Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. It was a big night offensively, as 13 teams scored at least five runs and two put up double digits.
Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Wednesday, and those who want to pretend the day never happened.
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Fantasy Baseball Studs
Corey Kluber (SP, CLE): It wasn't a banner night for pitching, but nobody bothered to tell Kluber. He spun a gem against the Tigers, going the distance and allowing only seven baserunners in a shutout. He also struck out seven. After another slow start to the season, Kluber's been brilliant in his last three turns. He has allowed just three runs in 24 innings, with 23 strikeouts against only two walks.
Daniel Murphy (1B/2B/3B, WAS): The Nationals put up 13 runs on the defending champion Royals yesterday, and Murphy led the charge with four hits, including a homer, and three RBI. He came around to score every time he reached base. Murphy was a revelation in the postseason last year, and that's carried over in the early going. He's hitting .398/.449/.663 after last night's performance.
Lucas Duda (1B, NYM): Duda went deep twice last night in his four trips to the plate, giving him three homers in his last three games and seven on the year. He hasn't been getting on base at his usual clip, but the power remains playable. He's a streaky hitter, though (remember that week last season when he hit seven bombs?), so look forward to bad puns in this space when he lands on the dud side of the equation.
Dae-Ho Lee (1B, SEA): As a player on the weak side of a platoon, Lee is pretty much ignored in fantasy leagues. The lucky few who own him (or more likely, the DFS players who rolled the dice yesterday) got a pair of homers and three RBI. Lee has nine hits in 32 at-bats this season, and four of them left the yard. If he ever gets a shot at consistent playing time, he could be worth an add in deep and AL-only formats.
Jose Altuve (2B, HOU): Altuve continued his monster start to the season, going 3-for-5 with a homer, double, and three RBI. That dinger brings him to a total of eight for the season, already halfway to his career high of 15 from a year ago. He didn't add to his league-leading stolen base total, though. What a bum, right? Maybe he belongs in the dud column.
Anthony Rizzo (1B, CHC): Rizzo collected three hits, including a home run, and scored three runs in the Cubs' 6-2 win over the Pirates. He's now gone 7-for-14 in his last three contests, bringing his average up to .260 in the process. With nine homers and 49 R+RBI through 26 games, he remains one of the best first basemen in the biz.
Jacoby Ellsbury (OF, NYY): I've thrown plenty of shade at Ellsbury since the offseason and still think he'll disappoint owners this year. He was in vintage form last night, though, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases. Those swipes bring him to seven for the season, so perhaps he does have some life left in those oft-injured legs.
Fantasy Baseball Duds
Chris Carter (1B, MIL): A night after hitting two homers to power the Brewers to a win, Carter took the collar in four at-bats. While he only struck out once, he left five runners on base. Carter's still off to a fantastic start, with nine homers and 38 R+RBI through 26 games.
Jose Fernandez (SP, MIA): The night wasn't a total loss for Fernandez and his fantasy owners, as he managed to strike out seven batters and get a win. But he only lasted five innings, allowing eight batters to reach base and three of them to score. Fernandez has rather pedestrian ratios to this point (4.28 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) despite a gaudy 12.6 K/9. He'll draw the Brew Crew at home next time out.
Nolan Arenado (3B, COL): The MLB leader in home runs didn't do much on Wednesday night, as he was hitless in four at-bats and left three runners stranded. TIME TO SELL HIGH ON THIS LOSER AMIRITE?! (Note: This advice only applies to owners in my leagues.)
Felix Hernandez (SP, SEA): The king stay the king, except when he doesn't. Hernandez continues to show diminished velocity and control in 2016, and while it hasn't come back to bite him much so far, it sure did last night. He allowed eight runs (though only four were earned) on nine hits in four innings against the Athletics, who aren't exactly a juggernaut. On the plus side, he didn't walk anybody, so...yay?
Jason Kipnis (2B, CLE): Kipnis went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts last night, leaving three runners on base in the process. Fortunately for him and the Indians, Corey Kluber was on the mound. Kipnis is his usual frustrating self so far this season, slashing a mere .263/.311/.411 with three homers and three steals.
Anthony Rendon (2B/3B, WAS): While Rendon managed to both score and drive in a run, he also went 0-for-4. There's nothing worse than seeing that a team scored 13 runs and checking your roster to learn that your player didn't get a single damn hit.
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