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Fantasy Baseball Daily Update: 5/2/15

Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak Friday

Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak Friday

The story of Friday night, and the early 2015 season, is the red-hot Houston Astros. The Astros won again on, their ninth straight, and the combination of outstanding starting pitching and timely hitting from their young hitters has fueled the resurgence. Each of their starting pitchers are worthy of fantasy consideration, and the Astros are 10th in baseball in runs and first in stolen bases. This is the daily update for May 2, 2015

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Recap

Astros hitters fuel ninth-straight win
Jose Altuve has nine straight games with multiple hits, Evan Gattis, George Springer, and Jake Marisnick all had home runs and the Astros are tied with the Royals for the best record in the American League. Marisnick added a steal, his ninth, and he looks like he will be a major part of the future for the Astros. Their run of quality starts from their starting pitchers ended, as Samuel Deduno logged only four innings, but their middle-inning relievers only allowed one hit in four frames as the Astros won 4-3. Nelson Cruz and Logan Morrison each had home runs off of Luke Gregerson in the ninth inning, his first two allowed of the season, but it was not enough.

Alex Rodriguez enters the record books
Rodriguez did not start for the Yankees against the Red Sox, but when he pinch-hit for Garrett Jones in the eighth inning he hit his 660th career home run, which served as the decisive run in a 3-2 win. The home run tied Willie Mays for fourth all-time and was Rodriguez’s sixth home run of the season. A-Rod has reached that mark in only 70 at-bats. His home runs per at-bat in 2015 compare very favorably to the best years of his career where he hit 45 or more home runs in a season five times from 2001-2007. Rodriguez has been very effective in his outings this year, even drawing 15 walks, and is worth a fantasy roster spot as a utility player.

Jon Lester looks like an ace
Lester had a rocky start to the 2015 season, posting a 6.23 ERA in his first 21 1/3 innings, but he looked like the ace the Cubs signed on Friday against the Brewers. Lester pitched seven innings, allowing only three hits, one walk, and striking out four batters. A lot of the advanced statistics said that Lester was due for a rebound. His FIP is 2.31 runs less than his 4.71 ERA, and he has an outstanding 8.79 strikeouts per nine compared to 1.88 walks per nine. Lester is a SP1, and he may have been a buy-low candidate before this game, but absolutely should be one of the top targets if an owner is scared by his bad start. Another factor to consider for those considering Lester is that the Cubs are hitting better, with four players posting an OPS over .800, adding to Lester’s ability to get wins.

Matt Harvey is marvelous
Harvey is the first player in the majors with five wins, as he pitched seven shutout innings against the Nationals, allowing only five hits. This was the pitcher’s duel that it was billed to be, as Max Scherzer had 10 strikeouts in seven innings, allowing only one run. Harvey threw 64% first-pitch strikes against the Nationals, but tied a career-low with only three strikeouts. He still has a sterling 31-strikeout, three-walk start to the 2015 season, and has extended himself to 15 2/3 innings pitched in his past two starts. Harvey is as safe of a SP1 as there is and appears to only be getting stronger coming off Tommy John surgery.

Joc Pederson continues his torrid start
Pederson had a grand slam and a walk in four plate appearances for the Dodgers last night, fueling the team’s 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks. In fantasy baseball, we tend to overanalyze and exaggerate, but 2015 Pederson compares very favorably to 2012 Mike Trout. Through Trout’s first 22 games of 2012, he had a .973 OPS, 12 RBI, and six steals, and Pederson, although he only has one steal, has a 1.096 OPS and 14 RBI so far this season. At this point, it is unfair to be critical of Pederson, but he is 1-for-4 in steal attempts, a disappointment for those thinking that his 40 stolen bases per 162 game in the minor leagues from the past three seasons would translate to the majors. On the other hand, he is also second in baseball with 18 walks, showing veteran plate discipline from a player with only 119 career plate appearances. He is an OF2 at this point, and a must-own plater in dynasty formats.

What to watch for

There is a full schedule of games, featuring the always interesting Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, David Price toeing the rubber for Tigers, and the Astros attempt at 10-straight wins. But young pitchers with oustanding starts are the real story. Chris Archer looks to continue his scoreless streak, and Nick Martinez, who has only allowed one run this season, will pitch for the Rangers.

Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.

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