
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was excellent on the mound during Friday's game against the Miami Marlins. Wheeler gave up a two-run home run to Eric Wagaman, but was basically untouchable outside of that. He tossed seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, and recording 13 strikeouts in the win. Wheeler hasn't been like himself lately, but hopefully this outing will help him get back on track. He'll take a 3.73 ERA with 41 strikeouts into his next start against the New York Mets. Fantasy managers have been given a few bad starts from Wheeler, but he remains a must-start in fantasy formats.


Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson tossed six shutout frames on Friday, earning his second win of the season in a 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Anderson held the Giants to just three hits and two walks while striking out six. The lefty has rolled off two consecutive scoreless outings and has allowed four total hits over his last three starts (16 IP). While that is unlikely to continue, it might be worth riding the wave while Anderson is hot. He has had stretches like this one in the past, and he can certainly be helpful when he's pitching like this. Just know that it could all come crashing down at any time.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb was brilliant in defeat on Friday, allowing one run over six innings in a tough 2-0 loss against the Los Angeles Angels. Webb struck out 12 while allowing just four hits and walking none in this one. His changeup was electric in this one, generating 11 whiffs on 14 swings. The 28-year-old has been excellent this season, pitching to a 2.40 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 30 IP. While his numbers will likely regress a bit, it looks like Webb will once again be a stable rotation piece in fantasy that provides good ratios and strikeouts.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon had his best start of the season on Friday, shutting out the Tampa Bay Rays for six innings in a 1-0 win. Rodon was very sharp in this one, allowing just two hits while striking out nine. Although it was mostly good for the lefty, he did walk four and had now walked 16 in just 29 innings so far this year. That's not ideal, but if he's limiting hits and striking batters out like in this one, it might not matter. All in all, it was a strong bounce-back effort for Rodon, and fantasy managers should feel better about the 32-year-old after this one.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott was brilliant on Friday, chucking six innings of one-run baseball while punching out 11. Abbott allowed just two hits and a walk, with the only damage coming off a Cedric Mullins solo homer in the second frame. Abbott has shown big upside in the past, but his consistency has been spotty at best. In today's game, he got whiffs on his fastball, curveball, and especially his changeup. If he can keep those pitches rolling, he certainly has the chance to be special. He's not widely rostered in fantasy, but that needs to change after this performance. Go out and grab him if he's out there in your league.
