DFS PLAYBOOK PRO – An exciting offering from the Alarm is the DFS Playbook Pro. I will be doing a daily breakdown of the hitters – Hitting Coach – while Howard Bender looks into the Pitchers (Pitching Coach). You can find the link to the Hitting and Pitching articles under the DFS Playbook pro tab at the top right of the screen.
OTHER LINKS TO BOOKMARK
HITTER NOTES
Avisail Garcia had four strikeouts in his return to the lineup Monday (he had been out with a back situation). On the year he’s hitting .269 with 12 homers and an OPS of barely .700. Funny thing, haven’t heard from anyone who called me a moron for being so blah on Garcia before the season started. Great talent, but he still can’t put it together.
Joe Mauer has stayed healthy, driven in 60 and scored 60. Toss in eight homers and a .271 batting average and he would be a good C2. Unfortunately he’s a first baseman, and that .271/.341/.378 slash line is flat out embarrassing for the 32 year old. Seems like he’s just lost the ability to hit the baseball like he once did. It’s OK though. He’s only owed $23 million in each of the next three seasons. Even in 15 team mixed leagues he’s not worth rostering.
Mitch Moreland has 20 homers and 73 RBIs while batting .289. Miguel Cabrera has 17 homers and 68 RBIs. Of course, he’s also batting .339. Still, that’s pretty solid work from Moreland who has only 19 more at-bats than Cabrera.
Wil Myers has hit .243 with a homer and seven RBIs in 10 games since he returned to action for the Padres. On the year he’s batting .270 with seven homers and a .788 OPS. He’s been hurt a lot that past two years playing a total of 132 games. He’s hit .236 with a .303 OBP and .366 SLG in that time. He’s also gone 13/10 with 70 runs scored. That’s passable as a 5th outfielder, but it’s well below the levels that his talent suggests he should be at. He has to prove he can play 150 games.
Anthony Rendon just needs to stay healthy. All of a sudden his average has surged to .287 while his OBP is up to .367. That’s what nine hits in three games can help to do for you. Still only has one steal in 63 games though, and without the steals his overall offensive game is just solid and not elite.
Trayce Thompson hyperextended his elbow Monday and it’s not clear how much time, if any, he will miss. He’s been killing it by the way though I’m sure many haven’t noticed. It’s been just 66 plate appearances but he’s hit .377 with a 1.113 OPS, and the effort includes four homers, 13 RBIs and a steal. That’s some serious levels of production.
PITCHER NOTES
Anyone notice that John Danks has a 3.60 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over his last 11 starts? He only has a 3-4 record and barely a 2:1 K/BB ratio (50 and 23), but the ratios are pretty solid for a guy who is on waivers in mixed leagues. His two September starts are even better (2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP over 16 innings).
Kevin Gausman allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings against the Red Sox. That effort helped to drop his ERA to 4.15 after allowing one runs over 11 innings. Gausman has a solid 
7.91 K/9 mark and his 2.41 BB/9 rate also works quite well. The WHIP is down to 1.24 and he’s looking like a solid mixed league option, finally, down the stretch.
Jon Gray has made eight starts for the Rockies with a 5.00 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 35 strikeouts over 36 innings. The Rockies have been very careful with his innings allowing him to throw six innings just one time. Micromanaging pitch counts and innings per start, and throwing for the Rockies, it just kills any perspective fantasy value his stuff would dictate he has.
Clayton Kershaw has a 9-0 record with a 0.73 WHIP since July started. That is all.
Aaron Nola allowed six runs in five innings Monday that inflated his ERA to 4.11. Still, the rookie has been very solid over his first 11 outings with a 1.20 WHIP, 8.09 K/9 and 2.19 BB/9 rate. He’s also chipped in a 45.3 percent ground ball rate which is solid. One of the few bright spots with the Phils at the moment.
Eduardo Rodriguez was at it again. He struck out nine batters in just 5.1 innings against the Orioles Monday. Over his last 12.1 innings he’s walked four while whiffing 16. He’s also allowed a total of six earned runs his last five starts. So how is it that his ERA his last six starts is 3.47? It’s cause he allowed eight runs to the Marlins on August 12th. ERod has made 19 starts for the Red Sox allowing one/zero earned runs 11 times. That’s mightily impressive. However, he’s allowed at least six earned runs four times leading to a 3.94 ERA overall.
Edinson Volquez gave up four runs in just five innings against the Indians Monday. Volquez is 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, that’s certainly a solid effort. Alas, he’s K/9 rate is only 6.7 per nine and over his last seven starts he’s been a total dud with a 2-2 record, 5.23 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He’s a dicey start at the moment.
Taijuan Walker has a poor 4.56 ERA. He’s also up to 169.2 innings, a career-high (he threw just 120.1 last season). He could be shut down or have a start skipped the rest of the way. That’s the bad news. The good is the 157 strikeouts over 169.2 innings, the 1.20 WHIP and the 2.12 walks per nine. If he maintains those rates moving forward it’s a near certainty that his ERA will fall (his current SIERA is 3.69, his xFIP 3.82).
INJURY NEWS
Phil Hughes is back and is starting against the Tigers Tuesday. He returns from a back injury that has had him on the shelf since August 9th. I don’t want anything to do with Hughes.
Sounds like Giancarlo Stanton might return after all. Stanton took batting practice Monday, the first time he has done that with the team since he broke the hamate bone in his left hand on June 26th. Players usually return from the injury in about six weeks, and we’re nearing three months for Stanton. "I feel good," Stanton said. "I don't have a date [to come back]." Even if he returns, can’t be expecting much given the painfully slow recovery process he’s gone through.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Thursday at 8 PM EDT and Friday at 9 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).