Pete Alonso takes home spotlight honors with his perfect 5-for-5 night. He slugged his 39th home run, which ties the NL rookie record and he also had six RBI, giving him 91 for the year. He finished third in DFS scoring on both DraftKings (38.0 points) and FanDuel (51.2 points), but since he didn’t record an out and he tied a bit of history it seemed fitting to give him the nod. He is the youngest Mets player with four hits and six RBI in a game since 2005 (David Wright). He was in a bit of a slump coming out of the all-star break, but that seems to be over now, as he is hitting .351 (13-for-37) with five home runs and 13 RBI over his last 10 games. He should be a lock for NL Rookie of the Year, despite how good Tatis and Soroka have also been.
That's Lake Alonso now.@Pete_Alonso20 just tied the NL rookie home run record in STYLE! ???? pic.twitter.com/6jb4I07XUj
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 15, 2019
Strong Outings
- Caleb Smith pitched well in a win over the Dodgers potent offense. He tossed five innings of one-run baseball with only one hit against, while striking out four. It wasn’t his most dominant outing of the year, but it got the job done. It was his 14th start of the year with at least five innings and two or fewer runs against. He will carry an 8-6 record and 3.63 ERA into his next outing.
- Sonny Gray dominated once again last night, tossing five innings of one-hit, no-run baseball while striking out 10 and picking up the win. Gray has still yet to allow a run in August through three starts (18.0 innings) and he has only given up seven hits in that span while striking out 24. It was his 17th outing with at least six punch-outs. He will carry an 8-6 record and 2.98 ERA into his next outing.
- Yu Darvish continues to surge, hurling seven shutout innings in a no-decision against the Phillies. He gave up just four hits while striking out 10. He left with a big 5-0 lead, but his bullpen had a meltdown and blew it. It was his third outing with at least six shutout innings in his last seven starts. He will carry a 4-6 record and 4.21 ERA into his next outing.
- Dereck Rodríguez shutout the Dbacks over seven innings in a win. He gave up three hits while striking out four. It’s been a rough year for Rodriguez, who now has a 5-6 record and 4.79 ERA after this stellar performance. He is not viable in fantasy until we see a bit more of this, but keep in mind that he pitched to a 2.81 ERA across 118.1 innings last year as a rookie.
- Marcus Stroman pitched well in a win over the Braves, firing 5.1 innings of two-run ball. He gave up four hits while striking out five. Apparently joining the Mets has turned Stroman into a bit of a strikeout pitcher, as he now has 17 punch-outs across 15.2 innings with his new club. He will carry a 7-11 record and 3.21 ERA into his next outing.
Hitter Highlights
Cody Bellinger only had one hit, but it was a big one as he swatted his 40th home run of the year. He also walked twice, had three RBI, and stole a base on the afternoon. The 40 home runs are a new career high for Bellinger, topping his fantastic total from his rookie year. He also has a .317 batting average, 96 runs scored, 93 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in what has been a MVP caliber year.
A career-high 40 homers!
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 15, 2019
Say hello to your new MLB home run leader, @Cody_Bellinger! pic.twitter.com/dKVXhKBvdy
Mallex Smith collected three hits in yesterday’s game with a RBI, a run scored, and a pair of stolen bases. While Smith does a lot of things poorly – five home runs, 30 RBI, .238 average – the one thing he does do well, he does very well and that’s steal bases. The two swipes give him 34 for the year. Despite being a one-trick pony, he’s still a solid fantasy asset.
Amed Rosario finished a home run shy of the cycle, but he did collect five hits, a triple, two doubles, a RBI, and four runs scored. Rosario is off to a fantastic second half, hitting .366 with three home runs and four stolen bases since the all-star break. Overall, it has been a breakout year for the Mets shortstop, currently hitting .289 with 12 dingers and 14 steals.
Mike Trout went a perfect 4-4 and bashed his 40th home run of the year. He also walked and scored four times on the night. Trout is going to win another MVP award this season and it’s amazing how good this guy is. He is now hitting .298 with 40 home runs, 93 RBI, 97 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. His next steal will be the 200th of his career and he already has 280 home runs and a career .306 batting average.… he’s still just 28-years old.
For the 2nd time in his career, @MikeTrout has reached the 40 HR mark. pic.twitter.com/NXF1mjOkK5
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 16, 2019
Carlos Santana had a big night, going 3-5 with a pair of dingers, a double, a walk, three RBI, and four runs scored. He is having a very strong month of August as he now has six home runs, 15 RBI, 19 runs scored, and a .380 batting average across 15 games this month. He has his batting average for the year up to .290 to go along with 29 dingers and 75 RBI.
José Ramírez also had a huge night for the tribe, finishing 2-3 with two home runs, two walks, and six RBI. Ramirez has been smoking hot since the all-star break, hitting .321 with 12 home runs, 38 RBI, and six stolen bases across 34 games since the break. His average for the year is still a lousy looking .248, but it comes with 19 home runs, 73 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Not too shabby for a guy that was looked at as a massive bust a month ago.
Matt Chapman finished 3-4 and had a double-dong night at the dish. He also scored an additional run outside of his two solo jacks. It was his second straight with multiple home runs. He is now hitting .260 for the year to go along with 29 home runs and 69 RBI.
Bryce Harper only had one hit, but it was a walk-off grand slam in the Phillies 7-5 win over the Cubs. The home run was number 25 on the year for Harper and he now has 87 RBI.
Robbery
Not only did Ronald Acuna smack his 34th home run of the year, he also robbed J.D. Davis of a home run with this incredible play:
Ronald Acuña Jr. with the leaping home run robbery ????
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) August 16, 2019
(via @FOXSportsBraves) pic.twitter.com/hu3HaszkKG
What to Watch for Today
Luis Castillo (11-4, 2.69 ERA) will look to build on his stealer breakout season when he takes on the Cardinals. He has a quality start in three straight outings and at least six strikeouts in 11 of his past 12 outings.
Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 3.89 ERA) will try to keep the good times rolling when he takes on the Royals in KC. Thor has pitched at least seven innings and given up three or fewer earned runs in six straight starts. He has a 1.91 ERA in that span.
Justin Verlander (15-4, 2.82 ERA) will try to bounce back from a rough outing against the Orioles when he takes on the A’s in Oakland to cap off tonight’s slate. He was roughed up for four runs across five innings, but you can expect a bounce back outing from the AL Cy Young candidate.
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Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.