Fantasy Baseball Winners & Losers: Darvish shines while Paddack falls behind

On a day where everybody in the Fantasy Baseball industry is excited for names like Alec Bohm and Dylan Carlson, Mookie Betts reminds of his greatness. We often talk up double dongs on Fantasy Baseball Today, but rarely do we get to use the term triple dong. For the sixth time in his career Thursday, Betts hit three home runs in a game. At just 27 years old, that ties Betts for the most three-homer games in the history of baseball. Shame on you, Boston Red Sox.

Back to Bohm and Carlson, these are two of the top hitting prospects in baseball and are must-add players in Fantasy. Bohm made his debut Thursday while Carlson is expected to make his debut this Saturday when the Cardinals return from their hiatus.

We discussed Bohm and Carlson and planning for Week 5 Friday on the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast. Follow all our podcasts and subscribe here.

On to the rest of Thursday's action!

THE LATEST IN THE WORLD OF FANTASY BASEBALL

Corey Seager was finally back in the Dodgers lineup and he homered in his first at-bat. Oh, how I've missed you, Corey.
Alex Wood threw another bullpen Thursday. He'll throw again on Saturday, before a simulated game next Tuesday.
Jeff McNeil was carted off the field Thursday after crashing into the wall on a catch he made. He was diagnosed with a bone contusion in his left knee and is day-to-day.
Kris Bryant was out of the Cubs lineup Thursday due to soreness around his left ring finger and wrist. David Ross told reporters he does not believe either injury is serious.
Xander Bogaerts was absent from the Red Sox lineup on Thursday due to "fatigue in his lower half." First Judge, now Bogaerts' 2020 is just weird.
Mike Moustakas did some on-field drills during batting practice Thursday. If all goes well in the coming days, he could be activated when first eligible this Sunday.
On the contrary, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday that he is not expecting Ozzie Albies to be ready for activation next week. He's dealing with a wrist injury.
Vince Velasquez pitched in relief Thursday so it now appears that Spencer Howard will indeed get the start to himself against the Mets on Friday evening.
Buster Olney of ESPN reports that another staff member for the Cardinals has tested positive for COVID-19. The Cardinals game against the White Sox on Friday has been postponed. The plan, for now, is to play a doubleheader this Saturday. The Cardinals haven't played since July 29.

Thursday's Biggest Winners

I'll admit I had trepidation about drafting Yu Darvish heading into this season. Last year's monstrous second half just seemed like so many things went right for him. I was wrong. Darvish allowed just one run over seven innings Thursday, striking out 11 Brewers. The key to his success has been this increased cutter/slider usage that has remained steady so far this season.
After lasting just four innings against the Giants last time out, we needed to see some efficiency from Julio Urias and that's exactly what we got. He allowed just two runs over 6.1 innings with three strikeouts against the Padres on Thursday. He's a must-start next week against the Seattle Mariners.
It's early, but Nick Senzel is doing everything we asked of him so far this season. He's walking more, striking out less and has vastly improved his batted-ball data. His 92.2 MPH average exit velocity currently ranks in the 92nd percentile. On Thursday he added three hits, including a double, homer, and four RBI. If somebody in your league hasn't realized that Senzel is about to take off, try and trade for him.

Thursday's Biggest Losers

So who started for the Padres if Betts was hitting all these home runs? That would be the sheriff, Chris Paddack. The second-year righty started lasted just three innings, allowing six runs on six hits. It seems his lack of a third pitch is starting to become an issue. While he doesn't walk anybody, he allows a lot of hard contact. We're not hitting the panic button yet, but he has to figure things out.
Speaking of figuring things out, it'd be nice if Tyler Glasnow could do the same. While he's still racking up the whiffs and striking everybody out, he hasn't been effective. Glasnow allowed five runs over four innings in Boston on Thursday, albeit while striking out eight. He has failed to go more than 4.2 innings in any of his four starts this season. If I can, I'm benching him this upcoming week against the Yankees.
While we're dealing with a slew of struggling hitters early in the season, Rafael Devers stands out maybe a little more than the rest. It seems like he's falling into some bad habits in terms of strikeouts and a lack of line drives. Last season was a career year because he limited the whiffs while making elite-level contact. He finished 1-5 Thursday with two more strikeouts. I'm not throwing in the towel yet, obviously, but he has to improve in those two specific areas.