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There was a handful of exciting baseball action on Monday night, many of which had fantasy owners’ eyes fixed upon box scores all over the internet. Instead of trying to figure out who made the most noise, why don’t I just highlight some of the guys who stood out the most for fantasy owners? Well, alright. If you insist.
Moore is Better
Coming off of a mediocre 2012 campaign, baseball followers knew that Matt Moore had a boatload of potential. Through four starts here in 2013, it seems he is realizing and fulfilling that very potential. Moore recorded his fourth win in as many starts on Monday, outdueling CC Sabathia during a 5-1 victory. The Rays young stud improved to 4-0, sporting an awesome ERA of 1.04 with 29 strikeouts and a 0.92 WHIP. The only downside of Moore is that he is walking batters quite a bit, posting 14 (3rd in AL). Still, he is making an early case as one of the league’s best young pitchers and currently ranks second among fantasy starting pitchers on Yahoo! sports.
Shelby Miller is the real deal
It looks as if drafting Miller late in all of my drafts is paying dividends for my fantasy teams. Miller notched his third win of the young season on Monday night, striking out eight batters and surrendering two earned runs against the Nationals. Miller’s ERA now stands at 2.16 with 26 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.88. The rookie looks like a composed veteran out on the hill and is poised for a breakout 2013 fantasy campaign. It may be early, but this 22-year old is my favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year. He’s that good. A strong lineup and defense behind him, Miller will get strikeouts and won’t walk too many batters. He is approaching must-start territory.
Ryan Braun stays hot
The slow start and the neck spasms are a thing of the past. Braun launched his fourth home run over the past five games, giving him six and 19 RBI on the year thus far. Braun is currently riding a five-game hitting streak and the Brewers lineup is firing on all cylinders, having won eight of their last 10 contests.
Mike Napoli leading league in RBI
Don’t look now, but Napoli is the number one fantasy catcher. Heck, how couldn’t you be when you have driven in a league high 25 runs thus far. On Monday night, Napoli went 2-5 with his fourth home run of the year and a whopping five RBI. The Red Sox catcher has been extremely productive here in 2013, but the question is whether or not he can stay healthy. Napoli has played less than 120 games in each of the last two seasons. However, his career high in RBI is 58, so perhaps Napoli could make for a potential sell high candidate?
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
