There have been several contending clubs around the league enjoying the benefit of valuable production from rookies this season. Gleyber Torres , Juan Soto , Ronald Acuna , and others have made plenty of headlines the last few months, but if the name Harrison Bader has not been on your radar, change that now.

The Cardinals refuse to go away in the N.L. playoff chase, as they rolled off their fourth straight win Saturday night and have gone 8-2 so far this month. During Saturday’s 8-3 victory over the Royals, Bader went 2-for-3 and homered for the second straight day. Since the calendar flipped to August, the 24-year-old outfielder has put up five multi-hit efforts, posting a strong .353/.371/.588 slash line with four extra-base hits, five RBI, eight runs and three steals.

Bader may not end up being bestowed with Rookie of the Year honors later this year, but he’s certainly making his presence felt in the N.L. Central and Wild Card races. He can do the same in a fantasy baseball league near you.

 

Quick Hits

Nelson Cruz has gone 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles in back-to-back wins over the Astros the past two days and seems to be in a great spot to keep up the hot hitting in a matchup versus Houston lefty Dallas Keuchel . For his career, Cruz is 13-for-39 with five home runs against Keuchel.

Jackie Bradley Jr. has been getting it done in Baltimore the last three days, going 5-for-10 with two deep drives, a double and a triple. However, he is a mere 3-for-17 with seven strikeouts in his career against Sunday’s opposing hurler Alex Cobb .

Khris Davis has homered in five of the Athletics last six games, going 8-for-23 with eight RBI in that span. Davis will look to keep crushing it against Angels righty Taylor Cole on Sunday afternoon.  

 

Sunday on the Hill

The Red Sox will look to finish off a four-game sweep in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, and they will do so behind ace Chris Sale for the first time since July 27. Sale has missed the past couple of weeks due to a shoulder issue, but he’s ready to resume his pursuit of the A.L. Cy Young Award after firing nearly 50 pitches in a bullpen session Thursday. Sale has made two starts against the Orioles this year, allowing just two runs on four hits and six walks while punching out 17 across 11.0 innings.

Tyler Glasnow is gearing up for his third start since being dealt to Tampa Bay in the Chris Archer deal back on July 31. Though Glasnow, who was used solely out of the bullpen for the Pirates this season, has only worked 3.0 and 4.0 innings respectively through two outings with the Rays, he has been nothing short of dominant. In 7.0 frames with his new club, the towering righty has given up only two runs on four hits (2 HR) and one walk while racking up 14 strikeouts. Glasnow will face off with Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays on Sunday.

 

Streaking

Freddie Freeman – 13 games – 18-for-50, .929 OPS, 1 HR, 4 2B

Logan Forsythe – 9 games – 14-for-33, .957 OPS, 2 2B

Matt Chapman – 9 games – 12-for-38, 1.034 OPS, 3 HR, 3 2B

Trevor Story – 9 games – 11-for-37, 1.027 OPS, 4 HR, 4 2B

 

You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him every Monday & Thursday hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.