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Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. In today's news, two games were postponed on Monday, but that didn't stop us from having a high-scoring night. Oh, and by the way, Justin Upton still stinks.
Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Monday, and those who... well, did not.
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Fantasy Baseball Studs
Jose Fernandez (SP, MIA): While it was the Gerrit Cole and Matt Harvey owners who breathed sighs of relief on Sunday, Fernandez owners had their turn on Monday. The Marlins ace pitched seven scoreless innings and racked up 11 strikeouts while allowing four hits and walking four batters. The fact that he's still walking batters at a high rate is not ideal, but if he can limit contact and rack up strikeouts like this we won't care. There is certainly some sort of innings limit coming at the end of the season for JoFer, but he has some of the best stuff in the league when he's on the mound.
Mike Fiers (SP, HOU): Here's one I didn't see coming. After a rough start to the season, Fiers is starting to look more and more like the back-end fantasy starter with thought he might be. The Astros pitcher allowed three hits, two walks, and one earned run over his seven-inning outing. Fiers induced a ton of ground balls in this one against Cleveland, but he was also lucky with line drives right at his fielders. Not to mention, four strikeouts is not exactly ideal. Fiers will have games like this as a ground ball pitcher, but the lack of strikeouts will lead to explosions at times too. I need to see more to feel comfortable rostering him just yet.
Ketel Marte (SS, SEA): It wasn't Robinson Cano who cleared the fences in Seattle last night, but it was his cohort up the middle, Marte. After doubling twice and beating out an infield single as a right-handed batter against Matt Moore, Marte belted a three-run blast from the left side of the plate to lead the Mariners to victory. We're still not seeing the steals numbers that we thought we would from Marte, but he is a very solid hitter at the top of Seattle's lineup. He and his near-.300 average are valuable if he can stay up there consistently.
Derek Dietrich (2B/3B/OF, MIA): I knew this kid can hit, and now he's proving it. With a full-time role in the wake of Dee Gordon's absence, Dietrich is excelling from all spots in the order. He went 3-for-5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run on Monday night from the leadoff spot, and there's no reason to think this isn't sustainable. Dietrich has a nice, easy-going swing that packs some pop, and those who need help at one of his three eligible positions should look into his services.
Boston Red Sox Hitters: This might officially be the most dangerous lineup in baseball. The Red Sox have scored the most runs of any team thus far, and nights like Monday are the reason why. David Ortiz and company lit up Sonny Gray for seven earned runs, and they tacked on another six after he left. Ortiz, Travis Shaw, and Jackie Bradley Jr. all had three hits, while Bradley Jr. and Brock Holt cleared the fences. We should really start benching our borderline pitchers against this team.
Todd Frazier (3B, CHW): The Toddfather Returns! Frazier went deep with a solo homer in the sixth inning, and he added a grand slam in the top of the 12th to keep the White Sox atop the American League. Frazier also added two singles for a line of 4-for-6 with a run and six RBI. It seems like it's a different batter taking charge everyday for Chicago, and I'm starting to wonder if this team is actually for real.
The Arizona Diamondbacks 3, 4, and 5 Hitters: Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, and Welington Castillo combined for seven hits, seven runs, and seven RBI. Hopefully you stacked them on your DFS team. Granted, it happened at Coors Field, but this is what we expected coming into the season (although we thought it would be David Peralta instead of Lamb). This is a very good offense if they can all get on the same page, and Castillo is making a case for catcher of the year among the barren wasteland at that position. If Peralta can figure things out and A.J. Pollock comes back at some point this season, look out.
Fantasy Baseball Duds
Corey Kluber (SP, CLE): Kluber cruised through the first two innings by striking out three and walking one batter. But the wheels fell off in the third inning. Kluber couldn't miss a bat in the third, and the result was this: Single, Double, Double, Walk, Single, (Mound visit), Single, RBI ground out, Ground out, Walk. That was the end of Kluber's night, and he finished with five earned runs through 2.2 IP. I'm going to chalk this one up to the Astros suddenly hitting every ball in the right spot, but it's disappointing for Kluber owners regardless.
Tyler Chatwood (SP, COL): Everyone and their mothers were talking up Tyler Chatwood after a couple of solid performances leading up until Monday, but you can expect him to be on the most-dropped list on Tuesday after this dud (six earned runs in six innings pitched). Sure, everyone should've seen it coming, and if you're not benching Rockies pitchers when they're at home I don't feel bad for you. There is so much research that goes into why Rockies pitchers fail, so please try not to get your hopes up that someone like Chatwood is going to come along and break the laws physics.
Yasiel Puig (OF, LOS): Puig has all the potential in the world, but another 0-for-4 night on Monday is certainly making fantasy owners regret their decision to draft or trade for him in the early part of the season. A .235 batting average and three home runs is not exactly the return owners were hoping for, and a decreased hard hit percentage along with a 25% infield fly ball rate does not bode well for the young stud. Maybe he's trying too hard to hit balls out of the stadium?
Michael Brantley (OF, CLE): Mr. Smooth is struggling out of the gate after his delayed season debut, and while it's not time to panic yet, should owners be looking to sell while there's still value? Brantley wasn't tremendous prior to his injury last season, and the power decline is beyond noticeable. If you can get top-notch value from someone who sees a rusty outfielder, I might be willing to go elsewhere while I still can.
Kendrys Morales (DH, KC): The Royals are under .500 for the first time in a very long time. Morales and his .198 average probably have something to do with that. Hopefully this is a just a two to three week slump, but he's doing his best Prince Fielder impression right now, and it's not pretty.
Justin Upton (OF, DET): As someone who "bought low" on Upton, writing him up in this section yesterday nearly killed me. This might be the final straw. No, no you can't drop Upton, but you certainly can't trade him right now either. After another 0-for-4 night with THREE strikeouts, I'm begging him to put down the shovel and start climbing out of this mammoth hole that he's put himself and fantasy owners in.
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