Is Elvis Andrus done? Many have thought that for most of this season. Hard to have complete faith in him given the struggles, but at the same time… it doesn’t look like he is “through.” Over his last 23 games he’s hit .330 with a .368 OBP and .443 SLG. Pretty good work, no?

Byron Buxton is dealing with that thumb issue and he’s progressed to simulated games without a setback. Sounds like he is slated to begin his minor league work Friday with Triple-A Rochester. Out since June 26th it sounds like Byron could return next week. An elite talent, it only seems like Buxton has been hurt every day since the start of the 2014 season. Kind of.

Ryan Howard has five homers and 22 RBIs his last 20 games. Limited? Sure, but he is batting .319 with a .583 SLG his last 20.

Ian Kinsler is hitting .380 with a .410 OBP and a .580 SLG his last 25 games. All of a sudden he’s on pace to hit .295 with a .354 OBP, 72 RBIs and 96 runs scored. Last season he hit .275 with a .307 OBP, 92 RBIs and 100 runs. Pretty close after such a poor start.

Starling Marte has four steals and a .329 batting average his last 18 games. He’s also hit nary a homer, has only eight RBIs and has scored only seven times. Not the overall production we’re used to, but not bad for a “slump.”

Brian McCann will miss a few days with a knee issue, but it sounds like a return this weekend is likely. Two homers short of 20, McCann already has 65 RBIs in just 87 games played. He doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. Period. If he records two more big flies it will be his 8th straight season with 20. How many catchers have previously done that? Two men – Mike Piazza and Yogi Berra who did it 10-straight years.

Ho hum. Buster Posey is batting .416 with 18 RBIs his last 19 games. Boy is he an amazing player.

This is for you Jeff. I’m kind of a big deal too…

 

I hate him too, but A-Rod is on pace to hit 37 homers with 95 RBIs and 99 runs scored. That’s crazy good. The last time Alex Rodriguez reached all three of those numbers was 2007. Right? Can’t expect this to continue, but if his season ended today with a .281-24-62-64 line that would be a HUGE win. It’s like dating a playmate. You gotta be happy with that even if you’re hoping for a porn star.

Not a hitter but just cause... Marcus Stroman has been down after tearing his ACL in March and the expectation is that he would miss the entire 2015 season. Still think that is the most likely outcome but… Stroman threw off the mound Wednesday. That’s four months. Is he a robot? It sounds like he will make a start on August 21st. How is that possible – is he bionic? Still think Stroman won’t be seen this season, but wow is this good news for 2016.

Mark Trumbo the last 24 games is batting .341 with a .386 OBP and .476 SLG. Has anyone noticed or is all you see the two homers and nine RBIs? The production will come if he keeps squaring the ball up like this. The fact is this – Trumbo is killing it right now. This runs has pushed his slash line to .251/.291/.423. Know what his career numbers are? Try .248/.297/.455. It’s a long season folks.

Joey Votto is batting .442 over his last 23 games. His BABIP in that time is insane at .518. The run has pushed his batting average up to .309 and his BABIP to .349. His career marks are .310 and .355. 

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 8 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).