Fantasy Baseball Headlines: Gerrit Cole dodges death, Jaime Garcia sharp with 13 K outing

Gerrit Cole is lucky to be alive heading into the weekend. In case you missed, he took a liner of his head, but remained in the game.

The John Jaso leadoff experiment has worked out well to-date. He’s tied for the team lead in hits (13) and runs (6) with an OBP of .390. The BABIP at .394 will bring us down to reality sooner rather than later, but still cool to see an old school baseball mind - in manager Clint Hurdle - embracing present day strategy.

The Pirates have only hit three homers. Starling Marte has hit two with back-up catcher Chris Stewart supplying the third poke. However, the team ranks second in MLB in on-base percentage at .377.

Juan Nicasio needed 94 pitches to get through three innings this past week against the Tigers. He allowed four runs on six hits and five walks. The outing was a reality check for those who swooned over Nicasio’s spring training stats and first start of the season when he allowed one run and struck out seven Cardinals batters over six innings.

St. Louis Cardinals

If not for Vincent Velasquez’s 16-strikeout, complete game shutout of the Padres, Jaime Garcia’s second start of the season would have been the lead story on Thursday. He struck out 13 Brewers in a complete game shutout where he allowed only one hit and one walk. Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold dug into the history behind Garcia’s outing to see if it was the best start in Cardinal’s history since Steve Carlton in 1970. 

From a fantasy baseball perspective, whether Garcia had "the stuff" was never a question, but his ability to stay healthy remains the reason for skepticism. He completed full seasons in 2010 (28 starts) and 2011 (32 starts), but has never started more than 20 games for the Cardinals in a season since (twice).

While we wait on Jhonny Peralta and with Reuben Tejada on the mend, Aledmys Diaz is carving out the role some believed he earned in spring training. He’s hitting .409 with four doubles, a triple and homer. The 25-year-old Diaz smacked a combined 17 homers at three minor league levels last season.

Jeremy Hazelbaker is a great story. The 28-year-old is raking at .481 clip with three dingers. Howww-ev-er, – and here is where fantasy baseball pessimism rears its ugly head – his K-rate is nearly 22 percent and walk-rate south of seven percent. The other shoe will drop.

Mike Leake has allowed eight earned runs in his first two starts (10 1/3 IP). After allowing four earned runs in four innings in his first start, Michael Wacha handcuffed the Brewers allowing no runs and striking out seven in six innings earlier this week.

Cincinnati Reds

With the hip impingement behind him, lots of eyes were on Devin Mesoraco to see if he could pick up right where he left off in 2014 – 25 HR with .273 BA. Less than two weeks into the season, he’s missed three straight games with a quad injury. However, 

Guess who leads the Reds in walks? You guessed it, Joey Votto … and Billy Hamilton. What?!?! Hamilton has walked five times, but still only has the one stolen base nine games into the season. Let’s take the good with the bad. If he can become more patient at the plate and draw more of those walks, fantasy owners will get the stolen bases they seek.

Let’s give Brandon Finnegan a hat tip through his first two starts. He’s available in more than 80 percent of leagues on FOXSports.com. Finnegan has two quality starts, allowed four earned runs in 12 2/3 with a sub-3.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP. He’s walked more (6) than hits allowed (4) in those 12 2/3 IP.

Alfredo Simon lasted just 2/3 inning in his second start, but managed to allow five earned runs on four hits and three walks.

You normally hate to see closers on the bump in non-save situations, but with the pressure relatively off, J.J. Hoover got rocked for four earned runs - five total - in a third of an inning against the Cubs this week. He gave up three hits and three walks in the appearance.

Milwaukee Brewers

Matt Garza is out 4-6 weeks (lat). The Brewers called up Zach Davies. Here’s a guy to keep an eye on for fantasy baseball opportunities. The 23-year-old made six starts for the Brew Crew in 2015 and finished 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA and 6.35 K/9 rate. However, his minor league definitely point to more strikeouts to come as he gets more major league cups of coffee.

Chase Anderson has yet to allow an earned run in two starts. He’s got nine punch outs in 11 innings pitched. Anderson is available in 91 percent of leagues on FOXSports.com.

Jimmy Nelson looks for his third quality start Friday night. The guy has a K/9 rate above 8.00 and is available in 74 percent of leauges on FOXSports.com.

Jeremy Jeffress has converted four of four save opportunities this season.

Chicago Cubs

Javier Baez was activated from the disabled list on Friday. At his best, he could hit 20-plus homers this season. At his worst, he could carry a 30-percent-or-worse strikeout rate. As I mentioned earlier this week, Kyle Schwarber’s season-ending knee injury presents opportunities for Jorge Soler and Baez. Before Kris Bryant and Schwarber flew through the minor league system, the Cubs’ top prospects were Baez (23 years old) and Soler (24 years old).

Imagine if the Orioles’ managed to secure Dexter Fowler in that winter trade. The Cubs’ leadoff hitter has banged out 14 hits in nine games.

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