SP Keaton Winn, San Francisco Giants (60%)
Don’t look now but Winn has logged two consecutive quality starts and wins. Granted it was against the Marlins and the Mets, but Winn is a sneaky good pitcher who is locked into San Fran’s starting rotation. He doesn’t usually blow anybody away but he’ll give you a chance for good ratios and a win every time he takes the mound.
SP Mitchell Parker, Washington Nationals (58%)
I just happened to watch Parker’s second game this year and came away impressed. His third game was not nearly as good, as he walked as many as he struck out despite limiting the damage over four innings. However, those were actually the first walks for him this season and he still holds an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio of seven to one. It’ll be worth tuning into his next game to see how he can pitch against the formidable Texas batting lineup. It might be worth grabbing him now in case he bounces back.
SP Albert Suarez, Baltimore Orioles (35%)
Suarez has been extremely impressive thus far. He hasn’t pitched too deeply into games and will need to work on his efficiency a bit but he has yet to allow a run and has been pumping 95 mph with his fastball. The movement on his heater is pretty incredible, and hitters have been swinging and missing on it even when he throws it to them consecutively. In fact, Suarez has a ridiculous 17.7% swinging strike rate and this pitch is likely the main reason why. He has some decent secondary pitches as well so his 7.15 K/9 seems like it could improve some. Coming over from Korea at 34 years old, Suarez is still a big mystery and the wheels could ultimately fall off. What he has done so far, however, warrants our attention.
OF Mike Tauchman, Chicago Cubs (26%)
Tauchman had a pretty good season last year, showing solid plate discipline, a little pop, and a little speed. This year, his plate discipline has been even better, as he currently has as many walks as strikeouts, which has helped him of course to see better pitches. He has consequently caught fire of late and even had a two-homer game this past week, though those were his first of the season. If he can hit for a bit more power this year we could see a late breakout of sorts for the 33-year-old.
OF Tommy Pham, Chicago White Sox (23%)
Pham had an excellent season last year, hitting 16 home runs with 22 steals and decent ratios. He is back now and batting second for the White Sox. While the team isn’t great, Pham is guaranteed playing time and is hitting high up in the batting order. He is a must add in deeper leagues and is worth consideration in most formats.
Honorable Mentions
OF Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers (56%)
Hitting well but needs to start walking.
RP Hector Neris, Chicago Cubs (46%)
Looks like the new closer but has more walks than strikeouts.
2B,3B Josh Rojas, Seattle Mariners (23%)
Scrappy hitter who is starting most days.
OF Trevor Larnach, Minnesota Twins (21%)
He has been smoking the ball but how often will he play now with Max Kepler back?
SP Ben Lively, Cleveland Guardians (16%)
Will he have a good 3rd start? Will it matter once Gavin Williams returns?
OF Sean Bouchard, Colorado Rockies (15%)
Good hitter but will he play when Kris Bryant returns?
