

Houston Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez continued to mash on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of solo homers in a 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Alvarez is coming off a three-homer game on Wednesday and came into this one with a slash line of .382/.481/.697 in August. It's safe to say he's been on a heater at the dish. Although he has an oddly low amount of runs and RBI, he has provided what was expected of him in the AVG and home run departments. He should once again be one of the best four-category contributors in fantasy next year and might come with a nice discount given his lack of counting stats this year.


New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea was excellent again on Sunday, tossing seven scoreless frames and earning the win in a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Manaea allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out five in this one. The lefty has now rolled together four consecutive quality starts and hasn't allowed more than three runs in eight starts. His overall numbers also look very good, with 11 wins, a 3.35 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts over 150 IP. It's been a great year for the 32-year-old, and he will be tough to bench for fantasy owners as the playoffs arrive.



Cleveland Guardians first baseman Kyle Manzardo made a big impression in his first game back with the major league club, going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs. Manzardo was recalled Sunday morning and immediately got to work, hitting the first two homers of his career. Manzardo is the Guardians No. 3 prospect and MLB's No. 51 according to MLB Pipeline, but he hasn't had much hype around his call up this time around, likely because he wasn't great in his first cup of tea in the majors. After hitting well in Triple-A, a game like this one is a good reason for fantasy managers to take a flier on Manzardo, especially in deeper formats.


Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober dominated the Blue Jays on Sunday, going six innings while allowing just one run on one hit. Ober struck out eight and walked three in this one, with the only damage coming in the first inning off of an Ernie Clement solo home run. Ober needed a start like this after getting blown up by the Atlanta Braves for nine runs in his last start. To be fair to Ober, that was the only start in his previous 13 where he'd gone less than six innings or given up more than three runs, a span that dates back to June 9. The 29-year-old remains a must-start pitcher heading into fantasy playoffs.


Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Alex Cobb was terrific in his return from the IL, going six shutout innings and earning the win in a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cobb was perfect through six innings, but gave up back-to-back singles in the seventh before exiting the game. He punched out six and walked none in the contest. The 36-year-old was making his return from a fractured fingernail suffered on August 14 and showed no signs of rust. He is a solid waiver-wire target in deeper leagues and is streamable in the right matchups in standard-size leagues.
