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, if Bryce Harper gets on base seven times in one game but doesn't record an at bat, did he actually play baseball on Sunday?
Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Sunday, and those who... well, did not.
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Fantasy Baseball Studs
Steven Wright (SP, BOS): The most brilliant pitching performance of the day came during the night cap, as Steven Wright made the Yankees look like, well, this year's Yankees. The Red Sox knuckleballer threw 101 pitches in his complete game. He struck out seven batters while yielding a walk and three hits, one of which was Brett Gardner's solo shot in the ninth. Wright is striking out nearly a batter per inning and carries a 1.67 ERA on the season. As long as he can keep from walking batters, there's no reason Wright can't keep up this solid production for the remainder of 2016.
Gerrit Cole and Matt Harvey (SP, PIT and NYM): Cole and Harvey owners haven't been pleased with their pitchers' production thus far, but they breathed a collective sigh of relief on Sunday. Both starters lasted just six innings and gave up two runs a piece, but the strikeouts were there (seven for Cole and 10 for Harvey) and they each got a win. While neither ace is completely out of the woods yet, the positives in this start will be well-received by their fantasy owners, and should lead to bigger things in the near future.
Robinson Cano (2B, SEA): Did Robbie hit another bomb? Why yes, yes he did. He now has a share for the lead with 12 dingers, and Cano leads the MLB with 33 RBI in the early going. This man is locked in at the plate. If there's someone I'm buying high on, it's him.
David Ortiz (DH, BOS): Speaking of bombs, Big Papi hit two. Both shots came off of Luis Severino, and Ortiz is now tied with Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews with 512 for his career (22nd overall). It's a shame that we have to see Papi leave, because he's seeing the ball really, really well right now. Let's just enjoy the last of it while we still can.
Baltimore Orioles Hitters: Pedro Alvarez, Jonathan Schoop, Joey Rickard, and Mark Trumbo. Yes, all of those guys hit home runs on Sunday. Oh yeah, and Manny Machado hit two of them, including a grand slam. This is what the Orioles can do to teams, especially those who have to rely on pitchers like Kendall Graveman. Chris Davis and Adam Jones are good for 60 HR or so combined, too. Just wow.
Kris Bryant (3B/OF, CHC): Bryant went 3-for-6 with two RBI and a stolen base on Sunday, continuing his recent tear that consists of an average over .350 these past two weeks. The Cubs are loving him in the middle of their order, and fantasy owners certainly aren't upset about the decreased strikeout rate. If Jason Heyward and Dexter Fowler can keep their OBPs around .400, Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are in for a whole lot of run production this year.
Ryan Braun (OF, MIL): Braun had a game himself, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. We all know how good Braun is when he's healthy (the dude is batting .367 right now), but the question is can he stay healthy. The Brew Crew seem set on resting him more often this year, so hopefully he can continue doing this during the games in which he is active.
Fantasy Baseball Duds
Luis Severino (SP, NYY:) Call me crazy, but I'm still not selling on Severino. Sure, he let up another three home runs and received a loss on Sunday, but this guy's stuff is electric. He settled down around the long balls to the tune of nine strikeouts in 6.2 IP while only walking one batter. Sure, the ERA looks bad. But there is some progress being made here, and I'm sure the Yankees management sees that. By the way, Pedroia's two-run home run in the first inning was likely an out in every other park.
Chris Tillman (SP, BAL): I was all for hopping on the Chris Tillman train these past couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong, I still am. The signs are there (the biggest being increased velocity and strikeouts). However, four walks and three earned runs today against the Athletics is not what owners were looking for. He still earned the win thanks to the O's ridiculous offensive surge, and he did rebound nicely mid-game, but keep an eye on that command. It's been known to be Tillman's weakness in the past. I guess there's no dud here, just a "c'mon man, you're better than this."
Justin Upton (OF, DET): This is getting sad. Upton is in such a great spot on this Tigers team, and I'm still not giving up, but the strikeouts are getting ridiculous. He added another two to his total on Sunday, and while the other two at bats were walks, you have to be a little concerned here. I still think Upton turns it around, as his career shows he's a very streaky hitter. But for the love of all that is holy, just hit the ball!
Bryce Harper (OF, WAS): In points leagues, you probably didn't even notice that Harper didn't record an at bat for basically the entirety of the Cubs series. Walks equal points! However, Harper's value in roto leagues is slowly dropping as teams begin to walk him more regularly. Sure, walks lead to runs and sometimes stolen bases, but that's not why you drafted Harper. Anyways, he reached base seven times Sunday without recording an official AB (six BBs and a HBP), so take that as you will.
Prince Fielder (DH, TEX): Yuck. Fielder is now batting .190 with just two home runs on the season after an 0-for-5 day on Sunday. He's started slow before, but I can't remember him ever being this bad with his batting average. Fielder's K% is up and he's hitting the ball hard less frequently. He certainly is capable of turning this around, but if I can still get a proven commodity who's already made the correction (Joey Votto perhaps), I'm jumping ship on Prince.
Troy Tulowitzki (SS, TOR): There's no argument that Troy Tulowitzki has one of the best power bats at the SS position, but is he really a poor man's Trevor Story at this point? Tulo is dropping in the order, and he can't buy a base hit. The former Rockie has the same problems as Fielder right now, so I don't know if there's anything you can do but hold on and hope for a miracle.
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