Betting

Anderson’s latest dominant performance where he allowed just one baserunner was cut short due to inclement weather after just 59 pitches (39 strikes). The 21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s draft, has looked like one of the top pitching prospects in baseball during his professional debut, recording a sublime 0.48 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 30/4 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings over four starts at the Double-A level. There’s a non-zero chance he makes it to Seattle at some point later this season and he would offer enough strikeout upside to merit a roster spot in all fantasy formats.

Arias went hitless following a surreal hot streak where he homered in three consecutive games and six times in a seven-game span since April 14. The 20-year-old prodigy finished with just eight round-trippers in 116 games last season. His combination of elite plate skills and emerging over-the-fence power at a premium defensive position will position him as an elite fantasy prospect by midseason, if he’s not there already.

Hernandez has looked like one of the top pitching prospects in baseball during his professional debut, recording a pristine 0.53 ERA and 32/5 K/BB ratio across 17 innings over five starts. The 19-year-old phenom, who was selected sixth overall in last year’s draft, flashes triple-digit fastball velocity in addition to strong secondaries. He topped 96 mph on 30 of his 61 pitches during Friday’s latest dominant performance. He’s a couple hyperspace jumps from the majors, despite being extremely advanced for his age and experience, but there’s a realistic chance he finishes the year in the upper minors.

Swanson’s triple should have been caught by Andy Pages, but it was a well-hit ball to the wall in left-center. His homer off Tanner Scott in the ninth went 413 feet to left. Although he’s mostly batting ninth at the moment, Swanson is tied for eighth in the majors with 21 RBI and tied for fifth with 22 runs scored.

Initially it was reported that the 34-year-old slugger was being held out of the lineup on Friday due to mid back pain, but it’s actually the dreaded oblique that he’s dealing with. The Reds are hopeful that he’ll only have to miss a couple of weeks’ worth of action. It’s unclear what the corresponding move will be on Saturday, though it could mean the return of Noelvi Marte from Triple-A Louisville.

It’s time to take notice of Cortes. His first inning home run was part of the three-homer onslaught the top of the Athletics’ order greeted Rangers’ starter Nathan Eovaldi with, but his second was more impressive. With two outs in the fifth inning of a 3-1 game after Eovaldi had settled in, Cortes hit a 409 foot moonshot that broke this game open. That blast came on the seventh pitch of that at-bat on a cutter that was about an inch off the inside edge. Cortes still found a way to get around on it and he launched it deep into the right field stands. Through 56 at-bats this season, he has a .339/.403/.625 slash line with more walks than strikeouts and solid underlying power metrics. He’s also hitting third against right-handed pitchers in this talented Athletics lineup. There are all the signs of a true breakout here.

McLain victimized Tigers’ left-hander Framber Valdez for a 421-foot (106.8 mph EV) two-run shot in the fifth inning to get the Reds on the board. Then after a lengthy rain delay, he walloped a 419-foot (106.3 mph EV) two-run shot off of Will Vest that tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh inning. The dynamic 26-year-old also drew a walk in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-4. He’s now hitting .213/.339/.330 with two homers, eight RBI and four stolen bases through his first 112 plate appearances on the season.

Torkelson got off the schneid when he hit his first home run of the season in Wednesday’s victory over the Brewers. He followed that up by crushing his first career walk-off home run to sink the Brewers on Thursday afternoon. Then on Friday night, he clobbered a solo shot off of Tony Santillan in the eighth inning, igniting a three-run rally. He finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs scored and is now hitting .210/.347/.370 with three homers and 10 RBI on the season. A notoriously streaky hitter, Torkelson should be started in all fantasy leagues at the moment until he starts to show signs of cooling off.

He will not stop. As usual, Murakami’s long ball was a sight to behold. He somehow got his bat head on a changeup from Miles Mikolas that was spotted well on the low-and-outside corner and launched it 415 feet over the center field fence. This was his sixth home run in his last seven games to bring his total up to 11 on the season. That pushed Murakami into a tie with Yordan Alvarez for the most in the league. We’re witnessing a legendary power surge from someone who’s becoming must-watch television. Just continue to be mindful of his swing-and-miss and high strikeout rate, as they could still derail what looks like it could be a magical rookie season.

Finally! Griffin gave himself a great birthday gift when he blasted his first career home run to break the 0-0 tie in this one. It was an impressive shot for the young right-hander, taking a fastball from Brandon Woodruff over the right-center fence and he grinned all the way around the bases. Later on, Griffin singled and stole a base to help ignite another Pirates’ rally and chipped in a two-out, two-strike, two-run single in the eighth inning to finally put his game out of reach. It’s been a slow first few weeks in the big leagues for the star prospect, but a game like this could certainly open the floodgates and help start a hot streak.