The Round Up — May 24th
Recap of MLB News, Fantasy News, and Gambling Picks.
Welington Castillo Suspended 80 Games
The second suspension of the year has come down on the White Sox catcher Welington Castillo, who was given 80 games for PED use. It was originally reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who also noted that it wasn’t steroid related. If I had to guess, it would probably be for amphetamine or so other focus enhancer (don’t quote us). The MLB has yet to announce the suspension so all of the details haven’t come out, but usually when Ken tweets it, it’s true. This comes as a big blow to the White Sox because they weren’t very good to begin with, and loosing their best catcher will hurt in the long run. This season he was batting a mediocre .270 with 6 homers, but that’s still very good for a catcher. What’s surprising is that his performance was not crazy better than his past years, he has been around the same numbers that he has had for the past few years. Keep a lookout for the announcement to get all the official details.
Is The NL Good This Year?
Out of the 15 teams in the National League, 10 of them are above .500 at the moment. Those ten teams do not include the Dodgers, who will eventually find themselves there, and the Giants, who are miss their top 2 starters and are just 2 games under .500. This many teams above the hump is unprecedented, and some of these teams don’t look like they plan on stopping. The Braves, Brewers, Phillies, and Pirates are among some of the biggest surprises. As we creep closer to June, it can’t continue with this many above average teams. Some will fall, some will rise, and we’ll be here to watch it all happen.
2016 World Series Rematch
The 2016 World Series rematch has been all we could ask for this year. After splitting two games earlier this season in Cleveland, the Cubs and Indians locked horns again, this time in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. On Tuesday, it was a lopsided 10–1 game favoring the Indians, but last night it was a thrilling 1–0 victory for the Tribe. Starter Adam Plutko received his second start of the year, going six plus strong innings, and even teased a no hitter. He held the Cubbies hitless through 6, until Anthony Rizzo broke the ice with a blazing double to right field. The Indians were able to stifle the Chicago offense with a bounce back game from Andrew Miller and a spotless inning and a third from closer Cody Allen. The only run of the game came off the bat of Michael Brantley who is now hitting .338. (comeback player of the year?) The Indians now move onto the defending champs the Astros for a four game set in Cleveland.
Gleyber Torres — Update
Sit back and enjoy it, everyone. Gleyber Torres is taking the MLB world by storm, it seems like everyday it’s something new, and last night was no different. The phenom delivered another awe-inspiring performance drilling another three-run home run to extend his consecutive homer streak to three games. In addition to his streak, he has five home runs in his last five games, including a two home run game on Monday. His RBI total is also rising rapidly, now sitting at 22 to go along with his 8 home runs. Gleyber has established himself as the future of the Yankees organization, so buckle up, because he is going to be around for a very, very long time.
Fantasy News
Keone Kela
Keone Kela is most likely an unknown name to anyone outside of Arlington. However, we consistently talk about bullpens being your secret fantasy backbone. Kela could really fill out your fantasy bullpen as he has been most solid in save situations. His ERA is a little above 4.00 which obviously isn’t ideal, but he has converted everyone of his save opportunities besides 2. If you’re struggling and have some room for a RP, look at Kela, because he’s only owned in about half leagues right now.
Erick Fedde
The Nationals called up another young gun, this time to make a spot start. Erick Fedde is the Washington Nationals top pitching prospect, and has a ton of upside potential. However, don’t get too excited. This was only one start and he will be sent back down to the minors. But, this is not the last time this will happen. Fedde showed electric stuff yesterday, enough to strike out 6 big league hitters in 5 2/3 innings. Keep an eye out in the news for Fedde, cause next spot start he makes he better be on your roster.
Gambling Picks
Scaf’s Picks
After a great start to the week, we butchered every pick yesterday. That brings this weeks record to 5–4. Lets turn it around with these picks:
- New York Mets (+130)
- Boston Red Sox (-130)
- Chicago White Sox (+125)
Balzy’s Beat The Streak Pick
We are back to 0. Honestly not sure how DiMaggio did this 56 times in a row (that’s how this works, right?). We’re picking it back up today. Let’s go with Eric Hosmer & Andrew McCutchen. #RoadTo56
Streak Counter — 0
Bonus
Arenado Makes Up To Hi Chew
Two days ago when Nolan Arenado got out, he took his frustrations out on a bucket of Hi-Chew, which every star player does every once in awhile. The Twitter world took notice, and Nolan must have been embarrassed, because today the Rockies came out with an apology. They tweeted this picture, showing that Nolan made peace with the victim. All’s well that ends well.
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