions. … Brandon Nimmo and Adrian Gonzalez had identical stats, each going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. … Freddie Freeman was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. … Robert Gsellman notched his second save of the season, working after Jeurys Familia. Manager Mickey Callaway elected to use Familia in the eighth inning to face the meat of the Atlanta order and he did a good job shutting them down for the hold. It isn't likely to be a permanent situation, but fantasy owners of Familia couldn't be pleased with Callaway's decision. … The Marlins didn't get a great performance from their closer Brad Ziegler. He coughed up two runs, two hits and a pair of walks while recording just one out in a blown save and loss in San Diego. It spoiled a quality start by Jose Urena, who was looking for his first win of the season. He remains 0-7, but he has a respectable 4.41 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. … Franmil Reyes homered for the third consecutive day, as he carries over the momentum from the minors. He had 14 homers at El Paso, most of any player at any level in the minors. … Mitchell Walding is off to an inauspicious start filling in for the injured Pedro Florimon (foot). Walding was wearing the golden sombrero in L.A., whiffing in each of his four at-bats.