Now that the dust from the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline has settled, we can finally see some of these new players in action. The San Diego Padres, big winners from the deadline may I add, showed off their new-look lineup, and they wreaked havoc on Chad Kuhl and Colorado. Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury all had an impact on the game, and this lineup figures to be a popular MLB DFS stack on any given slate moving forward. Sandy Alcantara strengthened his case for the National League Cy Young award by notching his fourth complete game of the year. Miguel Vargas made his Major League debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he should be a priority fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup, as he can help contribute across the board. Before today’s Major League Baseball action kicks off, be sure to check out some new content here at Fantasy Alarm, including our updated Prospect Report, detailing some notable risers and fallers amongst top MLB prospects following the trade deadline, as well as our updated fantasy baseball player rankings for August. Of course, I’ll give you my best bets for Thursday’s Major League Baseball action, both of which involve American League Teams.

 

 


MLB News and Notes from Wednesday

Pittsburgh’s Big 3 Leads Team, Spoils Freddy Peralta’s Return

Freddy Peralta made his return to the mound for Milwaukee, and as expected, there was some rust for the talented right-hander. He needed 67 pitches to get through 3.2 innings, and he allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. However, the stars of the show were Pittsburgh’s Big 3. Bryan Reynolds went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a walk-off home run off Devin Williams to ultimately give Pittsburgh the win. Ke’Bryan Hayes went 2-for-4 with three RBI, and despite notching just two hits, he made hard contact every time he stepped up to the plate. Here were the exit velocities for Hayes’ at-bats yesterday: 109.2 mph, 96.0 mph, 109.0 mph, and 99.4 mph.

Lastly, Oneil Cruz also had two hits, but none bigger or more impressive than his mammoth home run. Check it out for yourself here:

To date, Cruz has struggled against lefties, so it was encouraging to see him hit a Cruz missile against a southpaw.


Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury Debut in San Diego

The Padres were active at the deadline and they reaped the rewards immediately. Their new-look lineup put up nine runs against the Rockies last night, and the talent in the top half of the lineup gave Chad Kuhl fits right away. After Jurickson Profar popped out, Juan Soto walked, Manny Machado hit a double, Josh Bell walked, and then Cronenworth was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Brandon Drury, who the team also acquired at the deadline. First pitch, BOOM, grand slam for Drury, who hit this home run away from Great American Ball Park and against a righty! Overall, Soto went 1-for-3 with two walks, Bell went 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored, and Drury had that grand slam. Opposing pitchers are going to want no part of this offense, and perhaps what is even most exciting for the Padres is that Blake Snell turned in another impressive start, giving him a 1.06 ERA over his last three starts, and a 2.56 ERA over his last six.


Sandy Alcantara Twirls Another Complete Game

Alcantara is so damn good. I don’t know how else to say it. He fired a complete game shutout against Cincinnati yesterday, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out three. Sure, the strikeout numbers leave some to be desired, but Alcantara has a 1.88 ERA on the year! 

ONE POINT EIGHT EIGHT! 

He’s been impressive this year to say the least, and when you look at his season as a whole, he has allowed more than two earned runs in just three of his 22 starts this season. He has shown that he has the swing-and-miss ability in him, but it doesn’t show on a consistent basis. However, he’s a tried and true fantasy asset, and he has logged at least seven innings pitched in all but two of his last 16 starts. Yesterday’s performance gives him four complete games on the year, including two complete game shutouts.

 

 


Miguel Vargas’ Impressive MLB Debut

What a debut for the 22-year-old! In his first game at the big league level, he went 2-for-4 with one double, two RBI, and one stolen base. Vargas has showcased a solid hit tool in the minors, but the power production picked up in 2021, and he continued to hit for a solid average. Prior to his call up this year, he was hitting .291/.382/.497 with 15 home runs, 72 RBI, 81 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases in 94 games at Triple-A. His 12.4 percent walk rate and 14.6 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A this year further demonstrates his excellent feel of the strike zone. Los Angeles gave him some exposure to numerous positions at Triple-A this year, most frequently at third base and left field, so he could provide fantasy managers with solid versatility, so long as his bat sticks in the lineup. His multi-category production should make him a solid pick up for fantasy baseball managers in need of some batting average and a bit of speed.


Joe Ryan Tames the Tigers… Again

The Twins continue to be conservative with Ryan, as they pulled him at 78 pitches yesterday, and he hasn’t thrown more than 90 pitches since June 26th. In five innings against Detroit yesterday, he allowed just one earned run on three hits, while striking out nine batters, which tied his season-high mark. Ironically, his other nine strikeout performance on the year came against this Detroit team. He lived off his four-seam fastball yesterday, throwing it nearly 80 percent of the time. However, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and his heater registered 16 whiffs on 41 swings, good for a 39 percent whiff rate and 45 percent CSW%. It’s interesting he didn’t use his slider as much yesterday as he had in previous starts, but turns out he didn’t really need it.
 

Also in this contest, the Twins showcased some of their trade deadline acquisitions, as Michael Fulmer struck out one batter in the sixth inning, and then Jorge López needed just seven pitches to register one strikeout and his first save as a member of the Twins.


Other Notable Performances:

  • Lance Lynn struck out eight Royals while allowing just one earned run on four hits across six innings of work. He did allow one home run, so home runs continue to plague him, but he minimized damage otherwise. He now has a 2.55 ERA over his last three starts with an 11.21 K/9, but a 2.04 HR/9.
  • José Urquidy allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings while striking out 10 Red Sox yesterday. He has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine straight starts, and during this run, he’s 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA and 7.17 K/9. He threw his changeup more yesterday than in previous starts, and it posted an impressive 42 percent whiff rate and 43 CSW%. Just keep an eye on this.
  • New uniform, no problem for Luis Castillo. He picked up a quality start and a win in his first start with the Mariners, allowing just three earned runs over 6.2 innings while striking out eight Yankees. Castillo now has eight strikeouts in four straight starts, and getting him out of Great American Ball Park will do wonders.
  • One inning, two strikeouts, and David Robertson notched his first save this season with the Phillies, preserving Zack Wheeler’s excellent start.
     

Thursday’s Best Bets

Oakland Athletics Money Line (-105 Bet MGM)

The Angels are hitting just .221 over the last two weeks. Let's start there. Oakland has been slightly better, so we should give them some credit, but even so, they are still just league average in terms of batting average. That’s why I lean Oakland in this contest. Oakland’s Paul Blackburn has a 1.74 ERA on the road this season, and has allowed a measly .210 batting average against him in his 12 road starts this season. Janson Junk looked good in his first start of the year against the Royals, but when looking at these two offenses, I like Oakland’s chances against Junk, more so than the Angels against Blackburn on the best side of his splits. Gimme Oakland straight up tonight.


Rays -1.5 Run Line (-105 Bet MGM)

Detroit’s offense is sputtering, hitting just .211 over the last two weeks with the third-highest strikeout rate during that stretch. Jeffrey Springs has a 3.11 ERA on the road this season, and while Detroit has some guys that hit lefties well, Springs has showcased reverse splits this season, faring better against righties (.287 wOBA) compared to lefties (.322 wOBA). Hutchison has a 4.50 ERA over his last seven starts, but he doesn’t miss a ton of bats, and at home this year, he’s allowed a 4.97 ERA and .337 wOBA. I like Tampa Bay to take this game from Detroit, while putting up some runs against the Detroit right-hander.

 

 


 

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