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Fantasy Baseball: What you need to know from Tuesday's MLB action

Fantasy baseball analyst Dalton Del Don highlights Tuesday's big headlines. For his breakdown of Joc Pederson's huge night, click here.

Hitters make an impression — for good or bad

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entered Tuesday slugging just .200 (.523 OPS) over his past 15 games but finally had his first extra-base hit since May 5 by going deep. It was just his second multi-hit game over the last month. Guerrero’s ground-ball percentage is back up this season and his launch angle is a career-low, but hopefully, Tuesday was the beginning of the end of his cold streak.

William Contreras was used at DH and hit second Tuesday, as Atlanta continues to find ways to keep his bat in the lineup. He played left field Monday, and the backup catcher has a 188 wRC+ over his 47 plate appearances this year. Contreras is available in 80% of Yahoo leagues, which is way too high considering his ability to hit, newly increased role and the absolute dreadful catcher situation throughout the league.

• Less than three weeks ago, Mookie Betts had a .710 OPS. He now leads the National League with 12 home runs (and sports a .963 OPS). He’s suddenly on pace to finish with 46 homers, 170 runs scored, 116 RBI and 12 steals while batting .292 (and is 2B eligible!). That’ll work.

• Meanwhile, Marcus Semien went hitless Tuesday and is still without a homer over 158 at-bats this season. He hit 45 last year.

Christian Walker has the third-most expected home runs this season, while Seiya Suzuki has been the unluckiest hitter in baseball when it comes to going yard, having the largest gap between expected homers and actual home runs (Ronald Acuña Jr. is right behind him).

The kids are alright

Roansy Contreras tossed five scoreless innings during his first start of the season Tuesday and is one of a few intriguing pitchers worth adding in fantasy leagues.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Roansy Contreras had a fine fantasy debut
Roansy Contreras' fantasy debut went very well. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

• The Marlins have yet to record a save during May.

Cal Mitchell had racked up five homers and six steals over 34 games in Triple-A and should get regular playing time in Pittsburgh’s outfield after getting called up Tuesday. Given his power/speed potential, the former second-round pick can be added in deep fantasy formats. Mitchell is available in 99% of Yahoo leagues.

Kyle Lewis is rostered in just 27% of Yahoo leagues and is well worth adding after making his season debut Tuesday night. Returning from knee surgery, Lewis remains an injury risk but possesses real power upside.

Meanwhile, teammate Julio Rodríguez has settled into Seattle’s cleanup spot nicely, going deep yet again Tuesday. The 21-year-old leads baseball in stolen bases and currently sports the same career wRC+ as Manny Machado (and has other big names beat). Rodríguez is going to be a top-10 fantasy pick in 2023.

Bobby Witt Jr. leads MLB in Sprint Speed. Meanwhile, Ozzie Albies was caught stealing an MLB-high fifth time Tuesday night.

Two vet pitchers going in opposite directions

Nick Pivetta entered Tuesday sporting a 0.82 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP with a 20:1 K:BB ratio over his previous three outings and recorded his fourth straight quality start. Pivetta remains available in more than 60% of Yahoo leagues, and it’s possible the light bulb has finally turned on.

Tyler Mahle was lit up for eight earned runs Tuesday, as he continues to be one of the biggest pitcher disappointments this season. The peripherals haven’t been as strong as last year, and it’s not easy pitching in the league’s best hitter’s park in 2022, but Mahle’s ERA is going to normalize soon enough. He hasn’t seen quite the level of unlucky as Alex Cobb, but Mahle’s ERA is 6.32 compared to his 3.83 FIP, so the best course of action is to remain patient.

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