Wednesday’s Major League Baseball action was full of notable performances from some of the game’s best players, and a few teams, notably Tampa Bay and Houston, received good news regarding their respective aces. Shane McClanahan returns to the mound today for the first time since the end of August, and Houston will be getting Justin Verlander back on Friday against Oakland. Julio Rodríguez, the likely American League Rookie of the Year, became the first player to join the 25/25 club this season, and by doing so, actually beat a MLB record held by none other than Los Angeles’ Mike Trout. We’ll also highlight another dominant performance from Cincinnati southpaw Nick Lodolo, as well as confirm the notion that JT Realmuto should be the first catcher off the board in 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. While there is likely to be a high-scoring shootout on Thursday Night Football, we’ll look ahead to Thursday’s baseball slate, and I’ll give you my best bet of the day from an AL Central showdown.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB News & Notes from Wednesday

Max Scherzer Strikes Out Seven in Rehab Start

It seems like the Mets could be welcoming Scherzer back to the rotation as soon as next week. In last night’s rehab outing, he struck out nearly half of the batters he faced (7-of-15) and he allowed just three hits over 3.2 innings. He worked up to nearly 60 pitches, so if he does make his next start with the Mets, the team would be wise to limit him to the 70-80 range, because his health for the postseason is paramount. Scherzer is 9-4 on the year with a 2.26 ERA, 10.79 K/9, and 1.62 BB/9 across 20 starts for the Mets this season.


Return of the Aces in Houston, Tampa Bay

Shane McClanahan is returning for Tampa Bay today and this start against Toronto will be his first since being scratched back at the end of August. Prior to the injury, McClanahan was dominant for Tampa Bay, posting a 2.20 ERA and 11.12 K/9 across 147.1 innings of work, not to mention an 11-5 record.

In Houston, Justin Verlander is slated to return Friday, and if he can get enough innings, it seems like he just might be the American League Cy Young award winner. Verlander has a 16-3 record with a 1.84 ERA on the season, and is set to return to the mound is gladly welcomed by Houston, because if the Astros are going to make some noise in the postseason, they need its workhorse healthy and ready to roll.

 

 


J.T. Realmuto Wants to be the First Catcher Drafted in 2023

A .275 batting average, 18 home runs, and 17 stolen bases will certainly put you in contention, given that the catcher position is notoriously a position where people have settled in with getting their 15-20 home runs and a .220 batting average if things go well. Perhaps what is most impressive about Realmuto is that he hasn’t been caught stealing at all this season! A perfect 17-for-17! Realmuto has a legitimate chance to join the 20/20 club, and he’d be just the second catcher (Ivan Rodriguez, 1999) to do so. Realmuto’s 5.8 WAR is the ninth-best in baseball, and the next closest catcher is Sean Murphy at 4.6.

 

Nick Lodolo Posts Another [High] Quality Start

After a rocky start to his big league career, where he posted a 5.81 ERA and 4.10 BB/9 mark across his first six starts, the Cincinnati southpaw has turned it on and turned it up of late. Since the calendar flipped to August, Lodolo has a 3.49 ERA with a 10.84 K/9 and 2.57 BB/9. Over his last six starts in particular, he has a 2.72 ERA with an 11.12 K/9 and an even more impressive 1.36 BB/9. He’s varied his pitch mix as the year has gone on, and has opted to use his curveball more of late, and mixing in his fastball and sinker nearly equally.

 

 

Has it worked? Hell yes it has, are you kidding me!? Since the calendar flipped to August, Lodolo is one of just 15 qualified pitchers to have a 30 percent strikeout rate or higher, with a FIP below 3.40.

 


Julio Rodríguez Beats Record Previously Held by Mike Trout

With last night’s stolen base, it gave Rodriguez 25 on the year, which made him the first player to join the 25/25 club in the 2022 season. However, it’s more impressive than that. The likely American League Rookie of the Year became the third rookie (Chris Young, Mike Trout) to join this exclusive club in their first big league season, and Rodriguez actually became the fastest to do so, besting Trout by three games. Consider this just another accolade for the young superstar.

 

Thursday’s Best Bet

Minnesota Twins -1.5 Run Line (+110 BetMGM)

Trusting Dylan Bundy scares me a bit, but his ERA at home is far better than his mark on the road, and outside of his blowup last start, he had a 2.65 ERA in the seven starts prior. Kansas City’s Daniel Lynch has a 6.11 ERA and 2.04 HR/9 over his last seven starts, not to mention an 0-3 record. Minnesota has a .261 average, .721 OPS, and 108 wRC+ against southpaws over the last two weeks, but when you look at our projected lineups page, you’ll see that there are numerous Minnesota batters that have solid BvP numbers against Lynch.


 

 



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