Well-Taylored Fit
Chris Taylor (LAD): 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
It was a perfect day in Tampa Bay for Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor. In five trips to the plate, Taylor homered twice, walked twice, and added a single as Los Angeles fell, 11-10, to the host Rays on Sunday afternoon.
Chris Taylor (LAD): 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Taylor welcomed Josh Fleming into the game with a leadoff home run in the second inning, smashing Fleming’s first delivery of the day, a knee-high sinker, into the left-field stands for a solo shot. Taylor added a single in the third, part of a four-run rally as the Dodgers tied the game, 7-7. Trailing again in the sixth, Taylor smashed a second home run off a changeup, sending it 406 feet to right-center. After the Rays saw Taylor destroy their pitching on multiple occasions, they decided to walk him in each of his final two plate appearances.
Five of Taylor’s seven home runs, including both of his bombs on Sunday, have come against left-handed pitching while his slugging against lefties sits at .600 compared to just .338 against right-handed pitching. A short-side platoon bat in a productive offense, Taylor has appeal in deep and only leagues, but not much more than that.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday
Ryan McMahon (COL): 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, BB.
McMahon recorded three hits and five RBI as the Rockies edged the visiting Mets, 11-10. McMahon singled in the first, doubled in the fourth, and hit a 437-foot home run in the fifth. Needing just a triple for the cycle, McMahon struck out in his only late-inning at-bat. With three hits, McMahon lifted his batting average to .238, but is 8-for-14 in his last four games. If McMahon gets hot, he could be one of the best second-base-eligible hitters in fantasy baseball. But when he is cold, well, fantasy managers have seen what that’s like for most of the first two months of the season.
Patrick Wisdom (CHC): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB.
The wind was blowing in at Wrigley and Wisdom still hit two tanks as the Cubs fell to the Reds, 8-5. Wisdom smashed a three-run shot to left-center off of Graham Ashcraft in the second inning and added a two-run shot in the eighth to provide all five RBI for the Cubs in Sunday’s game. Wisdom ranks fifth in the league with 14 home runs but has not provided much for fantasy managers outside of those home runs.
Tommy Pham (NYM): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 SB.
Coors is fun. Fantasy managers should probably start streaming fringe bats that have a series there. Pham took full advantage of the best hitter’s ballpark in the league, ripping three hits, including a double and a triple, but the Mets still found a way to lose to the host Rockies, 11-10. As an added bonus, Pham swiped a pair of bases, taking second and third in the same inning off of Austin Gomber and Austin Wynns.
Luke Raley (TB): 2-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.
Raley continues to prove that he is more than just a platoon power bat, providing three runs and a stolen base — speed stats that fantasy managers aren’t necessarily banking on, but are loving nonetheless. After a third-inning walk, Raley swiped second for his sixth stolen base of the season. With 10 HR, 19 RBI, and 20 runs scored, Raley has proven to be a reliable bat in the potent Tampa Bay lineup.
Trayce Thompson (LAD): 3-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Thompson snapped an 0-for-20 start to the month of May with a three-hit game against the Rays on Sunday. Thompson broke duck with an RBI single in the second inning, added another single in the third, and then smashed a monster 442-foot shot to center field in the fifth inning before being pinch hit for later in the game. A short-side platoon bat, Thompson is probably available on waiver wires everywhere after his putrid month of May. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and he’s in a great lineup… but there ought to be a better option out there for fantasy managers on waivers.
Nick Fortes (MIA): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI, SB.
Fortes remains atop the Marlins’ catching depth chart, starting four of the last six games for the Fish behind the dish. Fortes recorded his first three-hit game of the season, including a 385-foot solo tank, proving to be the game-winning run as Miami shut out the Angels, 2-0. Fortes added a double, a single, and his third stolen base of the season to help his team earn the victory. A very solid option, especially in two-catcher leagues, Fortes is one of the few catchers who can provide some chip-in speed.
Ryan Noda (OAK): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI, BB.
Noda has been one of the lone bright spots out of Oakland this season (and will likely be a foundational piece of the Las Vegas Whatever-They-Call-Themselves). Noda opened the game for Oakland with a solo home run, taking a Cristian Javier fastball deep to right field for the Athletics’ sole run of the contest. Noda added a double and a walk but wasn’t near enough to save Oakland as they fell to the Astros.
Jose Altuve (HOU): 3-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.
For Altuve’s fantasy managers, the first month of the season must have felt like it lasted forever. Finally, the diminutive destroyer of baseballs has returned and socked his first home run of the season on Sunday, one of three hits as the Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics, 10-1. Altuve hammered a 95-mph four-seam fastball 378 feet into the left-field bleachers to extend the Astros’ lead. He also hit a pair of singles for a three-hit day as the Astros rolled past the Athletics.
Chas McCormick (HOU): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.
McCormick snapped out of an 0-for-16 slump with a seventh-inning solo home run, just his third of the season. Though McCormick has batted in the bottom third of the lineup since Altuve’s return, he could still be a cheap source of power and speed for fantasy managers in need of help in the outfield.