Michael Clevinger started for the Indians Thursday against the Twins, filling in for the injured Danny Salazar. At elite level talent, Clevinger allowed seven hits, walked four and permitted two runs over just 4.1 frames. That effort leaves him with a 6.97 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP through 20.2 innings with the Tribe. He’s been terrific at Triple-A with an 11-1 record, 3.00 ERA and a 9.39 K/9 rate, but as we see on a weekly basis, it’s not that easy your first time through the league as a youngster.

Brandon Finnegan shut out the Cardinals over six innings Thursday giving him 12 scoreless innings his last two starts. Really don’t care much for 2016 as he’s pitching for fantasy relevance in 2017.

Cesar Hernandez has a .548 OBP the last week leading to seven runs over six games. #JustSaying.

Hisashi Iwakuma is pitching at the top of his game. Jake Odorizzi is pitching like a boss. Rick Porcello is a magician on the mound, so don’t believe what you see from him on the mound. Check out the video.

Mike Leake allowed seven runs over 5.0 innings to the Reds Thursday. That’s a third straight, seriously, outing with at least six runs allowed as he’s permitted 19 earned runs his last 16 frames. So much for him being an option you could roll out there are the end of your mixed league rotation.

Joe Mauer is heating up. Brian Dozier has been phenomenal during his current hit streak. Neil Walker is hitting everything at the moment. Check out the video.

Brad Miller isn’t sexy with his .254/.305/.493 slash line, but the guy just blasted his 19th homer Thursday and he’s drive in 43 while scoring 48 times. He’s been pretty darn productive in those counting categories.

Hernan Perez the last seven games: three homers, five steals, seven RBI and eight runs. He’s posted a .487 wOBA in that time as well. Rolling right now is he.

Miguel Sano might be demoted to Triple-A next week when Trevor Plouffe is ready to return from the DL. Well, can’t say I didn’t warn you. From his preseason Player Profile.

What happened? Sano keeps striking out (he followed up a 35.5 percent mark last season with a 34.8 percent mark this year). His HR/FB ratio has rescinded (from 26.5 percent to 19.5 percent). I said he would not live up to the hype or hit better than .250. He’s hitting .238 and not matching the hype. A quote from the article. “Sano has massive power and knows how to take a walk. He also enters the season without a fantasy position and his batting average is in peril. If you could take a shot on him in the 15th round I would be fine with that. Alas, the hype train is pushing Sano hard so the cost will be exorbitant in many leagues for a player with as many concerns as Sano possesses.” If you purchased the Draft Guide you wouldn’t be disappointed with Sano’s performance to date. All that being said, his pace over 150 games would lead to 30 homers and 85 RBI. What were you expecting?

Luis Severino will start for the Yankees Tuesday against the Red Sox as Chad Green was sent back to the minors. Severino has allowed one run in 8.1 frames since returning to the bigs, and you know that I’m a fan. Here’s a link to his Player Profile.

Jake Thompson will likely replace Aaron Nola in the Phillies rotation. As I wrote about with Nola in the Daily Trends, his season might be over. "I hope this isn't the end," Nola said about his season. "I'm going to try everything I can to be back by the end of the year." If it is Thompson who gets the call it should be noted that he is 8-0 with a 1.21 ERA over his last 11 starts making him a fine add in NL-only leagues.

Justin Turner has been a beast the last month and a half. Over his last four games he’s hit .338 with a .386 OBP and .669 SLG. Look at that last number. Over those 40 games he’s blasted 13 homers, driven 13 balls for doubles and posted an RBI a contest with 41 in 40 games. He cost nothing on draft day. I said take this guy late, you will enjoy it if you do. It hasn’t been even this season, but my goodness has he been a superstar of late.

Since June 1stJoey Votto is batting .374 with a .511 OBP and .592 SLG. Ted Williams would sell his soul for those numbers. Those numbers have come over 51 games during which time Votto has been one of the best offensive weapons in the game. Can we please stop worrying about Votto if he has a bad couple of weeks or a month? He’s one of the most consistently excellent offensive performers in the game. It’s time that you simply accept that fact. Please.

Taijuan Walker should return to the Mariners rotation Saturday against the Angels. Lots of folks seem to forget that he has 80 strikeouts in 86 innings and owns a 4.44 K/BB ratio leading to a 1.14 WHIP. That’s top shelf stuff folks.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 8 PM EDT, on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).