That Happened?

Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday versus the Tigers. Since returning from the DL on 7/3, Ohtani has exclusively DH’d for the Angels as he lets his partially torn UCL recover. In that time he has hit .250/.323/.536 with six home runs and four stolen bases in 94 plate appearances. Ohtani also threw off the mound for the first time this week, though it was technically “dry throws.” This means he could still work his way back without Tommy John Surgery. While fantasy owners have to hold on to him for his pitching upside, his hitting has been good enough to play in most leagues, especially if he continues to run.

Félix Hernández threw six innings allowing 11 runs (7 earned) versus the Rangers on Tuesday. King Felix looked more like a pauper and while the defense definitely hurt him, ultimately he is just too hitable in his 30’s. He gave up three home runs in the contest to make an even 20 this season in 124 innings. Hernandez shouldn’t be owned in anything other than AL only.

Rougned Odor went 2-for-5 with a home run in Tuesday’s game versus the Mariners. The 24-year-old second baseman started the year off slow, but since July 1st, he has hit .342/.431/.694 with 10 home runs and six stolen base in 130 plate appearances. We saw the bad Odor for the first part of this season (and all of last season,) but now we are seeing the good Odor, so ride the hot streak because while the power and speed are real, the average is not.

Jameson Taillon threw a complete game against the Rockies in Colorado. He allowed 10 hits and two runs in the outing, but pitched around trouble in the contest and limited damage in an impressive way considering the thin air and the way the ball was flying on Tuesday. Since the beginning of May, he has a 3.25 ERA and just under 7.92 K/9 in over 100 innings. He has done a good job limiting the damage via the walk and the home run, while maintaining a decent strikeout rate. His numbers are still held back by the 4.83 ERA he sported in April, so his true value is better than the name value, so it may not be too late to buy in.

C.C. Sabathia threw 5.2 innings, striking out 12 versus the White Sox. Sabathia has been great this year, posting a 3.49 ERA this season with a 20% strikeout rate. Sabathia won’t always get these types of strikeouts, but he had the good fortune of pitching against one of the worst lineups in baseball against southpaws.

Tyler Glasnow struck out nine Orioles in four innings while allowing only two hits and zero walks in the win over Baltimore. Glasnow has been filthy this since being traded to the Rays and being moved into the rotation. He still has yet to go past four innings pitched, but the early results are great and with pitched like this:

It would be surprising to see him not continue his dominance in short stretches.

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Kelvin Herrera will undergo an MRI today on his pitching shoulder. He was removed from the later of the double header in the ninth inning after feeling tightness in his shoulder. If the MRI results come back with issues, Ryan Madson will likely be the next man up with Sean Doolittle still on the DL and the Nationals having traded away Shawn Kelley and Brandon Kintzler .

Will Ken Giles stay in high leverage situations? Giles was crushed while trying to preserve a tied game in extras on Tuesday. Giles gave up five runs by the way of a three and a two run home run. Giles has a ton of talent in his arm, but continues to struggle with his fastball. The Blue Jays traded their former closer for him, so he should get more chance at the end of games, but the leash won’t likely be super long.

Luis Severino versus Lucas Giolito . Severino has struggled as of late allowing 23 earned runs in 25 innings over his last five starts. Giolito has been better in his last five starts with a 3.19 ERA. Giolito has been pretty lucky however. He has only allowed three home runs in this 31 inning sample, but is still walking over four per nine. This seems like a regression game on both sides.

Will Eloy Jimenez get the call? Jimenez was scratched from AAA, which led to some fun speculation. The White Sox are calling it flu-like symptoms, but we shall see if it is something more.

Baseball. Lots of baseball.