For more Fantasy baseball insights, and to keep up with all the latest news, roster trends and more throughout the season, subscribe to Fantasy Baseball Today now on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. You can find us on YouTube now, with full episodes and clips available every Monday through Friday.
I guess we'll do this every time he starts. Well, at least until we figure out just who Chris Sale is now.
Sale had another disappointing result on Tuesday night, at least in terms of results. He gave up four runs in five innings to a Yankees lineup that included Gio Urshela, Austin Romine and Mike Tauchman. But it wasn't all bad. In fact, some of it was pretty encouraging.
Sale's average four-seam velocity was 95.5 MPH, by far the best we've seen this season. He also had a season-high six strikeouts and just one walk. Even though the results still weren't good, he looked more like himself than he has all season. Yes, it's just a moral victory. But we'll take what we can get right now.
I'm still firmly in buy or sell mode with Sale. And Tuesday night made me feel a little bit better about that position.
Four players to add from Tuesday
Pablo Lopez (28%) -- The ERA is still not very good, but there are reasons to be excited about Lopez. He has a 2.89 FIP and he's struck out 23 batters in 20 innings while walking just three. But most enticing? He's a two-start pitcher next week including one start against the anemic Cleveland Indians.
Mike Minor (56%) -- Minor spun a complete game shutout on Tuesday against the Angels and now has three very good starts in a row. He has a 2.60 ERA on the season despite giving up six runs in 4.2 innings against the Cubs in his first start. He's pitched at least seven innings in each of his past three starts. He needs to be universally owned until we see where this goes.
Brandon Woodruff (68%) -- Woodruff continued to tease us with his upside, falling just short of a quality start against the Cardinals on Tuesday. As with Lopez, the peripherals show a better pitcher than the ERA. He owns a 3.04 FIP and a 28.6% strikeout rate. He looks like a must-start pitcher in points because of his SPARP eligibility and a must-own pitcher in all formats.
Christian Walker (39%) -- I've doubted Walker's post-hype breakout long enough. He picked up three more hits on Tuesday and slugged his fifth home run. He's crushing the baseball with an average exit velocity of 95.3 MPH and the strikeout rate is acceptable. At the very least he should be started wherever you need a corner infielder.
Leury Garcia (16%) -- Unlike Walker, I'm still really not sure Garcia is any good. But he's the White Sox leadoff hitter and he's already stolen four bases. If you hit leadoff and you run you need to be owned in most category leagues, especially those with five outfielders.
Winners and Losers from Tuesday
Winners
Yoan Moncada -- I am this close to fully buying into the Moncada breakout. He double-donged on Tuesday and once again has an OPS above 1.000. His aggressive approach is paying off and he looks like a league-winner.
James Paxton -- At least one of the struggling aces gave us reason to breathe easy. Paxton was masterful on Tuesday, dominating the Red Sox to the tune of 12 Ks over eight shutout innings.
Scott Kingery -- Kingery went 3 for 5 with a home run and a double on the same night Jean Segura left with a hamstring injury. If Segura misses significant time, Kingery has a chance to help you across the board as a middle infielder.
Jose Quintana -- Yes, it was the Marlins. But it was also the second-straight dominant effort from Quintana. In his past two starts he's thrown 14 scoreless innings and struck out 18 while walking one.
Losers
Brian Dozier -- Dozier went hitless, was caught stealing and then was pulled for a pinch hitter (Howie Kendrick). He's had extended slow starts in the past, but it's getting harder to hold on to him.
Steven Matz -- It doesn't get much worse than giving up eight runs without recording an out. Matz wasn't helped out by Amed Rosario's two errors in the inning, but he was terrible regardless.
A.J. Minter -- With Arodys Vizcaino on the IL, Minter had a real chance to solidify himself as the team's best closing option. He failed miserably on Tuesday, giving up three runs in 0.2 innings. The crowd was chanting for Craig Kimbrel by the time it was over.
Jack Flaherty -- I give pretty much everyone a pass at Miller Park, but I'd hoped Flaherty would take another step this season and be able to overcome bad parks and good lineups. So far he has pitched seven innings against the Brewers and allowed nine runs.
What are the Fantasy baseball trade values for every MLB players in head-to-head and Rotisserie leagues? And which surprising infielder is now a top-10 value? Visit SportsLine now to see the Fantasy baseball trade evaluator and chart, all based off the projections of one of the top Fantasy baseball analysts in the nation.