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While the winds of change ripple in baseball, the Washington Nationals raised the white flag trading veterans Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams signalling an end to their postseason chase, at least on paper for 2018. This ends a very disappointing era and as fate would have it, Stephen Strasburg makes his return from the disabled list in the midst of it. How will fans look back at the decision to shut him down in 2012 going forward, especially with the looming departure of Bryce Harper , who survived the purge.
As for the players on the move, Daniel Murphy heads to the Cubs at the right time. Chicago’s only scored one run in each of its last five games, all on solo home runs. This comforts the blow of the team announcing Yu Darvish will be shut down the remainder of the season due to a stress reaction in his right elbow and a triceps strain. Murphy has rebounded of late hitting .336/.379/.514 since June and likely displaces Addison Russell to the bench as a late innings defensive substitute. As a visitor to Wrigley Field, Murphy’s hit .407 in 32 games with nine home runs, 17 RBI and a 1.137 on-base plus slugging percentage. A welcome addition.
Matt Adams returns to St. Louis to add punch off the bench, a left-handed hitting complement to Jose Martinez at first base or the outfield and more depth to their lineup. In the accompanying move, Dexter Fowler shifted to the 60-day disabled list, thusly ending his season.
Roster Adjustments and Injury News
In a surprising in-game announcement, José Abreu underwent surgery on Tuesday in his lower abdomen and will resume baseball activities in two weeks. Abreu had been surging with a .350/.400/.699 slash line with nine home runs and 26 RBI his last 26 games leaving his owners in the lurch.
Owners of Justin Upton roster him with the knowledge he runs hot and cold, unfortunately, just when he started to heat up, he lands on the disabled list with a finger injury. Good news for Mike Trout and the Angels, he will return on Friday.
It appears the news on Buster Posey arrived a bit ahead of schedule. He will require surgery on his hip, which explains the power decline, dating back to an injury in May Posey’s played through. There’s no official word on when he will be shut down, but plan accordingly if looking to add a boost at catcher for the stretch run.
Strange timeline of events for the Yankees. On the same day the team announces Justus Sheffield will transition to the bullpen to add future depth to its bullpen, Aroldis Chapman leaves his outing in Miami after walking a batter and throwing six pitches. Chapman motioned to the dugout for the trainer and left immediately after. Like Posey, Chapman’s been playing through an injury, knee tendinitis, which predates to May. The Yankees closer will undergo an MRI on Wednesday as his owners nervously await the results. As for Sheffield, remember, David Price made his debut with the Rays in 2008 as a reliever and closed out the American League Championship game.
Houston activated José Altuve on Tuesday. They also suggested Roberto Osuna would get the majority of saves going forward. Last night, Osuna allowed three hits and an earned run pitching in the eighth inning, but facing the heart of the order. Héctor Rondón notched his 14th save, in 17 attempts, since June. Trusting A.J. Hinch in how he deploys relievers can be foolish.
Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham injured his ring finger diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. Pham had the finger reset after the dislocation and hopes to avoid a return to the disabled list.
That Just Happened
Remember when Braves fans were disappointed to get Kevin Gausman ? With the team needing a start with length, Gausman responded firing eight shutout innings giving up four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Since joining Atlanta, Gausman’s made four starts with an ERA of two and 17 strikeouts in 27 innings with three wins.
On the other hand, former teammate Dylan Bundy should not be active on fantasy rosters. He yielded seven earned runs for the third straight game. Bundy’s allowed 22 earned runs in 20.1 innings in August on 36 hits and six walks.
All Cedric Mullins has done since his promotion, produce. Mullins hit his second home run in the Orioles lopsided loss and his 11 game sample yields eight runs, five doubles, two home runs and four RBI with a .333/.409/.615 slash line.
Kendrys Morales homered for the third straight game going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. He’s on a six game hit streak (11-for-19 with four home runs) and hitting .296 his last 78 games with 14 home runs and 37 RBI. Newly promoted Billy McKinney ’s trying to get more playing time and his two hit performance and first home run with three RBI will not hurt. He’s made three starts so far with five hits in 11 at-bats and five RBI.
A much needed home run for Evan Longoria , his 13th of the season and first since August fifth.
Break up the Mets. Jeff McNeil racked up four hits in as many at-bats last night with two runs, a double and an RBI. He’s hit safely in his last six games and eight starts going 16-for-38 (421) with eight runs, three doubles, a triple, five RBI and a stolen base. Michael Conforto launched his 18th home run, and fourth in the last 11 contests. During the second half, Conforto’s rounding into form with a .288/.363/.525 slash, seven doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBI.
All Melky Cabrera does is hit home runs? He homered for the third straight game going 3-for-4 with two runs, a double and an RBI. Over the last nine, Cabrera’s hitting .424 with five home runs and 14 RBI. Teammate Greg Allen extended his hit streak to 14 games and made tremendous catches in Fenway. Allen’s 20 for his last 50 during the streak with 11 runs, a home run and six RBI. José Ramírez stole his 28th base and could be the first player with 40 home runs and 30 steals since Ryan Braun in 2012 (41 home runs, 30 stolen bases). Ramirez only needs three more home runs and two steals to accomplish this feat.
Another dominating start for Blake Snell striking out 11 in six innings allowing four hits, one earned run and a walk. Snell generated 23 swinging strikes and 18 called of his 101 pitches. Snell’s given up two runs or less in 20 starts this year and joins Bob Gibson as the second pitcher in the “live ball” era with 160 or more strikeouts and less than 35 runs through his first 24 starts in a season. Mercy.
Tampa Bay’s middle infield continues to fly below the radar as well. Willy Adames his hit seventh home run among his three hits and Joey Wendle tripled in two runs. Here’s each players August so far:
Willy Adames - 18 games, 10 runs, three doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI, six walks, four stolen bases, .356/.409/.610 slash line.
Joey Wendle - 17 games, nine runs, six doubles, triple, two home runs, 14 RBI, .317/.353/.540 slash.
Revenge series? Scooter Gennett seems to revel in the Brewers trying to find a second baseman since his release. Gennett went 2-for-4 last night with his 19th home run and three RBI. Over the last 365 days, Gennett’s played 155 games with 97 runs, 25 home runs, 97 RBI, four stolen bases and a .313/.358/.504 line.
For those potentially losing Buster Posey , see if Austin Hedges sits on the waiver wire. Hedges hit his 10th home run on Tuesday night and over the last 15 games has launched four homers scoring eight runs along with driving in eight with a .278 average.
On a night when rain cut short the much anticipated debut of Michael Kopech , his owners can take solace in the terrific changeup he flashed and this:
Everyone knows Michael Kopech throws insanely hard. Now, we know he also has elite spin rate.
— David Adler (@_dadler) August 22, 2018
In his 1st inning, Kopech's 4-seamer averaged *2,629 rpm.* MLB average is 2,262 rpm. Justin Verlander , the highest-spin starter, is averaging 2,613 rpm.
He's gonna get a lot of whiffs.
While fantasy owners try to discern which Twins reliever to target for saves, Taylor Rogers secured his second save in his last three outings, striking out two in a clean ninth. Rogers extended his scoreless streak to 10.1 innings and has a 1.48 ERA his last 22 games.
There’s hot and then there’s David Peralta this month. Peralta racked up three hits, in as many at-bats, walked and hit his 24th home run of the season. Peralta’s on fire in August with 15 runs, four doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 15 RBI, seven walks, 11 strikeouts and a robust .422/.479/.891 slash line. This yields a 260 weighted runs created plus, the highest hard hit rate (66 percent) and highest home run per fly ball percentage (42.1 percent) of qualified hitters this month. Please pause while Howard Bender takes a victory lap around a Phish venue.
Khris Davis continues to flourish with the A’s in the midst of a pennant chase. Davis launched his 38th home run and drove in three to fuel another win. He’s hit 17 home runs with 38 RBI in 29 games in the second half and his last 162 games has hit .263/.341/.578 with 53 home runs and 135 RBI. Khrush indeed.
Rookie Daniel Poncedeleon flashed upside striking out eight with 13 swinging strikes of his 90 pitches, but only lasted four innings in Los Angeles. He needs to work deeper into games, but represents fantasy upside going forward. Marcell Ozuna hit his 16th home run and second in four games. If he can convert some of his 55 outs with exit velocities of 100 MPH or higher into more home runs, look out.
Manny Machado went 3-for-5 with his 28th home run. He’s hitting .280/.366/.464 in 31 games with the Dodgers with 16 runs, five home runs, 12 RBI and five stolen bases. Just keep in mind, where he signs this off-season may affect his fantasy future. Machado hit 17 home runs in 175 at-bats in Camden Yards this year but only has 12 in his other 315 at-bats (one every 26.25).
A much needed multi-hit game for Carlos Correa , his first since June 17th, going 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI in Seattle. Correa’s struggled upon his return from the disabled list but Houston and his owners need a hot streak. Perhaps this gets him kick started.
What To Watch For
Keep tabs on injury news with closers Aroldis Chapman and A.J. Minter . Chapman will undergo an MRI and Minter could land on the disabled list if he’s not ready to pitch this afternoon in Pittsburgh.
For the daily enthusiasts, Ryne Stanek ’s slated to be the “opener” for Tampa Bay with Yonny Chirinos to log the majority of innings after. Also watching the Rays, scouts watched Sergio Romo and C.J. Cron last night. More waiver moves could ensue.
Daniel Murphy will make his debut with the Cubs, could they score more than a run?
NIce pitching matchup in Chicago with Carlos Rodon taking on Kyle Gibson in a battle of pitchers looking to be under the radar fliers next year.
Stephen Strasburg makes his return at home against the Phillies while the Dodgers need Walker Buehler to outduel Jack Flaherty as the pennant races heat up.
Be sure to check back tomorrow at Fantasy Alarm for the Round Up to stay ahead of the competition.