Players off of the DL and hitting are buying opportunities that highlight this week’s "The Week That Was."

Marcus Semien: Semien went 2-4 with a dinger, run and rbi in Sunday’s win in Queens.  On the year, Semien is hitting a weak .209 with all of 2 dingers.  So, why am I writing about the Oakland SS?  Well, because he presents a great buying opportunity of course.  First, the numbers are dramatically reduced by virtue of injury.  Second, he is on fire.  Semien is 8 for his last 17 with 5 runs, 3 RBI, 2 SB and a dinger.  He will not stay this hot but he will produce well above his current season numbers.  Remember, this is a guy who is just 26, had already amassed 1200+ AB in the majors at that young age and who smacked 27 dingers with 10 SB a year ago.  Call the Semien owner in your league, carp about his low average and fleece away!

Howie KendrickKendrick went 2-4 with a run and two RBI Sunday.  Kendrick has picked up right where he left off as he is 4-10 since coming off the shelf to raise his average even further – to a gaudy .353!  I do not know if the Phils will move Kendrick or not but one way or another, that bat will play (plus the positional flexibility helps in real and fantasy baseball).  Yes, I know the 430+ BABIP cannot last but Kendrick is hitting the ball harder than in years past, is going oppo more this year than last and is hitting more flyballs.  All in all, this is a pretty picture that will decorate your fantasy stats well.  Buy!

Starling Marte: Marte is not coming off injury but he is coming off suspension and doing so on fire.  In his first 27 AB, Marte is 9-27 with 6 runs, 2RBI and 4 SB.  Given that Marte is clearly not going to wear down in August and September, this is a major buying opportunity.  Pay the full fare!  Oh, you need more proof?  Well, SB are way down this year and Marte is a rare breed – a player who can hit and who has stolen 30+ bags in each of the past four seasons.  Buy! 

Jason Heyward: Heyward has been a much better hitter since coming off the DL on July 4.  In his last 14 games, JHey is hitting .318 with 8 runs and 8 RBI.  Indeed, he has raised his average up to .268 (it was .230 last year) and impressed his skipper enough to put him in the lead off spot.  Much has been made of Heyward’s slow start to his Cubs career.  However, people are quick to forget that Heyward is still only 27 years old and already has almost 1,000 hits in the big leagues.  Those who dismiss Heyward also have looked past the facts that Heyward was very unlucky last year with a BABIP of .262 and is a hitter that has the highest contact rate of his career this year.  I am buying and you should too.   

Ian Kinsler: Kinsler went 3-5 with a run and two RBI Sunday.  Since coming off the DL six weeks ago, Kinsler has reaffirmed why he has been such a valuable fantasy commodity.  Yes, I know Kinsler is hitting only .243 but dig deeper.  He has been very unlucky with a .260 BABIP despite the fact that his contact rate is up, strikeout rate is down, hard hit rate is up and that he is going oppo more often.  All in all, this is a proven commodity who will continue to prove himself.  Carp about the .243 average and get yourself a very valuable fantasy chip for the stretch run.

And now, the moment you likely have not been waiting for -- Schultz says: “Sometimes the elusive fix that your team is looking for may be hiding in plain sight. Instead of scouring the prospect wires and speculating on what Yoan Moncada or Zach Granite might do with significant playing time and a little patience, it's often a little easier to look for the talented star that simply had a horrible first half. No one quite remembers what Brian Dozier did in the first half of 2016 since he hit 46 home runs and stole 65 bases in the second half . . . or it simply just felt like that's what he did. 

Last night in Cleveland, Danny Salazar, the once-and-seemingly-always-future prospect, returned to the Indians rotation as a strikingly different pitcher than the one that weighed down every fantasy team that rostered him. Instead of trying to outfox the Blue Jays with sliders and curves, he threw fastballs right by them, not throwing a breaking pitch until his 22nd pitch. The result: instead of his customary 100 pitches through 5 innings with a troubling number of base runners, he threw 86 pitches over 7 innings, gave up 1 hit, struck out 8 and faced the minimum number of batters. Salazar’s revised mindset on the mind will get overlooked due to Justin Smoak's 27th home run tying the game on Andrew Miller's first pitch of the 8th and Francisco Lindor's monumental walk-off blast. However, this is the pitcher roto-heads have been waiting years for.

Practically absent through May and June, Ryan Braun has quietly started to remind anyone paying attention that he can be one of the game's most feared hitters. In the three weeks since he's returned to the Brew Crew, he's slugged 5 homers, driven in 12 and hit .286, scored 15 runs and even stole a couple bases. Expecting him to return to the MVP form that will send Matt Kemp into a foul-mouthed rant would be foolhardy, to expect him to provide a better return that the investment to acquire him isn't.”

Response:  After a great effort with the All-Schultz week last week, Schultz stays hot with fantasy wisdom.  Maybe next week he will give me something to ridicule!