The Roger Dorn Twitter curse was out in full effect on Friday night as updates on the strong starts from both Trevor Bauer (Fish) and Cristian Javier (Ducks) quickly took the wheels off their respective outings.
A full slate of games is on deck for Saturday as clubs look to work around the postponement of the Mets/Nationals series which is sidelining big names on both clubs from RDBL Scoring. The RDBL Commissioner's Office announced on Friday that Front Offices can replace those players in the lineup for Period 1.
Friday's Star: LHP John Means, Hops
Means was highlighted in Friday's "On The Lookout" and backed up the positive comments we made about him with a dominant 40-point outing against the Red Sox. Means was up to 97 as he allowed just one hit over seven scoreless and currently holds the top performance of the league to date among pitchers.
Goutfish on the Move?
GM Ryan Atkinson will send Lance Lynn, Jose Berrios, Zach Plesac and Lance McCullers to the mound on Saturday. With 20.0 points from their catcher combo already, the Goutfish have been able to stay above water through two days and hope to find themselves towards the top of the standings when they wake up Sunday.
Do the Hops Have Something in Webb?
Few pitchers were as productive or impressive in Spring Training as Hops right-hander Logan Webb who will make his 2021 debut Saturday against the Mariners. Webb fired 11 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts against just one walk in the Cactus League and will look to carry that over into the Regular Season. With Carlos Carrasco on the shelf, Webb will get the first crack at replacing him in the Hops rotation.
Can Mahle Right the Falcons Ship?
Tyler Mahle was a common sleeper candidate this off-season, and to no surprise, the Falcons were right on him with a $8 Auction purchase on Draft Day. With 60 strikeouts and just 34 hits allowed in 47 2/3 innings last season, it's easy to see why the Falcons are excited about him. He will get the ball Saturday along with Elieser Hernandez and Zach Wheeler as the Falcons look to shake a rough start at the plate (13-for-61) and on the mound (9 ER in 5 1/3 IP).
Buehler? Buehler?
The Grapes are expected to have a lethal 1-2 punch with Buehler and Kershaw but a shaky start from the latter has the pressure on Buehler for his debut Saturday. The right-hander had a terrible finish to Spring, allowing nine runs on 10 hits against the Brewers and struggled with fastball command issues for much of the Spring. We'll see how much, if any, those struggles carry over to the Regular Season.
Hammerheads Offense Raking
The Heads lead the RDBL with 80.0 hitting points, slashing .338/.451/.646 through a pair of games. Most importantly for GM Ross Horiuchi, his club is showing positive signs of plate discipline with 12 walks already. The Heads have historically struggled in the OBP category but a jump in that space along with their strong rotation could make them a contender in 2021. 2020 breakout Corbin Burnes is set to make his debut against the Twins on Saturday.
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