Emely Sharman 
There was a 15 game slate on Tuesday June 4th. I will be going into detail on some players who performed really well and a couple who underachieved. Points and salaries are based on DraftKings.
Winners
Francisco Lindor ($4,900)
Lindor and the Indians played host to the Twins, who currently have the best record in baseball. The Indians got the win, 5-2, and Lindor was a big part of that. He went 3-for-3 and hit two home runs, while batting in the leadoff spot. Lindor added in a double and walk to go with his three RBI and two runs scored. He gave his owners 37 fantasy points. Lindor has had a good year so far and his batting average is now at .306 and his OPS raised to .915. He has hit 10 home runs to go with 23 RBI. After not playing for the first 19 games of the year, Lindor started slow but has really heated up lately. He had a May batting average of .391 and in his three games in June, he is 7-for-11 with two home runs and two doubles.
Lindor’s Outlook
Lindor and the Indians have two more games against the Twins at home. The Twins have been the best team in MLB this year and are doing it both on the mound and at the plate. Along with scoring more runs than any other team, they have a Top 10 team ERA, which is currently at 3.88. They have fallen back to earth in their last five though, and have a team ERA of 5.52 and an opposing batting average of .264 over that span. This could be the time when averages work themselves out and the Indians take advantage of a sliding Twins’ pitching staff. I will look to employ Lindor in this spot because of this trend and his recent hot streak.
Garrett Cooper ($4,100)
Cooper and the Miami Marlins absolutely demolished the Brewers at Miller Park on Tuesday. He was one of three Marlins hitter to score over 20 points as the Marlins won 16-0. Cooper went 4-for-5 and hit a home run. He led the fantasy scoring in this game with 33 points. He had two RBI, four runs scored, and added a walk. Cooper did not play much early in the year but since becoming a regular in the Marlins’ lineup, he has produced. He has a batting average of .289 to go with an OPS of .850. He has appeared in 24 games to this point.
Cooper’s Outlook
Cooper and the Marlins will stay in Milwaukee for two more games. Brewers’ pitching has struggled recently and will have Jimmy Nelson on the mound for the first time in nearly two years Wednesday. Cooper will then face Brandon Woodruff on Thursday. Nelson has pitched well on his rehab assignment and Woodruff has also pitched well this year. They are not the problem with the Brewers pitching staff. I expect the Brewers to pitch better these next two games but that does not count Cooper out completely. His price is still low enough that he can be a good salary relief option with upside.
Pedro Severino ($3,800)
The Orioles had a big game offensively on Tuesday and Severino was a huge factor, as he hit three homers in the game. Severino and Dwight Smith Jr. teamed up in the 4-5 spots in the order and put up big numbers. Severino scored 44 fantasy points as Smith Jr. added an impressive 36 himself. Severino’s home runs came as a bit of a surprise as he had only hit two so far this year. His batting average is now at .273 and his OPS sits at .834.
Severino’s Outlook
The Orioles are hosted by the Texas Rangers for two more games on Wednesday and Thursday. Texas’ pitching staff has not been great so far and they have a team ERA of 4.90. Although they have not been great, I will not be chasing points with Severino. He has had an okay year, but he hit three dingers Tuesday, after having only six in his career going into that game. He is also a career .211 hitter and even with him being a young player on the upswing, I expect him to dip back down closer to the .230 mark than his current .273.
Losers
Masahiro Tanaka ($9,300)
Tanaka and the New York Yankees took the loss on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday. Tanaka was not horrible but wasn’t good either and was only able to get two strikeouts over six innings. He allowed four earned runs over six innings while allowing six hits and two home runs. If you paid the $9,300 for Tanaka, you were disappointed in the strikeout numbers. He only gave his owners 4.1 fantasy points. Tanaka has pitched pretty well this year and has an ERA of 3.42 and a WHIP of 1.19. His K/9 dropped to 7.90 following the disappointing start. He had struck out 35 over his last 35.1 innings going into Tuesday.
Tanaka’s Outlook
The Yankees’ Opening Day starter will get his next start on June 9th in Cleveland against the Indians. The Indians’ offense has really struggled to score this year and averages under four runs per game. Their numbers have been nearly identical on the road and home. Tuesday was Tanaka’s second poor start in a row but he had a good run before that, giving up five or fewer hits in the five starts going into Tuesday. Look for Tanaka to bounce back and hopefully get the strikeout numbers back up, as the Indians average 8.71 Ks per game.
Mike Moustakas ($5,400)
The Brewers and Marlins combined for 16 runs Tuesday, which you might think led to a big day for Moose, but the bad part was that the Brewers scored none of those runs and only had six hits. Moustakas went 0-for-4 and struck out twice. Moustakas has had a good year with solid power numbers, so far. He has a batting average of .263 with an OPS of .880. He has hit 16 home runs with 37 RBI.
Moustakas’ Outlook
The Brewers host the Marlins at Miller Park for two more games. Miami’s pitching staff has been average this year and had a team ERA of 4.25 in the month of May. Their opposing batting average was just outside the Top 10 of the league in May at .246. Moustakas has been very consistent this year so I expect him to bounce back in this series and add to his good year.
Injury Report
Jimmy Nelson of the Brewers returns to the big leagues on Wednesday. He will be worth a look at a big discount against the Marlins.
Andrew McCutchen has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and will be out for the Season.
