For the second time this season, and versus the Reds, Christian Yelich recorded a cycle adding to his burgeoning MVP campaign. Yelich hit his way into the history books with a triple in the bottom of the sixth inning:

Even if the Brewers do not catch the Cubs in the National League Central, Yelich’s debut season with the team merits strong consideration as the league’s most valuable player. Here’s his ranks in the National League after yesterday’s performance:

  • First in slugging (.570) and on-base plus slugging (.955) percentages

  • Second in batting average (.318)

  • Third in runs (102)

  • Seventh in RBI (93)

  • Ninth in home runs (31)

He’s also within one stolen base of becoming the third player in team history to record at least 30 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season. Over the last 30 games, Yelich has accrued 20 runs, 13 home runs, 33 RBI, 15 walks and five steals with a .339/.416/.736 slash line. That’s good right?

That Just Happened

Kansas City continues to produce for fantasy of late with Alex Gordon going 2-for-4 with a run, double and two RBI. He’s on a modest four game hit streak with three doubles and seven RBI in it. Also, Gordon’s stolen eight bases his last 27 games along with driving in 29 runs over his last 43 contests. Ryan O’Hearn continues to obliterate baseballs hitting his 11th home run in only 36 games. He’s hit four this month and owns a 1.037 on-base plus slugging since his debut. Not sure it’s sustainable next year, but O’Hearn’s worth a look for the last two weeks on teams needing a boost in power.

Bad news for the Pirates after Adam Frazier left yesterday’s game with a knee contusion. He was 2-for-2 with a run, double, two RBI and a walk prior to exiting the game. Since his recall in late July, Frazier’s hitting .324 with 17 doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI in 44 games.

It seems redundant, but Michael Conforto ’s healthy kids. Conforto racked up three hits including a double and his 26th home run of the season. He’s swatted 12 home runs over the last 36 games. In the second half, Conforto has 37 runs, 12 doubles, 15 home runs, 45 RBI, and a .278/.346/.547 slash in 56 contests. Jeff McNeil tallied three more hits boosting his average to .335 since his debut on July 24th, good thing the Mets were finding at bats for José Reyes . Last, Zack Wheeler won his 12th game of the year without his best stuff but leads the majors in wins since the break with nine and he’s won 10 of his last 11 decisions with a 1.96 ERA over his last 12 starts.

Fantastic outing by rookie Ryan Borucki in Baltimore. He fired eight shutout innings giving up only three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Borucki’s turned in 10 quality outings of his first 15 starts this year. Danny Jansen hit his second home run driving in two.

Even in a loss, Jonathan Villar stuffs the stat sheet with the Orioles. He only registered one hit but stole two bases upping his total to 28 this year. Over his last 30 games, Villar’s scored 20 runs with seven home runs, 19 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a .282/.346/.462 line.

Bad news for Eddie Rosario owners during a game in which he hit his 24th home run. Rosario left the game early after re-aggravating his quadriceps injury and he could miss the rest of the season. Jorge Polanco went 2-for-4 with a run, his sixth home run and an RBI. He’s homered in back-to-back games and hitting .328/.348/.500 over his last 15 with seven runs, three home runs and seven RBI.

Welcome to the show Victor Robles . He’s appeared in 10 games but playing time has been sporadic despite the Nationals not in the playoff picture. At least his owners can enjoy this:

Teammate Anthony Rendón went 3-for-4 with two runs, his 21st home run and two RBI. Although his stolen base totals are down, Rendon’s in the midst of a three game stretch with multiple hits and multiple RBI in each.

As the featured return in the Yelich trade, Lewis Brinson sits in the spotlight for Miami fans hoping for a positive outcome. Brinson recorded two hits last night and hitting .291 since his return with three doubles, a triple, home run and eight RBI his last 15 contests. Adam Conley notched his third save, and first since August 24th, in a clean ninth with a strikeout.

St. Louis launched four home runs in their win over Atlanta on the road with Paul DeJong (18), Yadier Molina (18), Harrison Bader (11) and Kolten Wong (9) all going yard. Miles Mikolas won his 16th game working five innings allowing four hits, two earned runs and a walk with six strikeouts. He’s allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his last 16 outings.

Tough night for Mike Foltynewicz in his shortest and worst game of the year. Foltynewicz yielded six earned runs in 4.2 innings giving up five hits and four walks. Freddie Freeman did hit his first home run since September fifth but entered this contest hitting .211 his previous 24 games.

While Yelich garners the spotlight, Curtis Granderson quietly produces since his acquisition. Granderson scored three runs going 1-for-3 with two walks in Monday’s rout. He’s appeared in 11 games with Milwaukee scoring 11 runs with two home runs, three RBI and eight walks resulting in a .333.556/.778 slash line. Josh Hader ’s thrown four scoreless outings in a row and struck out 20 of the last 25 hitters he’s faced. Mercy.

Tyler Glasnow won his first game with Tampa Bay throwing six shutout innings in Texas yielding only two hits and walking two with six strikeouts. Through nine starts with the Rays, Glasnow owns a 4.06 ERA with 49 strikeouts. Ji-Man Choi paced the offense with two hits including his 10th home run. Choi’s hitting .294/.381/.608 his last 30 games with seven home runs and 19 RBI.

A pinch hit grand slam by Dan Vogelbach led the Mariners to a comeback win over Houston. Edwin Díaz closed the door on his 56th save with a clean ninth inning.

Perhaps the best pitching performance of the night was turned in by Kyle Hendricks . He missed a complete game by one out but allowed only three hits, one earned run and a walk with eight strikeouts en route to his 12th win of the year. Hendricks produced 18 swinging strikes and moved to 7-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 82 strikeouts over his last 86.1 innings spanning 12 starts. Kris Bryant hit his first home run since July 20th, an opposite field shot and finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk.

Joc Pederson paced the Dodgers offense going 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and three RBI. Pederson’s hit 23 this year and four in the last seven games. But, he may only pinch hit with two southpaws slated to start the next two games for the Rockies. Hyun-Jin Ryu won his fifth game tossing seven shutout innings with five strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see if the Padres trade both Wil Myers and Austin Hedges in the offseason. Myers went 1-for-3 and reached 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases in only 72 games so far this season with his steal Monday night. He would be an interesting designated hitter to preserve his health next season. As for Hedges, he launched his 14th home run and 10th in the second half.

What To Watch For

With a full slate of games on tap, weather permitting, the Red Sox will look to clinch the American League East in New York for the second time in three seasons. Former Yankee Nate Eovaldi gets the start opposing Red Sox nemesis, J.A. Happ .

Carlos Rodon will oppose Corey Kluber in Cleveland as the Indians hope Klubot gets back on track leading up to the playoffs.

Blake Snell will try to add to his already strong case for the Cy Young matching up with Texas on the road.

Intriguing rookie arms will start in Houston (Josh James) and for Miami (Sandy Alcantara ) as owners try to gauge their value for next season.

Last, a battle of southpaws with Kyle Freeland going against Clayton Kershaw with first place in the West on the line.

Be sure to check back on Wednesday for the latest in fantasy baseball news to stay ahead of the competition here on Fantasy Alarm.

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com