by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

It was a breakout second half for the Mets’ Zack Wheeler, though no one should reasonably expect him to replicate his 1.68 ERA or 0.81 WHIP in 2019.  Forget the actual numbers, does the success indicate that he could produce like a Top 40 starting pitcher moving forward?  Or should we expect him to regress to the point that he’ll be significantly overvalued in 2019 drafts?

Before we can answer that, let’s first look at his overall production:

182.1 IP
12 Wins
3.31 ERA
1.12 WHIP
179 Strikeouts (8.84 K/9)
55 Walks (2.71 BB/9)
44.2% Groundball Rate
.279 BABIP

When coupled with a 74.6% strand rate there isn’t anything unbelievable in his luck metrics.  The real key to his success was opponents inability to square up the baseball, posting a 24.8% Hard%.  That is among the best in the league, which alone makes you think that it would be unsustainable. Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

In an important sign for the Yankees, Aaron Judge hit one of the Yankees 4 HR finishing 2-4 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 3 R.  Robinson Cano continues to show that he still has something left, going 4-5 with 2 RBI and 2 R.  David Dahl did it again, going 1-4 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R, giving him home runs in five straight games.  What else happened on the field that we need to know about?  Let’s take a look:

1) Jose Berrios impresses in final start of 2018…
Taking on the White Sox he defeated Rodrigo Lopez (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 5 K), who continued to struggle generating groundballs (2 groundballs vs. 10 fly balls) and had significant control issues.  As for Berrios he allowed 1 ER on 3 H and 4 BB, striking out 9, over 7.0 IP as he was getting swings and misses (17) and groundballs (8 groundballs vs. 4 fly balls).  It’s a nice way to finish, though he’s shown some control issues down the stretch (10 BB over final 18.2 IP).  That shouldn’t be a concern overall (2.77 BB/9 entering the day) and no one is going to question his strikeout stuff.  The question is if he’s going to be able to generate enough groundballs (40.9% entering the day) and not get burned by the long ball (1.21 HR/9).  Having thrown 192.1 innings this season there isn’t going to be any concerns in that regard, and he’s shown signs in terms of the groundball rate (45.9% in August).  A full breakout could come in ’19. Read more

Are you following @Rotoprofessor on Twitter? If not you should be, as we Tweet out all the important bullpen notes every morning from the previous day’s games. Who is in jeopardy of losing their job? Who is worth the speculative add? Here are this morning tweets (Please note we won’t be posting these on the website every day, so make sure you follow @Rotoprofessor to ensure you don’t miss a thing):

CHC: Strop got W (0 R/1 H/2 K/1.2 IP) but suffered a hamstring injury in the process. Cishek & Edwards should be considered the favorites to get SV opportunities moving forward, but they will likely take a committee approach #MLB #FantasyBaseball #closers

— Rotoprofessor (@Rotoprofessor) September 14, 2018

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by Ray Kuhn

Just because NFL season has begun, it doesn’t mean that we should forget about baseball. In fact far from it. Obviously if you are competing for a title, now is certainly not the time to ease up on the gas pedal, in fact quite the opposite, and in general, there is a lot of knowledge to be gained from September. In a lot of cases, the end of this season, will shape, or at least influence, the beginning of next season. With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the performances that stood out from a busy Sunday around the league:

1) Hernandez Shows off Some Power

Teoscar Hernandez didn’t start the game on Sunday, but he certainly finished it well. Yesterday was Hernandez’s turn to sit as the Blue Jays rotate through their four outfielders, but after Randall Grichuk injured himself chasing down a fly ball, the rookie outfielder took his place. Hernandez had two at bats yesterday, and both were extra base hits; his 28th double of the season followed by a three run homer which was number 20 on the year. In 431 at bats, Hernandez is batting .244 with 20 home runs and 55 RBI. The problem though, is that for as powerful and explosive as Hernandez’s bat is, he just strikes out too much; 147 at bats. That is something to watch for next season, but the power should put him on your radars. Read more

by Ray Kuhn

As the pennant races heat up, both on the diamond and in your fantasy leagues, things are getting a little more challenging for the last few weeks of the season. With the expanding rosters and teams  clearly out of contention, playing time is being handled a little differently than it was over the first five months of the season, and fantasy owners are often left scrambling for at bats. These conflicting agendas do make things more difficult, but everyone is dealing with the same issues.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the performances that stood out on the field from a busy Tuesday night around the league:

1) Another Solid Outing for Musgrove

No, Joe Musgrove is not Gerrit Cole and he likely won’t ever get confused for him, but the young right-hander is getting off to a solid start as a Pirate. Musgrove has moved past the early season DL stint, and he has become a reliable member of the Pirates’ rotation. On Tuesday, he picked up his sixth victory of the year with 6.1 innings of two run ball. The right-hander struck out eight batters while allowing five hits and lowering his ERA for the season to 3.75. Through 17 starts so far this season, Musgrove has struck out 88 batters in 103.1 innings of work while compiling a respectable 1.18 WHIP. With a 3.77 FIP and just 1.83 walks per nine innings, Musgrove is starting pitcher to keep an eye on for the rest of the season and also going into 2019. Read more

Are you following @Rotoprofessor on Twitter? If not you should be, as we Tweet out all the important bullpen notes every morning from the previous day’s games. Who is in jeopardy of losing their job? Who is worth the speculative add? Here are this morning tweets (Please note we won’t be posting these on the website every day, so make sure you follow @Rotoprofessor to ensure you don’t miss a thing):

BAL: We keep saying Givens is locked into role, but is he really? He took 4th BSV yesterday (and is 0-7) allowing 2 R/1 H/1 BB/0.1 IP. Fry has been pitching well (2.84) & worked 8th for 7th HLD. Don't be shocked if he gets chance at job #MLB #FantasyBaseball #closers

— Rotoprofessor (@Rotoprofessor) September 2, 2018

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