Put out the welcome Matt

It was another tremendous slate of games on the Major League Baseball diamond on Wednesday with plenty of big performances for fantasy owners, too. Some of the big stat lines were from the usual suspects, while others came from some unlikely sources. There were also a handful of golden sombreros, an unwanted award handed out to those who strike out at least four times. In addition, a handful of closers had adventurous days. It was a very entertaining slate, so hopefully you were watching baseball and not that game with the orange ball and hoop.




Wednesday's Fantasy Five

It was 2011 and Matt Kemp was in his first tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was just edged out by Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League MVP award. Since that season he has had just two campaigns with 100 or more RBI while going from L.A. to San Diego to Atlanta and then back to L.A. He is enjoying a renaissance where it all started, and perhaps he’ll get another chance at that MVP award at this rate. He is hitting a career-best .353 after a 3-for-5 day in the Steel City, posting two doubles, a home run, three runs scored and five RBI. Kemp is now up to 16 doubles with 10 homers and 39 RBI while posting 27 runs scored. Kemp is doing his part to try and bring the award home, but it would help if the Dodgers weren’t a game below .500 (30-31). Either way, fantasy owners are very pleased with his resurgence.

Jurickson Profar was once one of the biggest prospects with a ton of hype coming up through the Texas Rangers system. Injuries stunted his growth a bit, but he is still just 25 years old and the window for stardom has not yet closed shut. He would really be a star if he faced Oakland Athletics pitching even more frequently. The switch hitter from Curacao is hitting .243 with six homers and 33 RBI, with two of those homers and five RBI coming on Wednesday against the A’s. Overall he is 6-for-21 (.286) with a double, three homers, six RBI and three walks with a 1.137 OPS against Oakland pitching. While mixed leaguers will want to monitor him, he remains more of a fantasy option for those in AL-only leagues.




Carlos Carrasco might not draw the same type of headlines as his more decorated teammate Corey Kluber, but he pitches well – especially on Wednesdays. He allowed just one earned run while scattering eight hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts across seven innings to move to 7-4, besting the Milwaukee Brewers. He has made three starts on Wednesday this season, facing and beating the Brewers two times, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.13 ERA across 32 innings on Hump Day. He has worked at least seven innings in his four Wednesday outings, with both of his complete games.

Anthony Rendon was piling up big numbers in Wednesday’s interleague home rout of the Tampa Bay Rays. He finished 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, four runs scored and three RBI. He was one of four Nationals hitters to record a multi-hit game, as Michael Taylor also came up big. The center fielder was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, three RBI and a stolen base. Manager Kevin Cash of the Rays has been using relievers to start, an unconventional move which has worked wonders at times. On Wednesday, however, Jonny Venters was hammered for five earned runs, three hits and two walks while retiring just one batter, as the move definitely backfired for Cash in this one.

It has been a trying season for Paul Goldschmidt and his fantasy owners, but he is starting to make amends. He raised his average to .233 on Wednesday with four hits, including three doubles, across five at-bats with two RBI. Goldie has back-to-back three-hit days, and he wrapped up the series 8-for-12 (.667) with four doubles, a walk, two runs scored and two RBI. Goldschmidt had managed just two three-hit games through his first 58 outings, but he equaled that the past two days and his four-hit game was a season high. In fact, it was his first four-hit game since April 25 against the San Diego Padres, and his first such game on the road since collecting four hits over five at-bats in a game June 10, 2015 at Dodger Stadium.

Fantasy Game of the Night

The Miami Marlins haven’t had many huge days, but they were piling up the hits at Busch Stadium II in St. Louis on Wednesday. The top of the order was particularly hot, as the 1-2-3 starting hitters combined to go 11-for-15 with seven runs scored, five doubles, a triple and a home run while driving in four RBI. Starlin Castro extended his hitting streak to eight games by going 4-for-6 with three doubles and two runs scored. He is now slashing .297/.336/.411, setting the table nicely in his first go-around in South Florida. Derek Dietrich also came up big, going 4-for-5 with a two-run home run, two runs scored and three RBI, while J.T. Realmuto continues to make up for lost time. He missed several weeks, starting the season on the 10-day disabled list. But he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, and he also reached base twice after getting hit by pitch. Realmuto was able to shake off the two HBPs and finish the game. Lewis Brinson also swatted a pair of home runs in the rout, but he is still hitting just .172 and is more of a low-end NL-only fantasy option. Wei-Yin Chen allowed two earned runs in the start while receiving plenty of run support, but he pitched just 4 1/3 innings and was unable to qualify for the win. Drew Rucinski picked up the victory in relief, but isn’t someone to focus on in fantasy.

For the losing team, the Cardinals didn’t make as much noise. However, Jose Martinez continues to pile up solid numbers. The first baseman went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored to push his average to .306. He and Tommy Pham had solid evenings in the losing effort, as the center fielder ended up 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jedd Gyorko started the game at second base, finishing 1-for-4 with a double. That wasn’t the most notable part of his stat line, though. Gyorko was forced into action on the mound, allowing a run with two hits while throwing nine of his 16 pitches for strikes. Gyorko, a former San Diego Padre, was the second position player in as many days to be called to the mound. Cory Spangenberg, Gyorko’s former teammate, logged an inning against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

American League Quick Hits: C.J. Cron is getting an opportunity to be an everyday player with the Rays and he is making the most of his chance. He belted a solo homer, giving him 13 bombs with 33 RBI. … Cody Allen recorded the four-out save against Milwaukee, whiffing three. He is up to 11 saves, as something went right for a Cleveland sports team on Wednesday. … Edwin Encarnacion was blanked in three at-bats, snapping an 11-game hitting streak. … Dylan Bundy was efficient over seven scoreless frames, allowing three hits and three walks with five strikeouts to move to 4-7. He still has a ways to go before he re-emerges as a must-start fantasy option. … Brad Brach threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes, working around a single allowed, to secure his 10th save of the season. … Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered in a 3-0 extra-innings win north of the border. … Greg Bird had an ugly day, going 0-for-6 to snap a seven-game hitting streak. … Sonny Gray was sharp in a no-decision, yielding just two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over eight scoreless innings. It might have been his best performance in pinstripes. … Sam Gaviglio matched Gray, allowing three hits with three walks over seven scoreless. … Teoscar Hernandez earned the unwanted sombrero, whiffing four times in five at-bats. … Andrew Benintendi did work at the dish, going 2-for-5 with a double, a homer and two RBI. It wasn’t all great, as he was charged with a throwing error. … Eduardo Rodriguez continues to shine, yielding one run, five hits and a walk with five strikeouts to move to 7-1. … Christian Vazquez was outstanding, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI, but he is hitting just .203 and remains useful only as a No. 2 backstop in deeper AL play. … Shin-Soo Choo was hitless in three at-bats with a walk to snap a 12-game hitting streak. … Bartolo Colon picked up the victory, matching Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for most victories (243) by a Dominican-born pitcher. … Khris Davis hit a homer in a losing effort, and he now has 20 homers against Oakland pitching since the start of the 2015 season, most against any team. … Jean Segura had a day, going 3-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base. He is up to 13 thefts on the season. … Yulieski Gurriel has the longest active hitting streak in the majors at 12 games, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. … Shohei Ohtani left his start with a blister, and his next scheduled start is uncertain at the moment. This happened before and it’s unclear if he will still be able to hit. … Abraham Almonte struck out in all four of his at-bats for the sombrero. … Carlos Correa experienced discomfort in his side, but it’s uncertain how long he’ll be on the shelf.

National League Quick Hits: Zack Wheeler allowed just three hits and a walk with five strikeouts over seven scoreless innings, throwing 60 of his 93 pitches for strikes in the quality start. … Mike Foltynewicz yielded just two runs, five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over five innings in a tough loss. … Brandon Crawford went 2-for-5 to push his hitting streak to seven games. He is 12-for-26 across the impressive stretch. … Corey Dickerson racked up three hits with four runs scored over four at-bats in the 11-9 slugfest against the Dodgers. … Ian Desmond smacked his 11th homer of the season, but he is still hitting just .196 on the season. … Charlie Blackmon saw his 12-game hitting streak come to a close with his 0-for-5 performance. … Wade Davis just the 20-save club, as his All-Star season continues. … Jon Gray evened up his record at 6-6, quieting the bats of the Cincinnati Reds at GABP. … Jose Peraza had just one hit in three at-bats, but that was good enough to push his hitting streak to nine games. … Jason Heyward saved his best for last, walking it off against the Philadelphia Phillies with a grand slam, his only hit of the day. … Aaron Altherr finished 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the losing effort at Wrigley Field. … Aaron Nola posted a quality start in a no-decision, giving up three runs, four hits and four walks with six strikeouts over six innings. … The Diamondbacks acquired veteran Jon Jay to bolster their depth in the outfield, but he is only worth using in deeper NL-only play.

My favorite result of the day came from the Midget League team I coach in Rolesville, N.C. One day you might be using some of these kids in your fantasy league. Our Mets were down to the A’s 8-1 in the regular-season finale, and our side was playing shorthanded with just two outfielders. Noah and Big Logan were doing their thing on the bump, throwing well. In fact, Noah blanked the A’s in one of his frames, giving our guys a chance to win. Little Logan, Palmer, Liam and Julian were locking it down on defense, and Julian was also wreaking havoc on the base paths, too, racking up several steals. Palmer had a huge run-scoring triple. Even my oldest son William got into the act, stealing three bases and sliding into home for the game-tying run. Beau continues to be an All-Star behind the dish and with the bat. He walked it off with a two-run inside-the-park homer that might still be rolling. It was a true team effort as we get ready for a playoff run. It’s been great coaching these kids, and if you ever have the time, I recommend you volunteer and work with young people. It’s so rewarding, and I think I might have more fun than they do. LGM!