Braves provide fantasy delights in historic 29-run outburst against Marlins
Boyd busts, Burnes breaks out
Matthew Boyd followed up two straight quality starts by surrendering seven runs across three innings against a mediocre Brewers lineup. The right-hander, who was considered an elite whiffs option heading into the season, now sits at 1-6 with a 7.63 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Simply put, Boyd gives up too many long balls to be rostered in mixed leagues going forward. In fact, dating back to June 13 of last season, he has surrendered 42 homers across 27 starts (2.6 HR/9 rate). Boyd should be dropped everywhere and start 2021 on waivers.
On the other side of that 19-0 Brewers win was seven shutout innings from emerging ace Corbin Burnes. The right-hander has been arguably the best starter in baseball in the past two weeks, allowing just one unearned run while striking out 28 across three starts. Burnes has curbed his long-ball issues from a year ago (one homer allowed in 2020), which has enabled fantasy managers to take full advantage of his strikeout skills without suffering from a ratios perspective. Burnes will be a boom-or-bust, No. 2 starter in 2021 drafts.
Marlins meltdown
Surprisingly, the Brewers did not have the highest runs total yesterday. Not by a wide margin. The Braves tallied the second-highest single-game total since 1900 when they hung a 29 spot on the Marlins. Miami starter Pablo Lopez was having a nice season until he gave up seven runs across 1.2 innings. And he was followed by Jordan Yamamoto, who was scored on 13 times (12 earned) in 2.2 frames. All told, Atlanta hit seven homers (three off the bat of Adam Duvall) and swiped a pair of bags. Manager Brian Snitker didn’t pull most of his starters (thank you, Brian), which led to a trio of players scoring five runs and three RBI tallies of five or more. Duvall led the way with nine RBI and five runs scored. Amazingly, this was Duvall’s second three-homer game this month, and he is hitting .414 with eight homers, 16 RBI and 13 runs scored in his past eight games. He remains available in 65 percent of Yahoo leagues. Atlanta won’t have another outburst like this one, but its recent success is no fluke. The Braves are one of the scariest matchups for opposing starters, as they lead the Majors in OPS and rank second in runs scored.
Oh, and for the second time in three Atlanta starts, Tommy Milone was handed at least 10 runs of support by the end of the second inning and couldn’t pick up a win. Brutal.
A most unusual catcher
Undrafted in most spring drafts and only a late-round flier for those who drafted this summer, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the No. 2 fantasy catcher after going 4-for-4 with a stolen base in a Wednesday win over the Angels. The 25-year-old has taken an unusual path to success, as his two homers rank 25th among catchers and his seven RBIs place 33rd. But Kiner-Falefa sits seventh in the Majors with eight steals and 13th in batting average (.322) while qualifying at a position that is known for low-average sluggers. He remains available in 43 percent of Yahoo leagues and should obviously be rostered everywhere. Heading into 2021, he will be an interesting mid-round pick who allows fantasy managers to address early-round steals deficiencies in a unique way.
Injury Notes
Ozzie Albies was activated from the IL and went 3-for-6 with a homer and steal on Wednesday.
After seeing Walker Buehler depart with a blister on Tuesday, the Dodgers announced that they expect their young righty to make his next start.
David Dahl returned from the IL. Raimel Tapia has been swinging a hot bat and the Rockies added Kevin Pillar at the deadline. The combination of those changes could push Dahl into a part-time role.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said that Nate Pearson will return as a reliever, which means that the young fireballer can be dropped in all leagues.
Danny Santana underwent right elbow surgery and is expected to miss 7-8 months, which means that he will start 2021 on waivers in all leagues.
Matt Chapman was supposed to participate in baseball activities on Wednesday but wasn’t ready. His return from a hip injury is dragging on, and he is a drop candidate in shallow leagues.
Rowdy Tellez, Ketel Marte, Howie Kendrick and Shin-Soo Choo were all placed on the IL. With just 18 days remaining in the season, every IL stint from this point forward means a likely drop in mixed leagues.
Favorable Weekend Hitting Matchups
The A’s, Rangers, Phillies and Marlins each play four games from Friday-Sunday. The A’s can offer Tommy La Stella, Stephen Piscotty and Mark Canha as streaming options while Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Solak are among the options in an underachieving Rangers lineup. From the Phillies-Marlins series, Philadelphia hitters Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura are great streaming options while Miami offers hot-hitting Miguel Rojas and steals source Jon Berti.
The Rays start a four-game series against a league-worst Red Sox staff on Thursday. Willy Adames is a great streaming source, while Manuel Margot has been running wild of late. In deep leagues, rookie Randy Arozarena deserves a look.
The Angels travel to Colorado for three games. Justin Upton is back in a full-time role, has been hitting well and possesses the power to take advantage of Coors Field. Jo Adell and Andrelton Simmons are options in 15-team leagues.
Starters to Stream
Friday
Josh Tomlin (@WSH)
Alex Young (@ARI)
Saturday
Kevin Gausman (@SD)
Dakota Hudson (vs. CIN)
Sunday
Chad Kuhl (@KC)
Zach Eflin (@MIA)
Tyler Mahle (@STL)
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