It feels like an old America song featuring a horse with no name, but the Pirates Felipe Rivero will not take on Vasquez as his last name. While it’s not reflected on all of his player pages, do not be alarmed when seeing Vasquez in the box score and not Rivero. Plus, since taking on his new name, Felipe’s not allowed a run.
Yesterday’s column focused on the rollercoaster ride named Álex Colomé for his owners so far this season. It seemed like the Rays were on cruise control, but things fell apart in the ninth after Ryan Weber allowed a hit, a walk and a player to reach on an error scoring a run. This brought Colome into the game with two runners on and facing Avisail García. Colome induced a weak ground ball to the mound retiring Garcia, but an adjustment during José Abreu’s at-bat resulted in a three-run home run. Although Weber only receives one earned run of the three charged to his ledger. Colome once again allowed a run in an appearance.
This makes three of Colome’s last four outings resulting in the opposing team scoring at least a run and his ERA hovering above 11 on the season. Fantasy owners need to either take the white knuckle ride with Colome and hope he keeps garnering saves, but heed his recent velocities:
That just happened
Javier Báez entered Tuesday’s game on the heels of a 4-for-27 road trip (.148 average) with only four RBI. Then he launched two home runs, along with striking out twice in four at-bats at home versus the Pirates. He’s going to be frustrating, but his owners hope the power sticks going forward.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, break up the Pirates. Corey Dickerson has hit safely in six straight games going 12-for-25 (.480) with five doubles, a triple, one home run and eight RBI. Plus, for those with DFS interests, Dickerson’s hitting .415 versus the Cubs for his career after Tuesday in 55 at-bats with six doubles and 11 RBI.
Starling Marte hit his second home run in the fourth inning. Francisco Cervelli finished 3-for-4 on Tuesday afternoon with a home run and three RBI.
Rays outfielder Carlos Gómez could be emerging from a slump to start the season. He racked up two hits in five at-bats with his first second home run of the season, a solo shot.
As for Blake Snell, he won his first game of the year but in interesting fashion. Snell limited the White Sox to one hit, one earned run and whiffed 10 batters. However, he issued five walks during his six innings of work as well. Keep the strikeouts and cut down on the walks and Snell could finally become the fantasy pitcher many hoped for. He’s still a work in progress.
Replacing Rizzo
In what seems like a nightly occurrence, owners will need to replace Anthony Rizzo in their lineups if not in a weekly league. He landed on the disabled list due to his lingering back issues. As for the Cubs, Ben Zobrist started at first and hit third in their home debut. Since he does not possess first base eligibility, here’s some other options to target depending on league settings for positions:
- Brandon Belt , San Francisco - Off to a bit of a slow start, but his team faced a bevy of left-handed pitching as well. Belt’s hit a homer and stolen a base, usually hitting in the top half of a Giants lineup which should awaken soon.
- Colin Moran, Pittsburgh - Another poster boy of the fly ball revolution, Moran’s driven in eight runs over his last seven games. Also slashing .344/.400/.500 for the Pirates.
Other names of interest include Adrián González, Lucas Duda (if targeting power), Joe Mauer (if needing average) or the resurgent Steve Pearce .
Quick Hits
More injury news with the Rangers placing Doug Fister and Rougned Odor on the disabled list. Looks like Jurickson Profar will get a look at second base. He leads the team in walks with only 15 plate appearances this year. Also, Bartolo Colón should assume Fister’s spot in the rotation.
Jay Bruce took ground balls at first base even with the Mets optioning Brandon Nimmo to Triple-A. This could get interesting as the season progresses. Over Bruce’s last 162 games as a Met, he’s scored 79 runs, hit 38 home runs with 100 RBI and a .247/.316/.481 slash line.
It’s been 21 innings since the Tigers last scored a run, and counting. Detroit’s the first American League team, since the inception of the designated hitter, to lose three times with two runs or less allowed in their first nine games.
Need some strikeout thunder with relievers? Josh Hader has whiffed 14 of the 23 hitters he’s faced this year which translates to a 61 strikeout percentage. Not to be overlooked, Adam Ottavino has struck out 14 of the 22 batters this year for a 63.6 strikeout percentage. Mercy.
Corey Kluber's last 26 regular season yields 189.1 innings of work with 251 strikeouts, 27 walks and a 1.62 ERA.
Both Charlie Blackmon (right quadriceps tightness) and Adam Eaton (ankle) were scratched on Tuesday night. Keep tabs.
Owners of Jose Martinez and Lorenzo Cain can breathe a collective sigh of relief with both exhibiting minor injuries after their collision on Monday night.
Burning Questions
Which starting pitcher shines in Boston Tuesday night? Who gets the next Brewers save chance, Jacob Barnes , Matt Albers or someone else? Can Houston get Ken Giles back to his dominance displayed in the second half last year? Which Carlos Martínez shows up? All of this and more to come.
Be sure to check back in the morning for the Round Up featuring the information to stay ahead of the competition on Fantasy Alarm.
Statistical Credits:
MLB.com
Fangraphs.com
BaseballSavant.com