Griffin Canning, SP, LAA (CBS: 45% rostered, ESPN: 13% rostered): Canning has been on a nice little run, with five of his past six starts being quality starts, resulting in four wins. He’s going deep into games, striking out a batter-per-inning, keeping the walks under control, and winning games. That seems like a recipe for pitching success and one we should explore in all formats.
Maikel Garcia, SS/3B, KCR (CBS: 19% rostered, ESPN: 6% rostered): I had my doubts, but Rich nailed this one, and kudos to him. Garcia has gone 8-for-23 with a home run, 5 RBI, and three thefts over his past six games. Go get him!
Nick Gonzales, 2B, PIT (CBS: 9% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): It appears that the Tucupita Marcano experiment has drawn to a conclusion. Gonzales got the call on Friday and brings with him decent power potential with limited BA expectations. He’s best left for NL-only formats at this time.
David Hamilton, 2B, BOS (CBS: 6% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): 52 stolen bases in 2021. 71 last year. 27 this year before getting the call. In his first four games in Boston, he has gone 1-for-9 with two stolen bases. He will greatly boost your speed numbers if he can hit enough to hold onto the job. It’s worth taking the chance to find out.
Billy McKinney, OF, NYY (CBS: 2% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): Who would have thought that Billy McKinney would be holding down an everyday job with the Yankees? Three home runs in his past six games make him an offensive force on a team that is struggling to find any offense. Aaron Judge could be out for a while, so the opportunity for steady at-bats is at hand. Take what you can get while the getting’s good.
Tommy Pham, OF, NYM (CBS: 17% rostered, ESPN: 4% rostered): A very good June has propelled Pham onto our radar. In 63 June at-bats, he has slugged four homers, driven in 15 runs, swiped 3 bases, and posted a .302 BA. Producing at this level will be cause for plenty of at-bats moving forward.
Mike Tauchman, OF, CHC (CBS: 6% rostered, ESPN: 3% rostered): Mike Tauchman has been on a tear. He has gone 6-for-22 in his past six games with two homers, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored. Is this level of production sustainable? Probably not, but when you’re hot, you’re hot. Take advantage of the opportunity.
Alek Thomas, OF, ARZ (CBS: 15% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): The demotion of Jake McCarthy seemed to work rather well, as he has returned with a vengeance, stealing 14 bases in the five weeks since his recall. Thomas has gone 7-for-21 with a homer since being recalled. Could lightning strike twice? I’ll spend a couple of bucks to find out.
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN (CBS: 34% rostered, ESPN: 14% rostered): Joey Votto has gone 5-for-17 with three homers and 7 RBI since being activated off the IL at the beginning of this week. The parade of kids is on in Cincinnati. All this parade needs is someone to lead the band, and who better for the job than Joey Votto?
Matt Waldron, SP, SDP (CBS: 1% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): Who doesn’t like a knuckleball pitcher? When it floats and flutters on its way to home plate, the knuckleball is a thing of beauty. When it doesn’t, they call it BP. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen one, and Waldron held his own last night, tossing 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball. In NL-only Leagues, find a home for him.
Bryan Woo, SP, SEA (CBS: 37% rostered, ESPN: 6% rostered): After struggling out of the gate, Woo has shown steady improvement and, against a watered-down Yankee squad on Thursday, held them to two-hits over 5 1/3 shutout innings. He has the Nats next up and, with it, a great opportunity to see if the young righty can continue trending in a positive fashion.
The Closer Report
Hunter Harvey, RP, WAS (CBS: 11% rostered, ESPN: 2% rostered): The on-again-off-again relationship between Finnegan and the ninth inning appears to be off…..again. Hunter Harvey has now successfully converted the last two save opportunities for the Nats, with the odds good that he is handed the ball for that next save opportunity.
Jordan Hicks, RP, STL (CBS: 41% rostered, ESPN: 9% rostered): A week ago, Hicks was coming off his first save of the season and was rostered to the tune of 4% in CBS Leagues. Add two more saves to his resume, and he appears to be in the driver’s seat for a regular share of the ninth-inning work in St. Louis. If only there were more work available.
Tommy Kahnle, RP, NYY (CBS: 3% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): Mike King was looking like the heir apparent and then came his current run of allowing runs in five of his past six outings. Meanwhile, Tommy Kahnle returned to the New York bullpen at the beginning of June and has now reeled off a string of ten consecutive scoreless outings that included one save. There could be more in his future.
Trevor May, RP, OAK (CBS: 7% rostered, ESPN: 1% rostered): He currently has the job in Oakland which means one save opportunity a week, at-best. It’s not much, but a save is a save is a save.
Scott McGough, RP, ARZ CBS: 24% rostered, ESPN: 9% rostered): Remember when McGough was sitting with a 9.64 ERA and 2.71 WHIP seven games into the 2023 season. He’s now sporting a 2.54 ERA, .79 WHIP, and 46 K’s in 39 IP. He has allowed no walks in his past nine appearances and has gone 16 consecutive appearances in which he has not allowed an earned run. He also has 3 saves in his last three appearances. Need I say more?
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