Cam Bedrosian has not been named the official closer with the Angels. However, Joe Smith is no longer with the club and Huston Street is on the DL with a knee issue. I hesitate to go all in with Cam, but he’s been excellent this season with a 0.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 11.48 strikeouts per nine innings over 40 innings. If he has short-term success it’s certainly possible that he takes over for Street in the 9th inning, though Huston has had so much success in the 9th inning that you should tread with a big of caution with Bedrosian.
Alex Bregman, the can’t miss prospect you all HAD to have, has started his big league career with one hit in 32 at-bats. As I say ALL THE TIME… this game just isn’t that easy.
Lewis Brinson had four hits at Triple-A Tuesday to push his batting average the last 10 games up to .409. An upper echelon prospect, Brinson will likely be roaming the outfield with the Brewers in September.
Billy Burns will be called up to the Royals Wednesday after he was dealt to the club from the Athletics in the Brett Eibner deal. Burns hit .294 with 26 steals and 70 runs scored last season engendering a lot of faith in his wheels in the fantasy community. It just hasn’t happened this season though as he hit .234 with a .573 OPS in 73 games with the Athletics. Even with a .270 OBP this season he’s still swiped 14 bases, and he should continue to run with the Royals. Right now though the Royals are rolling with Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Paulo Orlando and Jarrod Dyson so it’s hard to see Burns generating enough work to be a mixed league option.
Yoenis Cespedes says his quad is still a bother. He’s going to continue to be cautious with his wheel. Shocker he continues to deal with ill health. That never happens. #Sarcasm
Clowns can be downright creepy.
Adam Duvall has a .249/.295/.543 slash line. The average is passable, the SLG impressive, but the OBP is pathetic. He also owns a 0.20 BB/K ratio, and that’s not helping anything. He does have three homers his last six games but he also has three homers his last 16 games. The overall numbers are going to wildly exceed expectations, but the final two months could be rough.
Chris Davis is frustrating the hell out of his owners. I get it. Of course, setting your expectations at a 47-117-100 level, the numbers he posted last season, leaves you open to disappointment. Let’s be clear here. Davis is on pace to go .222-34-93-102 over 156 games played. Per 162 games played in his career Davis owns the following fantasy line: .251-37-100-89. Is that any different than his current pace? He’s about 11 hits short of the average pace (less than three a month), but his counting category numbers are exactly on his career average. #Expectations
Dogs aren’t very good drivers.
A.J. Pollock is improving as he works his way back from a broken elbow. Pollock faced live pitching Tuesday, and the hope is that he will be able to enter game action later this week in the Arizona Fall League. It’s uncertain how much time he will need in the minors, but we’re likely looking at the end of August as an absolutely best case scenario with September seeming more likely. "Physically, I feel really good," Pollock said. "It's just fun to get out there and start hitting again. Start with the AZL, that's the next step. I think they said Friday, starting at DH there. Then after a couple games, they'll let me play the field."
Joe Musgrove made his first big league start and really impressed. Dylan Bundy has been fantastic as of late. Gerrit Cole has been stringing together a bunch of nice starts on the hill. Check out the DAILY DIVE Video.
Is this really news? Tyson Ross threw five pitches off a mound Tuesday. Working his way back from ankle and shoulder woes, it’s now news that Ross throws five pitches off the slope. He’s miles from fantasy relevance.
UPDATED PLAYER RANKINGS ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
Gary Sanchez has been called up to the Yankees. My thoughts on the backstop can be found in his Player Profile. Speaking of Player Profiles, you might want to check out the one on Orlando Arcia (PP) and Andrew Benintendi (PP).
Michael Saunders has been a star this season given his nearly non-existent draft day cost. Saunders has a .277/.362/.525 slash line and his effort includes 19 homers, 46 RBI and 57 runs scored. That’s fantastic work. But, of course there is a but… Saunders has just one steal this season. He’s not running anymore. He hit just .256 in July and since the start of the month his average has been .242. He’s a career .238 hitter by the way. Oh, and since the All-Star break he’s hit .143 with a .674 OPS. There might still be time to move him before folks realize about the slowdown.
Ryan Schimpf was named the NL Rookie of the Month for July after hitting .269 with nine homers, 17 RBI, 15 extra base hits and a 1.092 OPS. That’s smoking hot for anyone, let alone a rookie second sacker. The 28 year old Padre has a strong .357 OBP this season while his SLG is huge at .565. Alas, he’s hitting .226 and has a 27.1 K-rate leading to 38 punchouts in 115 at-bats. He can be used right now in all leagues, though he needs to be on the bench when the Padres face a lefty (.154/.333/.385 in 18 PAs).
Check out the Big 3 Video in which I break down the continued success of Wilson Ramos and Brandon Moss as well as the odd struggles of Jose Abreu.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).