Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 15

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for Week 15! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so this exercise […]

Evan Longoria Hits Go-Ahead Home Run Sunday

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a strikeout in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Cardinals. Longoria got to Jack Flaherty in the seventh inning to score the only run of the game on his 12th HR of the season. The veteran now owns a .238/.313/.439 slash […]

Will Smith Notches 23rd Save Of Season Sunday

San Francisco Giants closer Will Smith picked up his 23rd save of the season in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Cardinals. Smith closed out the ninth inning, allowing one hit and no walks with no strikeouts. He has been a solid fantasy closer this season and now owns a 1.98 ERA with 53 strikeouts and […]

Jeff Samardzija Goes Seven Scoreless In Win Sunday

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija improved to 6-7 in Sunday's 1-0 shutout over the Cardinals. Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks with two strikeouts. The veteran has been mediocre this season and now owns a 4.01 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 28 walks in 98 2/3 IP. While […]

Chance Sisco Hits Sixth Home Run Of Season Sunday

Baltimore Orioles catcher Chance Sisco went 2-for-4 with a single, a solo home run, and two strikeouts in Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. The 24-year-old took David Phelps deep in the seventh inning for his sixth long ball of the season. Cisco now has a solid .283/.394/.667 slash line with 17 RBI in […]

Madison Bumgarner Expected To Make Next Start

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that he expects starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner to make his next scheduled start Saturday against the Brewers, per The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly. Bumgarner was struck in the left arm by a line drive in the first inning of Saturday's game, causing him to exit the game after two […]

Austin Slater Hits Pinch-Hit Grand Slam

San Francisco Giants outfielder Austin Slater made his one at-bat count in Saturday's 8-4 win over the Cardinals. Pinch-hitting for Sam Dyson in the fourth inning, Slater took Miles Mikolas deep to right field for a grand slam. The 26-year-old has been hot since getting called up at the beginning of July, hitting .545 with […]

Pablo Sandoval Plates Three Saturday

San Francisco Giants third/first baseman Pablo Sandoval went 2-for-3 with a single, a two-run home run, three RBI, and a strikeout in Saturday's 8-4 win over the Cardinals. Sandoval took Tyler Webb deep to left field for his 11th HR of the season. The 32-year-old has surprisingly been the Giants' most consistent hitter this season, […]

Alex Dickerson Hits RBI Triple Saturday

San Francisco Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple in Saturday's 8-4 win over the Cardinals. The 29-year-old has been on fire since joining the Giants and is now as a .297/.357/.609 slash line with four home runs and 17 RBI on the season. He only has 70 plate appearances but looks […]

Anthony Santander Plates Two On Three Hits Saturday

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander went 3-for-4 with three singles and two RBI in Saturday's 8-1 win over the Blue Jays. The 24-year-old has shown well at the big-league level and now has a .284/.345/.461 slash line with four home runs and 15 RBI. While he has hit well, he hasn't done enough to merit […]

Renato Nunez Hits 20th Home Run Of Season, Heating Up

Baltimore Orioles third baseman/designated hitter Renato Nunez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Saturday's 8-1 win over the Blue Jays. Nunez took Clayton Richard deep in the fourth inning for his 20th HR of the season. The 25-year-old has been one of baseball's streakiest hitters and is at it again, […]

Andrew Cashner Pitches Deep In Win Saturday

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Andrew Cashner improved to 9-3 in Saturday's 8-1 win over the Blue Jays. Cashner pitched seven innings, allowing a single run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts. The 32-year-old has pitched surprisingly well this season and now owns a 3.83 ERA with 66 strikeouts and 29 walks over […]

Madison Bumgarner Struck In Left Arm, Leaves Game

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner exited his start early after being struck above the left elbow by a Jose Martinez line drive. Bumgarner was hit in the first inning but completed the inning as well as the second before being removed. His final stat line was one run allowed on four hits and […]

Alex Dickerson Stays Hot In Friday's Game

San Francisco Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson continued to hit in Friday's 9-4 loss to the Cardinals. Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a single, a solo home run, and a strikeout. The lefty lined a Dakota Hudson delivery just over the right-field porch in the third inning for his fourth long ball of the season. Dickerson has […]

Drew Pomeranz Lacks Command In Friday's Start

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz did not have a good start in Friday's 9-4 loss to the Cardinals. Pomeranz needed 85 pitches to get through four innings, allowing four runs on six hits (including two home runs) and four walks with three strikeouts. The 30-year-old has been pitching better than his season numbers […]

Jonathan Villar Starting To Heat Up Again

Baltimore Orioles second baseman/shortstop Jonathan Villar went 2-for-4 with two singles, an RBI, two strikeouts, and a stolen base in Friday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. The stolen base was Villar's 17th of the season. The 28-year-old has started to turn things around after slumping heavily and is hitting .346 with four RBI and […]

Paul Fry Earns Second Save Of Season Friday

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Paul Fry picked up his second save of the season in Friday's 4-1 win against the Blue Jays. Fry pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning ending with a strikeout. The O's have used a number of relievers in save situations this season, but Mychal Givens has received the most with 11 while […]

Chris Davis Drives In Three Friday

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis went 2-for-4 with a single, a solo home run, three RBI, and two strikeouts in Friday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Davis now has a .182/.264/.321 slash line with seven HR, 22 RBI, and a 39.4% strikeout rate in 208 plate appearances. He hasn't had anything to offer […]

Dylan Bundy Pitches Well In Win Friday

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dylan Bundy improved to 4-10 in Friday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Bundy pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing a single run on three hits (including a solo home run) and two walks with six strikeouts. The 26-year-old now owns a 4.65 ERA with 96 strikeouts, 32 walks, and 20 HR […]

Dwight Smith Jr. Goes Hitless Wednesday, Continues To Struggle

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. went 0-for-5 with a strikeout in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Rays. The 26-year-old started off the season well but has struggled since returning from a concussion, hitting just .214 with three extra-base hits in 12 games. Fantasy players can find better options on the waiver wire at this […]

John Means Pitches Well, Takes No-Decision Wednesday

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher John Means turned in another good start in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Rays. Means pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits (including a solo home run) and no walks with five strikeouts. The 26-year-old All-Star is now 7-4 with a 2.50 ERA, 69 strikeouts, and 22 […]

Rio Ruiz Drives In Three Wednesday

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Rio Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a single, a three-run home run, and a strikeout in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Rays. The HR was Ruiz's fifth of the season. The 25-year-old has not hit for power or average this season and now owns a .237/.307/.332 slash line in 258 plate appearances. […]

Renato Nunez Drives In Three Wednesday, Heating Up

Baltimore Orioles third baseman/designated hitter Renato Nunez went 2-for-5 with a single, a three-run home run, and two strikeouts in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Rays. Nunez capped off a five-run ninth inning with his 19th HR of the season. The 25-year-old slugger has picked things up in his last seven games, batting .348 with […]

Relievers Swinging-Strike Rate Studs and Duds: Week 14

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. We have spent most of our time focusing on starters throughout the season, so this week […]

Tom Eshelman Has Decent Debut Start Monday

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tom Eshelman had a decent first Major-league start in Monday's 6-3 loss to the Rays. The 25-year-old pitched five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk with no strikeouts. He took a no-decision in the game. With not much to lose this season, the O's have been mixing things […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 14

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for Week 14! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so this exercise […]

Andrew Cashner Earns Solid Win Saturday

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Andrew Cashner improved to 8-3 in Saturday's 13-0 win over the Indians. Cashner pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. The 32-year-old now has a 4.03 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 29 walks over 89 1/3 IP. His 5.16 SIERA suggests that he has been over-performing, […]

Anthony Santander Mashes In Second Straight Game Saturday

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander plagued the Indians for the second straight game in Saturday's 13-0 win, going 2-for-5 with a single and a solo home run. The 24-year-old has gone 5-for-10 with two singles, a double, two HR, and five RBI in the last two games and is now hitting .293 with four HR […]

Renato Nunez Hits Two Home Runs Saturday

Baltimore Orioles third baseman/designated hitter Renato Nunez did what he does best in Saturday's 13-0 win over the Indians, going 2-for-3 with two home runs, four RBI, and two walks. Nunez hit a pair of two-run long balls, one in the fourth inning and one in the seventh for his 17th and 18th HR of […]

Trey Mancini Plates Three On Three Hits Saturday

Baltimore Orioles first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini went 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, and three RBI in Saturday's 13-0 rout of the Indians. The 27-year-old has been the team's best offensive performer and now owns a .302/.358/.548 slash line with 17 HR and 40 RBI in 332 plate appearances. He should be in fantasy owners' […]