Fantasy Baseball April 30 Round Up: Mets Throw No-Hitter & Aaron Judge Stays Hot
Week 3 of the fantasy baseball season is nearing it's end but not before we take a look at some of the outstanding performances from players that were high up on many fantasy baseball player rankings and rookie rankings coming into your fantasy baseball drafts this season. Friday brought us the first no-hitter of the season and some names that might still be on your fantasy baseball waiver wire making a strong case to be added heading into Week 4 of the fantasy baseball season!
New York Mets Throw A No-Hitter
In recent seasons the no-hitter has lost it's luster in my opinion, but to most of the baseball world it is still a celebrated feat and on Friday the 2022 MLB season registered it's first no-hitter of the year as the Mets pitching staff combined their efforts to no-hit the Phillies. Mets starter Taylor Megill wasn't exactly sharp, throwing 88 pitches over five no-hit innngs. He walked three and struck out five before being removed. From there we saw Mets relievers Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and closer Edwin Díaz finish the job. Diaz notched his fourth save of the season and Megill improved to 4-0 on the year with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.
Aaron Judge Holds Court
No question Aaron Judge was feeling the heat around New York due to his slow start to the 2022 season. Through the first 13 games of the season he had just one home run, two RBI and was hitting .255. However, he has since turned things around in a big way. Over the last seven games, Judge is hitting .357 with five home runs and 11 RBI. He has three home runs over the last four games and it should be no surprise that the Yankees have scored 10 or more runs in four of the last five games as Judge gets going. This Yankees offense can be very dangerous when their best hitter is running hot.
Corey Seager Turning A Corner?
Seager signed a monster 10-year contract worth $325 million this offseason with the Rangers but aside from his hot start during the team's opening series he has largely been a disappointment, hitting just .215 with an OPS of .611. That said, maybe things are starting to turn around for Seager as he homered on Friday night for the second consecutive game. Now, Seager does not profile as a guy who is going to launch 40-homers but we, as fantasy baseball managers, should take the home runs as a sign that he is starting to square up the baseball. Seager is hitting .300 with a .933 OPS over the last five games. Here's to him turning the corner.
Julio Rodríguez Stealing Categories
There was plenty of hype surrounding Julio Rodríguez coming into the 2022 fantasy baseball season as the Mariners' top prospect and number two rated prospect in baseball according to Baseball America had himself quite a Spring Training where he hit .412 with an OPS of 1.281. The rookie is however quickly finding out that pitching in Spring Training is much different than the pitching he faces during the MLB regular season. The rookie is hitting just .211 with zero home runs and a ridiculously bad 35.9-percent strikeout rate (though not all his fault, see video). That said, with all the bad, Rodriguez leads the league with nine stolen bases after swiping his third bag in two games last night. He is also, maybe, starting to figure things out, hitting .333 over the past seven games. Now sure, the Mariners could still ultimately decide to send Rodriguez back to Triple-A if his plate discipline does not improve but at least for those fantasy baseball managers who made the investment, he should at least be helping you be competitive in the stolen base category.
Saturday MLB Best Bets
Jesús Luzardo Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-135 DK Sportsbook)
Luzardo has a big-time 14.4 K/9 this season and in his three starts, he has games of 12 strikeouts and eight strikeouts so to see this number sitting at just 5.5 I feel like too much is going into the fact that the Mariners only have a 21-percent strikeout rate as a team this season. Facing a pitcher with some electric stuff like Luzardo is a lot different than facing your everyday starter and I'll lean on the elite pitching upside here.
Nathan Eovaldi Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-150 DK Sportsbook)
Eovaldi is the best starter on the Red Sox staff and in three of his four starts this season he has hit the over on today's strikeout prop. He has maybe his easiest matchup of the season today as he faces off against a Baltimore team that has the second highest strikeout rate in baseball this season at 26.3-percent. The -150 isn't the greatest here but this one feels like as close to a sure thing as there is on today's slate.
Shane McClanahan to Get The Win (+155 DK Sportsbook)
Betting on a Rays pitcher is always a bit of risk because the consistency to which they are allowed to pitch deep into the game just isn't there. That said, McClanahan has pitched at least six innings in each of his last two starts and today the Rays are -195 favorites to win. So with the Rays being massive favorites how are we not taking their starting pitcher to pick up the win here at a 1.5x return on your bet?
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.