After Oakland’s pitching staff turned in a historic three game weekend, the front office added Mike Fiers to the rotation with the Astros and Yankees struggling of late. This follows picking up reliever Shawn Kelley from the Nationals. Knowing how well their last trade with Washington for a reliever who fell out of favor, Blake Treinen , the A’s hope to strike lightning in a bottle once again and add even more depth to their talented bullpen.
As for Fiers, he may not move the needle too much in fantasy circles, but this could be an under the radar addition to fuel Oakland to a postseason berth. Over his last 12 starts, Fiers record sits at 3-3, but with a 2.57 ERA. On the season, Fiers has only walked 26 in 119 innings with a .258 batting average against.
Night Moves
Robinson Canó will begin his rehab assignment tonight and will play first, second and third base along with acting as the designated hitter to prepare for the stretch run with Seattle. Cano will be eligible to return on August 14th barring a rainout.
It’s funny how things work themselves out as the once too crowded outfield in St. Louis needs a boost from the minors in the days ahead. First, Dexter Fowler landed on the disabled list with a foot injury, now, Tyler O’Neill will miss the next 10 games due to a personal issue, think penicillin, forcing the promotion of Adolis Garcia. Garcia just won the Pacific Coast League player of the month for July and has slashed .348/.370/.765 with 12 home runs his last 30 games since July first.
The Yankees, limp into Chicago to face the White Sox, having lost five in a row. Giancarlo Stanton ’s been nursing a sore left hamstring but will hit second and play right field this evening. Aaron Judge will start swinging a bat soon but his void in the lineup stands out. New York’s lost 15 of 22 games without Judge dating back to the start of last year.
Chris Sale will start this weekend against the Orioles in order to avoid pitching in Philadelphia next week to avoid him accruing at-bats. No setback in his rehab, just forward thinking to preserve his health.
Houston loses another hitter with George Springer heading to the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. He did avoid a UCL injury, so he should be back in two weeks. Derek Fisher will take his spot on the active roster but keep tabs on Tony Kemp for fantasy purposes. Kemp’s reached safely in 22 of his last 26 games hitting .321 (26-for-81) with 12 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and five stolen bases in them.
We’re Going Streaking
José Ramírez enters game play tied for the American League lead in both home runs (33) and stolen bases (26). The last player to tie for lead in both categories in the American League? Ty Cobb in 1909 when he recorded nine home runs and 76 steals.
As the National League Most Valuable Player race evolves, Javy Baez keeps adding to his resume with career bests. He’s already racked up 30 doubles, seven triples, leads the National League with 86 RBI, 24 home runs and 19 stolen bases. He’s pacing towards 102 runs, 35 home runs, 126 RBI and 28 steals in 159 games.
Two pitchers potentially worth adding off waivers include Trevor Cahill and Tanner Roark . Cahill’s a part of the aforementioned Oakland rotation and needs health to succeed, but he’s worth the risk. Cahill owns a 3.12 ERA, 3.24 FIP and 1.07 WHIP through 13 starts with 75 strikeouts, a 54.8 ground ball percentage, 13.5 swinging strike rate and 69.2 contact allowed. Roark’s 3-2 with a 2.90 ERA, 2.42 FIP and 30 strikeouts against six walks his last 31 innings.
While Avisail García continues to rake, when will the White Sox promote some of their young talent to support him?
https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1026538751345008640
As for Garcia, he’s hit 12 home runs his last 28 games, second only to Matt Carpenter during this time frame. Garcia’s also recorded multiple hit games in five of his last 10 and hitting .304 his last 26 games with 19 RBI.
San Francisco needed a boost and Evan Longoria ’s responded since his return from the disabled list going 15-for-43 (.349) with three doubles, two home runs and four RBI his last 10 games.
Just when giving up on Mallex Smith made sense, he’s hot again. Smith’s 30-for-his-last-73 (.411) with six doubles, four triples, a home run and eight stolen bases over his last 26 games (22 starts). He’s also been successful in 12 of his last 13 stolen base attempts at a time when stolen bases are scarce in the fantasy landscape.
Could the pennant race invigorate Ryan Braun ? He swiped two bases on Sunday raising his season total to nine. He’s also hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games going 12-for-31 (.387) with two home runs and seven RBI.
It’s been a process, but Daniel Murphy ’s getting hot at the right time. He’s hitting .403 the last 20 games with 27 hits and eight walks. He’s also hit safely in 13 of his last 15 contests going 19-for-50 with seven runs, three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.
What To Watch For
Ben Zobrist returns to Kansas City with the Cubs riding a hot streak. Zobrist has the highest batting average (.330) among active hitters with at least 200 plate appearances in Kauffman Stadium. Also in team news, Yu Darvish will throw live batting practice on Wednesday while Kris Bryant has yet to participate in baseball activities.
Matt Carpenter will try to extend his 24-game on-base streak in Miami. Carpenter’s slashing a robust .376/.495/.918 in the streak, the longest in the majors.
How will Zack Godley fare at home versus the Phillies? A.J. Pollock will miss his second consecutive game for Arizona as well.
Can Dereck Rodriguez stifle the Astros bats in a home start? Will the rookie face an innings cap soon? Does it depend on the pennant races?
Noah Syndergaard will take the mound at home against the Reds. He owns a 2.09 ERA versus teams from the National League Central in 18 starts during his career. Plus, Jeff McNeil will get a start and hit second.
Mike Trout will miss his fifth straight game with a lingering wrist injury. Baseball misses him.
Last but not least, the White Sox have won four in a row and host the Yankees, who’ve lost five straight. Who blinks first?
Be sure to check back in the morning for Justin Mason’s Round Up recapping all the relevant fantasy news to keep you ahead of your competition.
Statistical Credits:
MLB.com
Fangraphs.com
BaseballSavant.com