San Francisco Giants starter slash lefty slash reigning Cy Young slash second half savant Blake Snell notched his first win of the season Friday night and it was a doozy! Snell masterfully no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, the first no-hitter of his career and third in the MLB this year. Dude was dominant throughout, allowing just three base runners and striking out eleven Reds on 114 pitches, putting up an incredible called-swinging strike rate of 40%. Reds could not sniff a hit off this Snell’s stinky cheese. Blake started off the game by striking out the side in the first and then again in the fourth inning and did not allow a base runner to reach second base. He generated 21 swings and misses total throughout the night and lowered his ERA to 4.29 with the outing. In his past two starts, Snell has gone 15.0 IP, allowing just two hits, zero runs, with a 26/5 K/BB. Oh my, well, that is very good isn’t it? For his career, Blake has always been a second half bombSnell, with a 2.43 career ERA post-All-Star break! It’s crazy to think trends like being a “second-half starter” exist but Snell has been exactly that and the stats don’t lie. You know what’s even crazier, as Grey pointed out, Snell is a two time Cy Young winner, inarguably one of the best starters in all of baseball and he completed eight innings in a start time for the first time Friday night. In ever! Somebody get the corkscrew because my mind has been bottled. He hasn’t been on the Rays in years so we can’t even blame Kevin Cash anymore. Injuries were an issue but Snell was rocking a 6.31 ERA entering the All-Star break and his first half struggles will always been one of baseball’s little mysteries. The Giants will take it, and with this kind of second half track record I’m sure many contenders are kicking themselves for not making a move for Snell. Still, if he’s pitching like this there’s no Snelling how far Blake can carry them through to October. Dude is cooking right now, and it Snell’s sweet like victory.
Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:
Tyler Fitzgerald – 3-for-5, HR (10), 2 RBI. Fitz for a king! King Tyler! Fitz as a fiddle! He leads the league in fWAR post break, and is one of just three hitters with an ISO over .500 in that stretch. I guess Snell isn’t their only post-ASB WARrior. Get it? How about that 1.004 OPS! That’s nine homers in 14 games! If you ask nicely, Grey will tell you how many homers Julio Rodriguez has.
Erick Fedde – 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 5 ER, 4 K, 5th L. Fedde got WAP’d early in this one but ended on a strong note retiring the last 10 hitters he squared off with. St. Louis has one of the more reliable starter rotations in all of baseball so I was a little shocked with the Fedde acquisition but then I looked at his stats: 7-5 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 112/34 K/BB. Not too shabby, right? Not shabby at all. Like if you were drafting blind stat lines you might accidentally end up with Fedde spaghetti. And seven wins with that White Sox team is a feat in itself. He’s responsible for like a third of their wins!
Michael Busch – 1-for-4, HR (14). I grabbed Busch in a league when Bellinger went down July 12th and he proceeded to do nothing for the three weeks on my team. I dropped him yesterday and he homered today so you’re welcome. Still, the kid’s got promise and his struggles mean we can draft him everywhere next year.
Oneil Cruz – 5-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RB, SB (10). The Cruz Missile had a costly error at the beginning of this one and was like, “Naw, I ain’t going out like that,” and did not record an out at the plate going 5-for-5 for the first time in his career. He’s upped his average almost 20 points since the start of July and is hitting .321 with 3 homers and 3 steals over the past two weeks. I know what you’re thinking, and yes I think it’s pretty obvious Paul Skenes has given him some pointers at the plate.
Josh Bell – 2-for-5, 2 HR (16). Joshy boy ringing up twin ding dongs! I linked the first one to ding and the second to dong. He took the first pitch he saw as a DBack yard and hit one out from each side of the plate. The first Diamondback to record home runs from both sides of the plates in his debut sinc…zzzzzz. Sorry I blacked out from boring irrelevant stats. Also, I almost forgot switch hitting is still a thing. Grey told you to BUY saying, “One of the few guys to have a positive uptick in value after his trade.” And that’s me quoting Grey! There’s no time to waste, go grab him!
Ketel Marte – 2-for-5, 2 HR (26). Joc Pederson also homered (16). If that ain’t the pot calling the Ketel an MVP! That’s four wins in a row for the Snakes and let’s give Marte his flowers right quick, because they barely grow in the desert. His first bomb was this 420-footer in the first, and he bookended it in the ninth with another blast. He’s slashing .303/.369/.554 with 26 homers (6 from his career best) and 74 RBI with a .924 OPS. Mmhm. And if you compare to other players at his position he has six more homers and his OPS is close to .100 points higher than the next closest second baseman. There were MVP chants reigning down for Marte in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh! I mean, they’re not wrong.
Ryan Thompson – 1.0 IP, 2 hits, ER, SV (2). Thompson gets the first chance since Paul Sewald’s removal and this looks like a situation that product a lot of stress, anxiety, hair loss, speculation, obsession, but probably not a lot of saves. Puk, Floro, and Justin Martinez all pitched, in that order, with Martinez looking the best, but who’s to say? Regardless, this is probably the best team with a closer shituation like this so unfortunately it’s worth monitoring closely to see if a top option emerges.
Salvador Perez – 3-for-5, 3 runs, HR (29), 2 RBI, slashing .282/.339/.476. I spent last week’s blurb gushing about Sal Perez so I will spare you this week but how can you not gush when he whops mollys like this one. Royals looking like one of the league’s most dangerous teams right now.
Bobby Witt Jr. – 1-for-5, run, SB (25). Oh yeah, this guy. He’s hitting .527 over the past two weeks with four homers, 19 runs scored, 15 RBI and 3 steals. Pretty good! That’s a 15 game hitting streak as well for those counting at home. He started 0-for-4 in this one but salvaged his day with the base hit and the steal and is now batting an insane .348. It’s August! Quick, pick one to start your franchise: Gunnar or Bobby? It’s easier than it should be, huh?
Justyn-Henry Malloy – 2-for-2, HR (8), 2 RBI. If Spencer Torkelson hit balls like this he’d be owned in 90% of fantasy leagues.
Tarik Skubal – 6.1 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4th L. Skubal did not have it Friday night, but perhaps he ran into the buzz saw that is BWJ and the surging Royals. He still struck out 8 and his ERA remains at 2.57 ERA, which is all I can ask for from my Ace in a tough matchup. It’s baffling the Tigers almost traded this dude, good luck finding another like him.
Cole Ragans – 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 8th win, ERA at 3.36 ERA. Not what you want in such a cake match up and he apparently destroyed countless parlays last night but he got the win and gets the Red Sox next week. I feel like you have to start him but I wouldn’t want to.
Frankie Montas – 5.0 IP, 9 hits, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 5th win. OK, if the Brewers can resurrect this guy, then I’ll be impressed. This could have been the lowly Nats offense, but whiffs were up, velocity was up. Hmm, intrigued, yes? Someone told Frankie to relax, perhaps? He gets the Braves next week and I could see it!
William Contreras – 1-for-4, HR (12). This was an absolute tank job to center. Yes, very pretty. He’s still a top 3 fantasy catcher but after hitting eight home runs in April/May he’s hit just four since, with just two bombs in July. Here’s to starting August out with another power surge?
CJ Abrams – 1-for-5, HR (16), 2 RBI. If I knew you were gonna hit home runs and not steal 30 bases I wouldn’t have drafted you so high.
Colton Cowser – 1-for-5, RBI. That’s a 14-game hitting streak for Co-Cow, who was a BUY, and he’s hitting .368 with four homers in that stretch. He attributes the success to using a longer bat and you know what they say, “the bigger the stick…” err, it goes something like that. I’m going to remain salty cause I want Gunnar leading off but I know COWser’s been udderly hot, pitcher’s should STEER clear.
Jackson Holliday – 2-for-3, RBI. BUY. All it took was removing all possible competition. No pressure, Jack!
Coby Mayo – 0-for-2, run, 2 BB, 2 K. BUY. Two walks in his first career start! He joins greats like Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Bradley, Jr. who also walked twice in their first MLB game. That’s some good company!
Dean Kremer – 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. I get that the O’s don’t want to give up the precious prospects, but you can’t play them all. And for real, can’t they do better than Trevor Rogers and Zach Eflin? I remain unimpressed.
Josh Naylor – 3-for-4, 2 RBI. In Kremer’s defense, Jerry, Naylor I-hardly-know-her and the Guards look like one of the hottest teams in baseball, and Josh is hitting .533 in the past week. Now here’s a team that was totally off my radar that made some impressive deadline moves! What I’m a sucker for Cobb! I know it’s corny.
Steven Kwan – 1-for-4, SB (7), slashing .332/.385/.484. I’ve said it before, but if Kwan could steal 20+ bases he could be a top 5 outfielder.
Spencer Schwellenbach – 7.0 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. Well hello there, beautiful. I’m not sure we were properly introduced? It’s VERY nice to meet you. More like Schwellenballs with how turned on I am by that 70/10 K/BB in 64 2/3 innings. Where do the Braves get these guys? He’s got 29 Ks in his past three starts and I can’t wait to see the Spencers (Strider and Schwellenbach) as the 1-2 punch for this Braves team next year. Talk about novelty gifts!
Xavier Edwards – 2-for-4 run, 2 SB (11). He was a BUY and all X is gon’ give to you is steals and hits and consistency from the lead off spot. He’s got five steals in the past week with a homer. If you don’t need any of those things I’d move along.
Jake Burger – 1-for-4, HR (16). Four homers in his past seven games. Someone was hoping they’d get traded. Just put the fries in the bag, bro!
Jonah Bride – 1-for-4, HR (2), 2 RBI. This was a monster 400 footer, his second this week and he should play almost every day with Bell out of the picture. If you are as desperate for a corner infielder as I am for positive feedback, adding a Bride could lead to a healthy marriage.
Valente Bellozo – 5.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. I can’t manage to read his name without repeating the word “bozo” internally in my head. Still not bad for a guy with a 5.55 ERA last year.
Calvin Faucher – 1.0 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, BS (1). Faucher gets the first crack at the closer gig after Scott’s departure and he did what all the finest glassmakers of the Miami beach boardwalk have been doing for decades, blow it. Andrew Nardi (1.0 IP, BB, 2 K, and the hold) and Anthony Bender both pitched better than Faucher to notch holds and my guess is Nardi-dog gets the next chance but my guess is as good as yours.
Royce Lewis – 2-for-4, HR (12), 4 RBI. It had been almost five days since his last home run I was starting to worry. Ahh, there it is. His 12th bomb in 31 games. To break out of his mini slump he just needed to face the worst baseball team of all time.
Byron Buxton – 1-for-4, HR (14), 2 RBI. The Trout injury makes me contemplate life’s bigger questions, like what would the careers of Buxton and Griffey and heck even Royce Lewis look like if health was not a factor? Yeah, my hard hitting questions might make some uncomfortable but I’m going to keep asking them!
Joe Ryan – 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 7th win, ERA at 3.59. Maybe if we don’t mention the elephant in the room, ie Joe Ryan’s second half regression, it won’t happen this year? So far so good, but don’t say that so loud! I’m hoping he’s gonna hold it together down the stretch this year and it’s not just that he’s faced the Tigers and White Sox post-ASB. Well, he gets the Cubs next week and they are also quite terrible! Keep it together just a little while longer, Joe!
Yusei Kikuchi – 5.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K. Yusei the Astros gave up too much for Kikuchi? Yusei it was the biggest fleece job in years? It certainly looked that way when he immediately gave up a homer and double in the first but he settled down spectacularly and allowed just one hit after the first inning. And the 11 strikeouts!? (ELEVEN) *swoons* Well, you know how I feel about that. Before we decide who fleeced who, something tells me the Astros knew exactly what they were doing.
Shane Baz – 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, BB, 5 K. I am going to own you so hard next year, Bazzy. All the teams!
Dylan Carlson – 1-for-3, HR (1), 2 RBI. This was first home run since LAST June! Did the Rays fix him? Is that all it took? Is the Cardinals where hitters go to die now? Please trade Jordan Walker. Obviously, we’re going to want to see a little more, but Carlson was once highly touted and a prospect and if he’s set to get regular playing time is worth watching closer than episode six of House of the Dragon. Yes, even that scene! Yes, ew! Targaryens gonna Targaryen I guess.
Kutter Crawford – 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 5 ER, BB, 5 K, 7th win. Four home runs allowed, brings his total to 26 allowed in 127 innings this year. Hey, at least he got the win? I stuck with you this long Kutter but it’s time to abandon ship. You are streaming territory now, and next week versus Kansas City is a match-up I’m avoiding.
Corey Seager – 3-for-3, 2 HR (21), 3 RBI. Two tanks including this one as the beisbols were flying in that Tejas heat. Corey slashed .311/.398/.522 in July with four homers and is all like, oh, you like that? Wait till you see my August.
Marcus Semien – 1-for-4, HR (16), 2 RBI. If you’re wondering why the Rangers aren’t as unstoppable this year look no further than Semien falling off the planet. Perhaps we need a further Semien analysis? Someone get a test tube!
Rafael Devers – 2-for-4, HR (25). Followed up his walk off double Wednesday with this endgame blast. He was just having fun at that point. He’s hitting .462 in the past week with two home runs and is on his way to posting career highs across the board. Sure, the numbers aren’t as eye-popping as Judge or Ohanti, but dude does have a 1.002 OPS this season! Sweet sassy molassy! Only three players have higher and I bet you can guess two of them.
Wilyer Abreu – 3-for-5, 2 runs, HR (10), 3 RBI. Wilyer or Wontyer? Hitting .368 with two homers in the past week. Abreu can be streaky so grab him while he’s streaking. Through the quad and into the gymnasium!
Ceddanne Rafaela – 2-for-4, HR (13). Mmm. Ceddanne boy, the hype is calling! I love you more than any man could ever love a human baby. You know I gotta link this one! This time with rizz! Now that Mason Miller’s hurt is there anyone even close to Rafaela in the AL ROY race? Am I biased? Yes. This kid does it all!
Marcus Stroman – 2.2 IP, 8 hits, 7 ER, BB, 3 K, 6th L. Posting a 6.33 ERA since June 1. Yankees first mistake was signing Stroman.
Kevin Gausman – 4.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. Speaking of sad fallen heroes, it’s looking like the Gaus’s best days are behind him as well. It’s been real sweet prince. He gets Baltimore next week and I wouldn’t blame you for jumping ship at this point. I’m saying you can drop him.
Aaron Judge – 2-for-4, HR (40), 2 RBI. It’s fun to entertain thoughts like Devers being MVP but then you watch Judge do this. And then you realize he has almost 10 more homers and 25 more RBI than the next closest guy and then you start to entertain different thoughts like what lab was this baseball hitting monster created in.
Anthony Volpe – 3-for-4, HR (10), 2 RBI. I am not a Yankee fan but oh boy the decisions Aaron Boone makes sure do upset me like I was one. Ant’s got a seven game hitting streak with four homers in the past 10 days but Alex Verdugo (0-for-5, 3 K) is leading off!? Just lead Jazz off already, stop being racist!
Joey Loperfido – 2-for-5, 2 runs. As the Jays scored 8 runs with 13 hits. Loperfido looks like he’s going to fit in just fine with his new team and batting in front of Vladdy is a plus, but I want to see more power and speed before I recommend you grab him. Still he was a BUY and people seem to love him wherever he goes. He’s a very popular prospect I’m saying, I just want to see it in action before I invest.
Joey Estes – 6.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5th win. Yes, you are seeing this correctly, Joey Estes shut down the Dodgers for his fifth win. People can change. The A’s are like, kind of good now? Not terrible at least. Especially compared to what else is out there, jeez. Estes gets an especially zesty match with a much worse team next week and I could see considering the prospect of maybe thinking about mulling over the possibility of contemplating whether or not I should review the option of potentially picking him up. I still don’t know for sure though!
Gavin Stone – 4.0 IP, 8 hits, 5 ER, BB, 5 K. It’s a hard rock life for Stone. Ugh, you know what they say, Igneous is bliss. Stone puns, ha! But for real, get off my fantasy team.
Brent Rooker – 1-for-4, HR (27), 2 RBI, slashing .293/.367/.591. Dime store Rooker! Is he one of the best pick ups of the season? I think you know the answer to that. No cap (I’m pretty sure I used that right and trying not to look too pleased with myself), I was surprised by his slash. Dude is a .300 hitter! He’s been one of the best outfielders in baseball! And you got him off the literal trash heap known as the 2024 first half A’s, not to be confused with the second half A’s, who are on fire.
Shea Langeliers – 1-for-4, HR (21). I want a swiiiiiiiiing like Shea Langeliers! Like Sheaaaa Langelieeeeeeeeeers! Loyal readers (hi mom!), know how often Shea homers on Friday and how often I struggle to spell his name right.
Shohei Ohtani – 1-for-5, HR (33), 3 RBI. Teoscar Hernandez – 2-for-4, HR (23), 2 RBI. Let’s stop making the injury excuses for the Dodgers who still have two of the leagues top hitters and possibly the greatest player in the world in Brohtani. They are struggling in the dog days, we all been there. It’s hot. A/C barely works. Everything is sticky. You just got Flaherty. No one feels bad for you.
Paul Blackburn – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, ER. 2 BB, 6 K, 4th win. Too bad we don’t get to see him make a run with the A’s but this is a nice little add for the Mess at the deadline. I’d avoid his Coors start next week but he’s a worthy streamer going forward. Like basically every Mets pitcher at the moment.
Tyler Anderson – 5.0 IP, 8 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 10th L. That’s ALL-STAR Tyler Anderson to you.
Manny Machado – 2-for-4, HR (17). Macho Manny has been just underwhelming enough (.269/.319/.442 slash) for no one to really notice. At least he hasn’t been as bad as Xander.
Austin Gomber – 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, BB, 6 K, 3rd win. Gomber’s had a few gems, probably three, in him this year so we’d give him his flowers for this one but they might not survive in the altitude.
Victor Vodnik – 1.0 IP BB, K, SV (5). He is very clearly the favorite for saves in Colorado and he’s got a name like a supervillain. Do you need saves that bad? It’s giving desperation. Pick him up if you hate yourself.
Bryan Woo – 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 5th win. That’s a Woo hoo and a Woo(p) if I’ve ever seen one. I gave the M’s a lot flack for coddling this guy but based on his 2.08 ERA it looks like it’s paying off.
Tyler Phillips – 1.2 IP, 5 hits, 8 ER, 3 BB, K, 3 HR. That’s how you come off a complete game. Burn it all down! You can see the Shohei blurb if you’re wondering if I’m concerned with the Phillies struggles. Dog days. Boo hoo. Or if you’re a Phils fans I would have booed Woo last night.
Justin Turner – 2-for-4, Grand Slam HR (7), slashing .261/.351/.382. Mitch Haniger (10) and Luke Raley (12) also homered. The JT grand salami was both grand and a salami, he should fit in nicely with this group. But if you enhance enhance zoom you can see a fan getting drilled by this ball which is only funny if we find out the fan is alright so can someone find out if he’s okay so we can laugh this off?
Victor Robles – 2-for-4, HR (2), SB (14). BUY! He’s hotter than a Glen Powell tornado rodeo–and let me tell you, rangling ‘nados in the OK Alley can get pretty spicy. He’s somehow still available everywhere despite his .375 average in the past two weeks with 6 steals and 2 bombs. This is the Robles I overdrafted in 2019. Nice to be formally introduced. To the Victor adder goes the spoils, I guess. Maybe C-Attle has been approaching their offense all wrong these years and just need to scrap the power and get on base guys that complement their ballpark and elite starting pitching staff. Are the Mariners a wagon, ya’ll? If so this Victor could be driving them straight to the postseason, uhh, Victory!
Thanks for reading! Questions? Problems? Complaints to management? Advice, small gifts or large bribes? Please leave it in the comments below. Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy baseball continues next week, all week long!
