Ranger Suarez (SP – PHI)
The Phillies' entire starting rotation has been sidelined this season. In total, he leads the league in xFIP (3.31) and is fourth in K/9 (9.42). When you look at this rotation, you usually think of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola as the two starters, but Ranger Suarez leads this team in most metrics. Suarez has the fourth-lowest ERA in MLB at 1.26, but his advanced stats support his success. His xFIP is 2.51, tied for third in the league with Tarik Skubal.
Suarez has made some adjustments to his arsenal over the past few seasons. He's thrown his slider less than 1 percent of the time this season, a sharp contrast to his 19.2 percent frequency from 2018-2020. During that time, he significantly increased his usage of cutters and curveballs, posting percentages of 10.8% and 19.7%. Each at the time. It's unlikely he'll be able to maintain his winning-loss percentage over the course of a season, but Suarez's numbers show he's legitimate.
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Andrew Abbott (SP – CIN)
People may remember Andrew Abbott from last season, who didn't concede a goal for some time at the beginning of the year. He hasn't allowed more than two goals in any outing this year, but there's reason to think his wheels could come off at any moment. Abbott has started five games this year and has a 2.60 ERA, but his xFIP is currently 5.14, the sixth-highest among eligible pitchers.
One thing Abbott expects from him is that he induces a solid amount of soft contact (18.5%), but he's also one of the biggest fly ball pitchers in the league. He has a FB% of 54.4%, which ranks second in the majors behind Dylan Cease. Abbott may keep hitters at bay with his ability to create soft contact, but he's not someone you can trust to make big runs.
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Ellie de la Cruz (SS – CIN)
Ellie de la Cruz became a phantom baseball scoring machine last week. In his past eight games, he had three home runs, eight RBIs, eight runs scored, eight walks, and nine stolen bases. He ranks fourth in wOBA (.457), fourth in ISO (.337), and seventh in wRC+ (186). He's also definitely the most fun player to watch.
After a slow start this year that saw him at the bottom of the Reds' batting lineup, Delacruz is in the second hole and shows no signs of slowing down. Dela Cruz has the second-highest batting average (BABIP) in the league (.422), but it would be foolish to think that his strong performance over the past eight days will continue through the rest of the season. Although he regresses, he holds immense fantasy value with the various ways he can earn points.
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Nolan Jones (OF – COL)
Like most Rockies players this season, Nolan Jones has struggled to start the year. The left-handed slugger showed some signs of promise last season, but this year Jones has a whopping 37.5% strikeout rate, the fourth-highest rate in the league. It would be a different story if he could offset that number by hitting the bat when he made contact, but his wOBA is the sixth-worst in the league (.211), his wRC+ is just 16, and his current WAR is – It is 0.8. .
But there are signs of hope for Jones. He hit 20 home runs for Colorado last season and led the team in ISO (.245). The most concerning aspect of Jones' profile this year is his strikeout rate. He doesn't see the ball very well, so in his third year in the majors, he might end up going back to the minors to fix the issues he's facing. But it's also this whole team that is struggling at the moment. Colorado conceded 135 points as a team and only allowed 90 points on its own.
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Josh Naylor (1B – CLE)
Josh Naylor is another player to keep an eye on. I don't think I've ever seen a guy so fired up after hitting a home run. He was also one of the meanest hitters this season and was a big factor in the Guardians' 17-7 record.
Naylor ranks 10th in ISO (.271) but has the 11th lowest strikeout rate in the league (11.3%). He's tied with Mookie Betts in those two categories. However, Betts has scored more runs (205 wRC+) with double his walk rate (16.1%) than Naylor. Let's not get carried away here.
I consider this half of the Naylor brothers to be one to watch in fantasy baseball. Naylor should have plenty of room to increase his RBI this season, as he's hitting behind two on-base players in Steven Kwan and Andres Jimenez.
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Andrew Bourne (1B – CWS)
Andrew Vaughn has really struggled with this dish this season. He leads the White Sox in at-bats, but only has a .036 ISO, .214 wOBA, and 34 wRC+. He also has strikeouts in 29% of his at-bats.
This entire offense has been awful, but I'm picking Vaughn here because he at least showed some promise as a fantasy asset last year. Last season, he was behind Jake Berger and Luis Robert Jr. in many offensive metrics. Maybe Bourne still has something left in the tank, but he may need to leave the 3-21 White Sox to ignite it.
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