Emely Sharman 
There was a 10-game slate on Thursday May 16th. I will go into detail on some players who performed really well and a couple who under-performed. Points and salaries are based on DraftKings.
Winners
Christian Yelich ($5,800)
Yelich and the Brewers played against the Phillies on the road on Thursday and he continued to excel. Yelich went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a double. He also scored three times. He added his ninth stolen base of the year. This all added up to 42 fantasy points. Yelich has not slowed down after his hot start and his average is now at .342 with an incredible OPS of 1.218. He has 18 home runs and 40 RBI through 41 games played. He looks every bit the player who ran away with the MVP last year.
Yelich’s Outlook
Yelich and the Brewers will now head to Atlanta for a three-game series with the Braves. The Braves’ pitching staff has been sub-par this year with a team ERA of 4.50 and they allow an opposing batting average of .248. Yelich has been matchup proof for the last year and half, and Atlanta’s pitching staff has struggled early. Yelich will be worth the price in this series.
Jason Kipnis ($3,600)
Kipnis and the Indians hosted the Orioles on Thursday and got the win, 14-7. Kipnis went 2-for-6 and hit two home runs. He scored three runs and racked up six RBI. Kipnis has struggled this year and those were his first two home runs of the year. He also only had five RBI coming into Thursday before the six he put up against Baltimore. Kipnis’ batting average is now at .216 and his OPS is at .640. He also has three stolen bases on the season.
Kipnis’ Outlook
The Indians have three more games at home against the Orioles. This should be a series where Kipnis can build on this game and up his numbers on the season. The Orioles have the worst team ERA in the league at 5.44 and also allow an opponent batting average of .266. Kipnis has struggled this year but should have some positive regression. His career numbers are much better than this season, as he has a career batting average of .262. I expect to see him get back on track against one of the worst pitching staffs in the bigs.
Joey Gallo ($5,700)
Gallo and the Rangers went up against Homer Bailey and the Royals on Thursday. Gallo went 4-for-5 with a home run and two doubles in this one. He had one home run, one run scored, and four RBI. He also drew a walk and scored 35 fantasy points for his owners. Gallo has had a good start to the year with a batting average of .269 and a really good OPS of 1.065. He has 13 home runs and 31 RBI this year. Gallo has been boom or bust this year, as he has also racked up 58 strikeouts and has 17 in his last eight games.
Gallo’s Outlook
Gallo and the Rangers will now head back home for a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have had an average pitching staff this year with a team ERA of 4.23 while allowing an opposing batting average of .233. St. Louis has been quite a bit worse on the road this year with a road team ERA of 4.81. The Cardinals have also given up the fifth most road home runs in the league this year with 32. This will again be a boom or bust spot for Gallo. He has a high ceiling and low floor in this series.
Losers
Trevor Bauer ($10,800)
Thursday was a tough day for pitchers and that included the highest priced player on the slate. Bauer was roughed up by the Orioles and gave up seven earned runs over five innings pitched. He gave up five hits, two of which were home runs, while walking four. He was only able to get three strikeouts. Bauer has pitched well this year but this start raised his ERA to 3.76 and his WHIP to 1.16. His K/9 is now at 10.44 on the season. Bauer has now given up seven earned runs in two of his last three starts.
Bauer’s Outlook
Bauer’s next projected start will come against the Oakland Athletics at home on Tuesday May 21st. The A’s have averaged 4.41 runs per game and have a team batting average of .236, both just below average on the year. Oakland has done well at avoiding strikeouts this year and average only 7.73 per game. Bauer will again be highly priced and with his inconsistency on the year I will most likely be staying away in this start.
Adam Wainwright ($7,500)
Wainwright also got roughed up on Thursday. Wainwright took the loss at Atlanta while giving up five earned runs and pitching only four innings. He gave up five hits, five walks, and struck out only two. He scored -3.00 fantasy points for those who invested in him. Wainwright dropped to 3-4 on the year and his ERA grew to 4.75. His WHIP is now at 1.35 and his K/9 is also at an underwhelming 7.42. Wainwright now has negative points in two of his last three starts.
Wainwright’s Outlook
Wainwright’s next projected start will come on Wednesday May 22nd at home, against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are right at the league average in runs per game at 4.60 and have a team batting average of .245, just below league average. They also strike out 8.49 times per game. Wainwright has traded off bad starts with good starts in his last five games. If that trend is to continue he should have a good game on Wednesday. That trend, along with the Royals’ below average offense, will keep Wainwright on my radar on Wednesday.
Injury Report
Kenta Maeda is going to be placed on the 10-day IL after fouling a ball off his leg on Wednesday.
Anibal Sanchez left Thursday’s game with left hamstring soreness.
