BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
AL Batter: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees OF)
Week Statistics: .571 AVG, 5 HR, 6 RBI, 8 Runs, .640 OBP, 1.333 SLG
It was only just a week ago that Aaron Judge was in the middle of one of his coldest stretches of his career. He was 1 for 23 (.043 AVG) with 14 strikeouts that included a stretch of five straight games with multiple strikeouts. Judge was in a massive slump but turned it around in a giant way this past week. Aaron Judge played six games this week and had a hit in all of them including 5 multi-hit games. Judge hit an MLB best 5 home runs this week and only struck out one time all week. He also had an MLB best .571 average and a 1.333 slugging percentage on the week. It was by far Aaron Judge’s best week all year long and quite possibly the best 7 day stretch we have seen from any player this year. The standout week completely changed Aaron Judge’s season long numbers too. Now on the year, Judge has a .298 batting average and is tied for the MLB lead with 12 home runs. His season slugging percentage of .611 now ranks 5th among all players and Judge has now jumped up to the 7th ranked outfielder in all of fantasy baseball. After arguably the worst week of his career, Aaron Judge made a complete 180 and had one of the best weeks by a hitter all season long.
Honorable Mention: Kyle Tucker (Houston Astros OF/DH)
AL Pitcher: Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees SP)
Week Statistics: 1 GS, 1-0, 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP
The AL pitcher of the week goes to Gerrit Cole who is having the best having another CY Young caliber season. This past week was no exception as Cole was once again masterful in his start against the Rays. In that start Cole went 8 innings allowed zero runs and struck out 12 batters. The 12 strikeouts gave Cole 78 on the year which is 3rd best in the MLB despite throwing one less start than the pitchers ahead of him. Cole was able to generate an absurd 24 swinging strikes in this start as he has the Rays batters confused all afternoon. He also did not surrender a walk for the 6th time this year in 8 starts. In fact, Cole hasn’t walked a batter in 5 consecutive starts and has only 3 total walks the entire season. Gerrit Cole is currently the #1 ranked pitcher in all leagues and his dominant outing this past week was just “another day at the office.” On the year, Cole is 5-1 with a 1.37 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts in 8 starts. He has made 7 consecutive quality starts and has yet to have a start all year long where he’s allowed more than 2 earned runs or 5 hits. There is no one in the MLB who is pitching better than Gerrit Cole currently is.
Honorable Mention: Lance McCullers (Houston Astros SP)
NL Batter: Josh Fuentes (Colorado Rockies 1B/3B)
Week Statistics: .500 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 6 Runs, .909 SLG
The NL Batter of the week goes to Josh Fuentes who was owned in less than 2% of all ESPN leagues before last week started. Fuentes played 5 games in Coors Field this past week and took full advantage of the hitter friendly park. Fuentes had a hit in all 5 games, 4 multi-hit games, and had at least 2 RBI’s in all of them. Fuentes normally doesn’t see regular starts but has taken on the everyday first baseman role because of the injury to C.J. Cron. Fuentes has taken full advantage of the opportunity and was the driving force for the Rockies offense this past week. Fuentes helped lead the Rockies to a 3-2 record as he accumulated 11 hits and an MLB leading 13 RBI’s this past week. Josh Fuentes is owned in just 11.8% of leagues and while C.J. Cron is still on the IL he is definitely worth a look at picking up. On the year Fuentes has a .250 average with 4 home runs and 23 RBI’s and should see regular at bats going forward because of his stellar play.
Honorable Mention: Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers 1B/2B/3B)
NL Pitcher: Freddy Peralta (Milwaukee Brewers SP/RP)
Week Statistics: 2 GS, 13 IP, 1-0, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 16 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP
One of the biggest surprises of the fantasy baseball season has been Freddy Peralta and he continued his success this week. Peralta had a two start week against two good offenses, the Braves and the Cardinals. These teams were no issue for Peralta as he threw 13 scoreless innings and allowed just 3 hits combined in both games. Peralta started the week against the Cardinals where he threw 7 innings allowed zero runs and only gave up one hit and walk. He struck out 8 on 17 swinging strikes despite not factoring into the decision. Later in the week Peralta was just as dominant against the Braves when he threw 6 scoreless innings and struck out 8 more batters. He allowed only two hits and one walk in this game and left the game with an 8-0 lead. The biggest concern of Peralta becoming a reliable starter was his ability to locate but so far this season that hasn’t been an issue. Freddy Peralta does have 19 walks on the year but only 7 in his last 5 starts and a season WHIP of 0.89. He has a remarkable 69 strikeouts in just 45 innings and has become the third part of the Milwaukee Brewers “three headed pitching monster”. Peralta is currently 11th of all pitchers in fantasy baseball and has a very high ceiling with the amount of swing and misses he generates. Drafted late or even un-drafted in most leagues, Peralta is now a must own/must start pitcher who is going to help many owners win their leagues.
Honorable Mention: Alex Wood (San Francisco Giants SP/RP)
In case you missed it make sure to check out last week’s Fantasy Baseball Podcast – TWS Fantasy Baseball – Episode 5
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