Exactly a week ago Dietrich was our spotlight player with a three dinger game, now we have an even more unlikely three home run game to spotlight from Pedro Severino . The Baltimore catcher swatted his sixth, seventh, and eighth home runs of the year and drove in four runs, giving him 18 RBI on the year. He led all players in scoring on DraftKings with a 44.0 point output. The orioles needed every bit of it too, escaping with a 12-11 win after getting a much needed insurance run in the top of the ninth inning off of a Severino solo shot. The 25-year old is swinging a hot bat, hitting .356 (16-45) with four home runs, 10 RBI, and the same amount of walks (7) as strikeouts over his last 15 games. He is hitting fifth for Baltimore and has been a viable fantasy option.

Strong Outings

  • Pablo Lopez shutdown the Brewers for six innings en route to a win. He gave up just three hits while striking out seven. It was the third time in his last four starts that he has pitched at least six innings and given up one run or fewer. He has lowered his ERA from 5.93 to 4.52 in that span.
  • Luis Castillo hurled six innings of one-run ball in a win over the Cardinals. He gave up just two hits while striking out eight. Win the win his record improves to 6-1 and the strong outing lowered his ERA down to 2.38. He has not allowed more than four runs in any of his 13 starts this season.
  • Shane Bieber held the potent Twins offense to just two runs over seven innings of work and picked up the win. He gave up five hits while striking out seven. It was his eighth straight start with at least six strikeouts. He will carry a 5-2 record and 3.57 ERA into his next start.
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu was lights-out… again. The NL Cy Young frontrunner tossed seven shutout innings en route to his ninth win (9-1). He gave up just three hits while striking out two. The two strikeouts aren’t anything to write home about, but overall it was another superb outing. His ERA now stands at a ridiculous 1.35 through 80 innings pitched (12 starts).
  • Kyle Hendricks turned in a quality start against the Rockies, tossing seven innings of three-run ball. He picked up the win after giving up six hits and striking out 10. Picking up where he left off in May (went 4-0 with a 1.81 ERA across six May starts).

Hitter Highlights

Jay Bruce stepped up big for the Phillies in their first game without Cutch (torn ACL), going 3-4 with a pair of home runs, a double, SIX RBI, and three runs scored. Bruce got a nice park shift going from the Mariners to the Phillies, but it still won’t help hit for a better average and that should be kept in mind for fantasy purposes.

Francisco Lindor had a double-dong game of his own, finishing a perfect 3-3 with two home runs, a double, a walk, and three RBI. Lindor has been great since returning off IL, compiling a .306 average, 10 home runs, and six steals across 41 games played (160 at bats).

Dwight Smith Jr. had a big night, going 3-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, SIX RBI, and two runs scored. Despite a recent cold spell at the plate, he is still hitting .257 on the year with 11 home runs and a strong 41 RBI total. It has been a nice breakout campaign.

Garrett Cooper had a four-hit night, finishing 4-5 with a home run, a walk, two RBI, and four runs scored. The home run was his fifth of the year and the four-hit night has his average up to .289. Cooper is hitting .380 (19-50) with five home runs, 13 RBI, and 17 runs scored over his last 13 games.

Keon Broxton joined teammates Severino and Smith Jr with a strong night of his own, going 2-4 with a home run, a RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Broxton continues his strong play since joining Baltimore, hitting .281 (9-32) with three home runs and a pair of steals for his new club.

Pete Alonso went 2-4 with a solo home run in the Mets loss to the Giants. The home run was Alonso’s 20th of the year, becoming just the second Met in franchise history to have 20 home runs as a rookie…. It’s June 5th. The slugger is currently second in the MLB in home runs and ninth in RBI (45).

Willy Adames finished 2-4 with a home run and four RBI. The shortstop has really come alive since the start of May, hitting .300 (30-100) with four home runs, 13 RBI, and 13 runs scored since May 1st. In the last five games he has hit between 3-and-5 in the Rays lineup four times; if that continues, it will be a big boost to his fantasy value.

Ramón Laureano had a bash-and-dash game, going a perfect 2-2 with a home run, a double, a walk, two RBI, and a stolen base. The home run was his eighth of the year and the steal was his fifth, putting him at a nice pace to reach double-digits in both categories. He is currently on a 15-game hitting streak, over that span he has hit .362 (21-58) with three home runs and two stolen bases.  

Franmil Reyes went 2-5 with a pair of solo dingers. Reyes doesn’t hit for a great average (.251), he strikes out a lot (56 in 191 at bats), and he doesn’t play good defense, but what he does do very well is hit home runs. The slugger now has nineteen of them on the year and is a great source of power in fantasy.

What to Watch for Today

Jimmy Nelson will make his season debut and pitch in the bigs for the first time since 2017. He couldn’t have a much better match-up to come back to than this one with the Marlins, though Miami did hang 16 runs on Milwaukee last night.

Chris Sale will take the mound and lately that has been must-see TV. He has compiled double-digit strikeout totals in five of his last six starts, but still has a lousy 4.35 ERA and an unsightly 1-7 record. Facing the Royals should give him a solid shot at getting back in the win column.

John Means vs. Mike Minor in a battle of lefties with sub-3.00 ERAs. The two pitchers will come in with identical 5-4 records and nearly identical ERAs (Means 2.80 – Minor 2.74). This should be a decent pitching duel, but neither guy has a lot of flare.