Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. Only seven games were played, but there were still plenty of performances worth highlighting.

Here's a quick rundown of those who impressed on Thursday, and those who want to pretend the day never happened.

Editor’s Note: To read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple Store.

 

Fantasy Baseball Studs

Jose Fernandez (SP, MIA): Fernandez piled up 12 strikeouts in seven innings, winning his sixth consecutive start. Perhaps more importantly given his recent bout of wildness, he issued only one walk for the second straight game. Fernandez leads all starters with an absurd 13.35 K/9, nearly two full whiffs ahead of Stephen Strasburg.

Adeiny Hechavarria (SS, MIA): Only deep-leaguers and DFS players reaped the benefits, but Hechavarria went 3-for-5 with a two-run bomb yesterday. Turned out that’s all the support Fernandez needed, but the Marlins went ahead and scored nine runs anyway.

Jung Ho Kang (3B/SS, PIT): Kang went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, helping the Pirates finish off a sweep of the Diamondbacks. He’s hitting .298/.364/.702 with five homers in 16 games since being activated from the disabled list, showing no ill effects from the brutal knee injury he suffered last season.

J.A. Happ (SP, TOR): Happ improved to 6-2 with seven innings of one-run ball against the Yankees. He’ll carry a 3.20 ERA and 1.18 WHIP into his next contest.

Joe Ross (SP, WAS): Ross won an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel against the Cardinals. Though he struck out just four batters, an Aledmys Diaz homer was the only blemish on his line.

Mike Leake (SP, STL): Leake was the tough-luck loser, matching Ross’ seven innings of work but allowing a pair of solo homers. One of those came off the bat of Bryce Harper and still hasn’t landed.

Carlos Gonzalez (OF, COL): Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to help the Rockies avoid a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox. CarGo has eight hits in his last four games.

Jon Gray (SP, COL): Gray bounced back from getting pounded in his last turn, pitching into the eighth and allowing only two runs against the high-powered Boston lineup…

David Ortiz (1B, BOS): …Both of which came on Big Papi’s first-inning dinger. Ortiz also had a double in the game. He is currently slashing .337/.420/.706 with a league-leading 45 RBI at the ripe old age of 40. Insanity.

Jonathan Villar (3B/SS, MIL): Villar went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo homer as the Brewers completed their first sweep of the season. It was against the Braves, though, so it almost doesn’t count. Either way, Villar is hitting .295/.392/.416 with a league-leading 15 steals.

George Springer (OF, HOU): Springer socked a pair of solo shots as the Astros completed a sweep of the Orioles.

Luis Valbuena (1B/3B, HOU): Valbuena supplied the remainder of Houston’s offense with a two-run shot, one of his two hits on the evening.

Hyun-soo Kim (OF, BAL): Kim got to start two games in a row for the first time all season and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. That puts him at .444/.512/.528 on the season. The Orioles have announced that they plan to send him to a Siberian labor camp.

 

Fantasy Baseball Duds

Steve Pearce (1B/2B/OF, TAM): Pearce went hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice.

Steven Souza Jr. (OF, TAM): Souza did him one better (worse?), whiffing on all three of his trips to the plate. Rough day for dudes named Steve.

Jackie Bradley Jr. (OF, BOS): Also a rough day for guys named after their dads, as Bradley went 0-for-4 to snap his 29-game hitting streak.

Yasmany Tomas (3B/OF, ARI): Tomas failed to record a hit in four tries, striking out twice and leaving five teammates on base.

Carlos Beltran (OF, NYY): Beltran took the Golden Sombrero last night in a loss to the Blue Jays. He’s still rocking an .893 OPS with six homers and 20 RBI this month, though…

Alex Rodriguez (UTIL, NYY): …Which is more than you can say for his fellow graybeard Yankee. A-Rod returned from a three-week DL stint last night and went hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice. He’s hitting just .184 on the year.

Blake Swihart (C, BOS): Swihart was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. If he wants to stick with the big club when Brock Holt is back from the DL, he can’t afford many games like this.

Clay Buchholz (SP, BOS): Buchholz’s awful season continued unabated last night as he surrendered six runs in five innings of work. All of the damage came via the long ball.

Carlos Correa (SS, HOU) and Colby Rasmus (OF, HOU): Both players went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, helping the Astros set an MLB record for most whiffs in a three-game series. They’ve each struggled in recent weeks after strong starts to the season.

 

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