With just a little more than a month of the season to go, it’s easy to forget who the April heroes and zeroes were. You complained when your supposed-to-be-star stunk up the joint in April, but now that it’s the end of August and he’s doing what you expected, you are thankful you didn’t foolishly drop the player. Let’s look at some of April’s biggest disappointments that have been as good as advertised since the calendar flipped to May. These examples remind us to trust the hitter’s entire body of work, not just the last couple of weeks.

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Every season there are numerous starting pitchers who surprise, rewarding those owners who spent heavily on hitting during the draft, with a plan of rostering cheaper breakout/sleeper type pitchers and improving their staff during the season. Though these three surprises haven’t earned a ton of mixed league value, they weren’t really even forecasted to return positive value in even mono leagues. Let’s discuss the trio, who all happen to be left-handed.

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Need an outfielder in your deep league? Here are two options.

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I feel like there hasn’t been nearly enough fanfare that we’re witnessing not just one amazing rookie campaign, but two in the National League East. Ronald Acuna was perhaps the most anticipated prospect to make his debut this season, while Juan Soto was decidedly less so. Although clearly a strong prospect, I admittedly never even heard of the guy. Maybe because each of them opened the season in the minors and have accrued just over 300 plate appearances, which is essentially half a season, you might not realize how incredible they have performed offensively. Their owners are certainly smiling ear to ear, but the more important question is which we should prefer to own next year. Obviously, we still have over a month of the season left and things could change. But let’s take an early stab at answering the question.

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Prospects, prospects, prospects! Back on July 25th, I recommended stashing Sean Reid-Foley. It wasn’t because I’m fond of hyphenated last names (I am!), but because in a deep league, finding a starting pitcher with true strikeout potential is gold. Over the last couple of days, it has been reported that three more prospects will or at likely to, make their debuts either during this upcoming week or before the season ends. Let’s discuss them.

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Every so often, I like to peruse recent starting pitcher performance, as skills seemingly change far more often than for hitters. That’s because all it might take is an added pitch, ditching of one, or simply changing the mix. So let’s discuss some of the surprises that appear near inside the top 20 over the last 30 days, our of 93 qualified pitchers.

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Call-ups, call-ups, and call-ups! It’s an exciting time in the season, when teams with no shot at the playoffs begin giving their prospects an opportunity. Two of these prospects are highlighted today.

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Closer turnover has been crazy over the last month or so. Based on the latest Bullpen Report, only 10 current de facto closers were in that same role heading into the season. That’s nuts! It’s also precisely why I don’t pay market prices for the top tier of closers on draft day. It’s not because I don’t think they will earn that value (guys like Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman certainly have), but because there are so many saves available for free during the season, I prefer to spend my auction budget elsewhere.

After recent trades of their incumbents, the Twins and White Sox have not formally announced a replacement closer. Between the two teams, the Bullpen Report identifies five pitchers total that would form committees. That’s essentially saying we have no idea. So let’s speculate!

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I was a big fan of Sean Manaea heading into the season, believing that his above average SwStk% and superb minor league strikeout rates, would lead to a strikeout rate surge this year. Through April, my optimism was paying off, as he had struck out 23.6% of the batters he faced and posted a microscopic 1.03 ERA. Ever since that sparkling month, his ability to punch out batters has completely eroded. Why?

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The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, which resulted in a flurry of deals that have vaulted many players into new roles. Let’s discuss two beneficiaries.

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