Trevor Bauer tossed the first complete game shutout of his career in the Indians 8-0 win over the Tigers. He gave up four hits while walking zero and striking out eight. The zero walks were especially good, considering he issued five free passes in his prior start. He led all pitchers in DFS scoring with 37.9 points on DraftKings and 61.0 points on FanDuel. Bauer has gone at least six innings and struck out at least five in six straight starts. For the season, he now has a 3.41 ERA and 117 strikeouts across 108.1 innings of work (16 starts) while compiling a 5-6 record. Bauer lacks the consistency that some of the elite starting pitchers have, but he does have the ability to toss outings like this at any time.
Trevor Bauer, Filthy 79mph Slider (& KO) for a Complete Game Shutout. ???????? pic.twitter.com/pccOPIuVjp
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 16, 2019
Strong Outings
- Trent Thornton had arguably the best outing of his career, tossing 6.2 shutout innings against the Astros in a win. He gave up six hits while striking out seven. While it would be nice to see more outings like this, Thornton has been solid of late, giving up four runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts. He will carry a 4.36 ERA into his next outing.
- Mike Foltynewicz hurled six innings of one-run ball in a win over the Phillies. He gave up just four hits while striking out five. Folty has really struggled at home this year (6.27 ERA across seven starts), so it was good to see him pitch well at home in this one. Despite the strong outing, he will carry a 5.53 ERA into his next start.
- James Paxton was solid in a win over the White Sox, tossing six innings of two-run ball en route to a quality start. It was his first quality start since April 21 (a span of five starts). He did give up eight hits, but he used seven strikeouts to work around them. Paxton will carry a 3.93 ERA into his next outing.
- Sonny Gray gave up three runs across five innings of work in a win over the Rangers. That line usually isn’t good enough to make this list, but he ended up being one of the better pitchers of the day and he did have eight strikeouts. Gray hasn’t given up more than four runs in any of his 14 starts this season and he will carry a rock solid 3.77 ERA into his next start.
- Mike Leake pitched well in a win over the A’s, tossing seven innings of three-run (two earned) ball. He gave up seven hits while matching his season-high strikeout total of seven. Leake has been on a roll lately, going at least seven innings and giving up three or fewer runs in four straight starts. He will carry a 4.14 ERA into his next outing.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu was lights-out once again, hurling seven innings of two-run (zero earned) ball against the Cubbies. This guy is having an absolutely ridiculous season, as his ERA is now 1.26 and his record is 9-1 through 14 starts (93.0 innings). He has to be considered the frontrunner for NL Cy Young right now.
Hitter Highlights
Hunter Renfroe had another big day at the dish, going 3-5 with a pair of dingers, three RBI, and three runs scored. He has racked up five home runs in his last three games pushing his total for the season up to 23. Needless to say, he is a valuable power asset in fantasy right now.
Fernando Tatis Jr. continues to impress, last night he went 3-6 with a triple, double, a stolen base, an RBI, and three runs scored. How good is this kid?! Since returning from IL on June 6 he is hitting .436 (17-39) with two home runs, two steals, seven RBI, and 12 runs scored. For the year, he is hitting .338 with eight home runs and eight steals across 139 at-bats.
Charlie Blackmon went 3-6 with a home run and three RBI. Blackmon had a ridiculous series against the Padres, racking up 15 hits(!), four home runs, 10 RBI, and nine runs scored. It was a record-setting day for him and the Rockies/Padres series also set a record:
Matt Adams had himself a day, going 2-5 with two home runs and SEVEN RBI. He launched a three-run home run and in a grand slam to help the Nats takedown Arizona 15-5. That gives him three home runs in the last two games. Adams goes on random hot streaks where he mashes, so this is a development to keep an eye for fantasy purposes.
Ronald Acuña Jr. collected four hits in the Braves 15-1 win, going 4-5 with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored. Acuna is having another great year, currently hitting .296 with 16 home runs, 47 RBI, 49 runs scored, and nine steals. It’s been a hot month of June for him too, hitting .362 with five home runs and 16 RBI across 69 at-bats. There’s a reason this kid was a first round pick in fantasy this year.
Ketel Marte just continues to crush baseballs in his breakout campaign; yesterday he went 3-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, an RBI, and three runs scored. He now has 20 home runs! He also has 50 RBI and 50 runs scored to go along with a .286 average. He has six home runs in his last eight games and 11 in his last 22 games in what has turned into a ridiculous stretch of a power surge. Not too shabby for a guy who set a career high in home runs last season with 14.
Man on ???? pic.twitter.com/JACf8SWn04
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 16, 2019
Eric Thames had the only bash-and-dash game of the night, finishing 2-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base. Thames is having a nice month of June, hitting .324 (11-34) with four home runs, seven RBI, and seven runs scored. His strong play has been getting him more playing time, and rightfully so. If he becomes an everyday starter, he will have value in the fantasy game outside of DFS.
Mookie Betts had a nice game in Boston’s extra-innings win over the Orioles, going 3-5 with a triple, a walk, a steal, two RBI, and a run scored. While he hasn’t been a complete bust this year (like Jram has), he hasn’t lived up to his draft slot with a .266 average, 11 home runs, 33 RBI, 54 runs, and seven steals. Fantasy owners have to be kicking themselves right now for not taking Yelich at pick two.
Teoscar Hernández had a double-dong game at the dish, going 2-4 with the pair of dingers, a walk, and our RBI. Hernandez got off to a slow start this year and it was met with a demotion to AAA, but since being recalled on June 5 he is hitting .282 (11-39) with three home runs, four doubles, and seven RBI across 10 games. Deeper leagues should keep an eye on him.
What to Watch for Today
Mike Clevinger will make his return from IL and take on the Rangers in Texas. Fantasy owners have to be excited about this start as Clevinger has been out since April 7. In his only two starts prior to landing on IL, he threw 12 innings of shutout baseball allowing just two hits while striking out 22.
Mike Soroka and Zack Wheeler will go to battle and it should make for an interesting pitcher’s duel. Soroka will look to bounce back from his worst start of the year, while Wheeler will try to slow down a red hot Atlanta team that has won nine of their last 10 games and scored 15 runs yesterday.
Edwin Jackson (1-4, 10.22 ERA) will take the ball for the Blue Jays, which means the Angels offense could be in for a stat-booster game. Jackson has been absolutely hammered this year in five starts, if his 10.22 ERA wasn’t enough; opposing batters are hitting .364 against him with 40 hits across his 24.2 innings pitched. La Stella, Trout, Ohtani, and the rest of the Angels offense have to be feeling good going into this game.
Player News
Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, three RBI, and two runs scored in a 6-4 victory over the Rangers on Wednesday.
Not only was Abreu productive, but he was also clutch. His first long ball tied this game at two. Then, his run-scoring double tied it at three and nearly gave his Red Sox the lead before Kristian Campbell was thrown out at home. His eighth inning home run was less dramatic, just adding insurance to the lead. A funny note though, this was the third multi-homer game of Abreu’s career and all three have come against the Rangers. Nevertheless, his strong start has blended nicely into a tremendous season and the Red Sox would be hard-pressed to take his .980 OPS out of the lineup any time soon.
Aroldis Chapman allowed a hit, a run, and a walk with a strikeout to nail down the save against the Rangers on Wednesday.
It’s never easy for Chapman who allowed a home run to Josh Jung and then let Corey Seager come to the plate as the tying run, but he managed to get the job done. He threw four pitches harder than 102 mph in this outing too, including a season-best 103.8 mph on his sinker. At times, he seems ageless and has a firm hold on closer duties in Boston.
Tanner Houck allowed six hits and two earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Red Sox on Wednesday.
Coming off his best start of the season last week against the Blue Jays, Houck just couldn’t keep the good times rolling. The Rangers put traffic on the bases in each inning besides the first, Houck was lucky to escape the third with just one run home after he made a throwing error, and Adolis García barely snuck a homerun around the foul pole in the fourth. Then, he was chased in the fifth after allowing two hits and a sacrifice fly. Again, Houck has refused to adjust against left-handed batters just throwing sinkers and sweepers to them repeatedly. His plan was simply to throw those pitches harder – they got up to 97 mph and 86 mph respectively – but that still puts him in a difficult spot against them. He’ll head to Detroit for his next scheduled start against the Tigers.
Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters Hunter Greene (groin) will be re-evaluated on Thursday
Francona added that Greene felt a grab, not a pop, while warming up for the fourth inning of Wednesday’s start against the Braves. The 25-year-old fantasy ace will undergo further evaluation and testing to determine the severity of the issue, but it sounds like the Reds don’t believe it’s too serious and there’s an outside chance he’ll make his next start. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point in the coming days.
Josh Jung went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double on Wednesday against the Red Sox.
Dropped to ninth in the order of late, Jung hasn’t been as bad as that ‘demotion’ would indicate. His power has lagged a bit – this homer was only his third of the season – despite him missing a week with an injury, but he’s barreling the ball better than he ever has in his career and dropped his strikeout rate for what would be the third consecutive season if he keeps it up. He’s a better option than his surface stats, especially in a weak third base landscape.
Tyler Mahle allowed four hits and two runs with one walk and zero strikeouts over five innings in a no-decision against the Red Sox on Wednesday.
Mahle cruised besides for two solo home runs by Alex Bregmana and Wilyer Abreu in the fourth inning. That being said, Mahle did not have his swing-and-miss stuff working with a shocking zero strikeouts. He forced just four whiffs, which made this his third time in four starts where he forced six or fewer whiffs. While he still has a sterling 1.48 ERA, it feels as if some serious regression is coming soon. It may not come next start though, as he’s scheduled to face the Rockies at home at the front of a two-start week that will end with the Astros coming to town.