Following up a strong debut in a rookie season can be daunting. So far, Ozzie Albies seems to be living up to the hype. During his first trip to Coors Field, he witnessed snow for the first time of his life. With his blend of burgeoning power mixed with speed, Albies moved up draft boards as the season approached. His first road trip of 2018 looks promising. During his first at-bat in Colorado, Albies launched a 403 foot home run to right field on a four seam fastball by German Marquez.

Albies also doubled and scored a run in the sixth inning providing Freddie Freeman with an RBI, scoring on his single. Not to be outdone, post-hype candidate Dansby Swanson’s already racked up three hits including a double and a triple. Here’s an interesting tweet regarding his triple:

Swanson garnered attention last year in the preseason as a player who could provide double digits in home runs and stolen bases. Many see the potential in his ability to hit home runs, however, his speed seems to fly below the radar. It’s a hot start by Swanson, but one potentially worth speculating on cheaply in FAAB bids this weekend. Speaking of a cheap flier, Preston Tucker knocked in his ninth RBI with a sacrifice fly in the first inning on Friday. Yes his time could be capped by Ronald Acuna’s future debut, for now, he’s hitting fifth on the positive side of a platoon in a home ballpark which favors left-handed power hitters.

Last but not least, Freddie Freeman’s reached base multiple times in all seven games this year tying Atlanta’s team record set by Jerry Royster in 1978. Freeman’s an on-base machine and with his game in the seventh inning, carries a .409/606/819 slash line which translates to a 1.425 on-base plus slugging percentage with two more games in Colorado this weekend. Mercy.

That just happened

Carlos Carrasco recorded his second win of the year working six innings in cold temperatures allowing five hits, two earned runs and one walk with four strikeouts. Andrew Miller did give up a hit and a walk but struck out the side for the hold with Cody Allen notching his second save with a walk and a strikeout.

Royals starter Danny Duffy allowed the first five hitters of the Indians to reach safely at the onset of the game, then recovered to retire 10 straight. Duffy moved away from his four seam fastball for the two seam with better results and only yielded one more hit during his 5.2 innings of work giving up three earned runs and three walks with three strikeouts.

In his first at-bat of the season, Michael Brantley singled in two runners giving Cleveland their winning RBI. He could be exactly what the team needs to kickstart the offense, time will tell but his initial returns already paid dividends.

Milwaukee announced Corey Knebel will miss at least 6-to-8 weeks due to a hamstring strain. Timetables with soft tissue injuries can be tricky to predict, so use this as a baseline for Knebel’s return. In the meantime, manager Craig Counsell said Josh Hader will remain in his multiple inning setup role thus deflating any hopes of him ascending to the closer of the Brewers. Any of Jacob Barnes, Matt Albers, Jeremy Jeffress or Dan Jennings could save games in a committee approach. They should be targeted in this exact order if available on waivers.

Jon Jay’s leading off, being aggressive on the bases and hitting .333 to start the year. He’s readily available in fantasy with many teams needing to boost runs or stolen bases due to a myriad of injuries.

Cash in your tickets if having Brandon McCarthy to become the first Braves pitcher to complete six innings this season. He struck out the side in Coors to accomplish the feat. Bottoms up.

In turn the back the clock day part two in Coors Field, Carlos Gonzalez tripled in his first at-bat then crushed a 445 foot home run in his second plate appearance with a 113.8 MPH exit velocity off the bat. Trevor Story also entered the fray hitting a 442 foot home run with a 108.2 MPH exit velocity and a 28 degree launch angle. Both homers registered in the barrel department.

Quick hits

Under the it could be something or could be nothing department, Anthony Rizzo was scratched from his start in Milwaukee with back tightness.

No one wanted Ben Zobrist in drafts this year, but he could emerge as the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching. Through his first 16 at-bats this year, Zobrist’s recorded six hits (.375 average) along with getting on-base 47 percent of the time.

Kudos to Corey Knebel who called his injury a “freak accident” and did not complain about working in a blowout loss saying he needs to get work in to stay fresh. It’s refreshing.

Jacoby Ellsbury will head to New York to consult with a hip specialist. Wash, rinse, repeat. Meanwhile, Aaron Hicks plans on playing in Scranton-Wilkes Barre on Sunday and Monday hoping to return to the Yankees next week. Can he displace Didi Gregorius who moved up in the batting order once Hicks vacated the lineup?

Parting Shots

Fantasy Alarm teammate Justin Vreeland pointed out Tim Anderson, Lorenzo Cain, Dee Gordon, Kevin Pillar, Michael Taylor and Trea Turner all have stolen three or more bases this year without being caught. Targeting speed can be as crazy as chasing saves.

Who gets the next save for the Angels? Can Shohei Ohtani go yard again? Will weather continue to wreak havoc with baseball schedules all weekend? Should we be paying attention to Dixon Machado? (By the way, the answer’s yes) Will Kenley Jansen get a save this weekend? Who gets the next Brewers save opportunity? Will Kevin Gausman ever pitch well before the second half?

Stay tuned, a wild weekend could be on tap. Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm to keep ahead of the competition. And how can one not like Mike Trout:

 


 

 

 

Statistical Credits:

BaseballSavant.com

MLB.com

Fangraphs.co