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Monday only had a partial MLB schedule, but the fantasy baseball stats were impressive from both the hitters and pitchers.
They were also impressive not only from the stars, but also the sleepers, which is where we start.
Daily Fantasy Baseball Stats MVP
Travis Snider — Pittsburgh Pirates
I guess it would have been nice if more fantasy players were helped by this performance, but Snider was on point Monday, as was the rest of the Pittsburgh offense.
Even with the injury to Andrew McCutchen, the versatility of Josh Harrison will keep Snider from getting a lot of at-bats for the rest of the year. He doesn’t have much long term value at all, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him knock a few more into the seats.
Daily Fantasy Baseball Stats Honorable Mentions
1. Giancarlo Stanton — Miami Marlins
The people in Miami have been raving about this guy’s power. It’s nice to see a potential sleeper for the rest of the season emerge with a couple of home runs in a game.
Kidding, of course.
Nobody has ever doubted Stanton’s immense power, just his ability to stay healthy and to be a well-rounded hitter. Those have not been problems this year, as Stanton is on pace for over 40 homers, more than 100 runs and RBI, while still maintaining a batting average above .290. What’s more scary? He won’t even be 25 until November, so there is room to grow. Stanton is quite possibly a Top-5 guy heading into 2014.
2. Drew Smyly — Tampa Bay Rays
The three walks are high, but they count the same in the fantasy baseball stats as hits. This was a dominant performance by Smyly in his second start with Tampa. Any time you can allow no runs in nearly eight innings with nine strikeouts, you take it.
Keep an eye on Smyly for the rest of the year. He’s got a lot of talent and the American League East is not as strong as it normally is. There could be a lot of value for the remainder of 2014, at least as a streaming option. Beyond that, Smyly is certainly a guy you’ll want on your radar in 2015.
3. Felix Hernandez — Seattle Mariners
No real surprise here. King Felix was dominant again. A lot of American League teams are hoping that the Mariners miss the playoffs. As we saw Monday, Felix is not only dominant, but dominant against any kind of offense.
A big lead certainly contributed to Felix not going into the eighth inning. So, Smyly had the better fantasy baseball stats, but I’m sure Felix will get over it.