Start: August 23rd vs. Kansas City Royals
ESPN ownership: 20.5%
Even though he took a beating at the hands of the juggernaut Boston Red Sox, it was encouraging to see Tyler Glasnow stretched to 6.2 innings of work in his latest start. The new acquisition for the rebuilding Tampa Bay Rays has been gradually reacclimating to a starter's workload after spending the year as a reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and this latest outing, despite the poor results, tells us that Glasnow is all systems go for the balance of 2018.
The post-hype fireballer faces a much less menacing opponent this week, namely a Kansas City squad with a .308 on-base percentage since the start of July. With (as a group) a 6.9% walk rate against righties in that span (third-worst in the American League), the Royals are unlikely to test Glasnow's wildness, even if their somewhat stingy 21.7% strikeout rate doesn't exactly play into his hands.
The upside-rich Glasnow is still out there in plenty of leagues for owners looking to catch lightning in a bottle in Week 21 and beyond.