If you were hoping to read about any sort of All-Star voting, here are my thoughts:

 

 

 

Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”

The Rangers acquired Austin Jackson , Cory Gearrin , and Jason Bahr from the Giants for a player to be named later. This appears on the surface to be an extremely minor deal, but it could have some minor impacts for both the Rangers and the Giants. The Rangers now have another piece blocking Willie Calhoun from his long awaited return to the Majors. The Giants free up some money that could be used in the acquisition of another player at the trade deadline.

According to Brewers general manager David Stearns, it is unlikely that Jimmy Nelson will be ready to pitch in the Majors until September. This is devastating news for fantasy owners who have been stashing Nelson all season long. He is now droppable in the majority of formats.

Walker Buehler is expected to rejoin the Dodgers rotation sometime next weekend for their series against the Angels. If you don’t include Buehler’s last outing in relief, he has been fantastic and looks like a future ace for the Dodgers. He has an elite fast ball and plus curve and slider as well as easily repeatable mechanics which have led to a 25+% strikeout rate and a 5.7% walk rate. He is a great option to buy in on with a rotation spot locked down with Rich Hill out with a neck injury.

 

That Happened?!?

Shohei Ohtani launched a pinch-hit home run versus the Dodgers on Sunday. Ohtani is only hitting right now as he rests his arm after the Angels discovered further damage to his UCL. Ohtani has struggled as a hitter since starting off the year hot. Since May 15th, he’s hitting .194/.315/.371 with two home runs and in spite of his heroics last night, he isn’t super useful as a hitter without his pitching numbers for a fantasy team.

Andrew Heaney threw seven innings versus the Dodgers striking out 10 while allowing three runs. Heaney has been up and down as of late, but he has now turned in back-to-back double digit strikeout games. In his first full season back from Tommy John Surgery, Heaney has a good walk rate and is averaging a strike out an inning. While he could face an innings cap later in the season, the Angels don’t have much depth in the rotation to work with so they may not have a choice but to let him keep going.

Brian Dozier went yard two times versus the Orioles on Sunday.  Dozier has struggled this year, but he now has 13 home runs and five stolen bases and will be likely moved to a contender at the deadline. He would likely get a nice boost in value no matter where he went, but his best fits are with the Angels, Cardinals, or Brewers, but could also make sense for the Yankees or Red Sox with their current injuries.

 

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Andrew Suarez versus the Cubs. Suarez has cemented a rotation spot for the Giants after the demotion of Chris Stratton to AAA and Derek Holland moving to the bullpen.

Two double headers. The Yankees play the Orioles and the Phillies play the Mets twice each. The Zach Eflin /Zack Wheeler matchup is the most intriguing matchup of the four games as both pitchers have been very good as of late. Eflin has added velocity this year allowing his secondary pitches to play better. It has resulted in increased strikeouts and a breakout year.

Clayton Kershaw versus the Padres. Kershaw is still considered among the best pitchers in the Majors, but since returning from the DL, he has yet to go deeper than just six innings or register more than six strikeouts in a game since April.

J.T. Realmuto versus Chase Anderson . Realmuto is quietly crushing this season. He is hitting .317/.368/.511 with 12 home runs for the Marlins. He gets a struggling Anderson who has allowed four home runs in his last four starts. While the trade rumors have quieted down considerably in-season, it would not be surprising to see Realmuto change teams by the end of the month.

Jose Aguilar hit his 21st and 22nd home runs of the season versus the Braves on Sunday. Aguilar has been fantastic this year, hitting .306/.368/.633 with 63 RBI in just 280 plate appearances. He hasn’t always had consistent playing time this year, but with Ryan Braun back on the DL and Domingo Santana toiling away in AAA, there is no reason to think that the return of other players like Lorenzo Cain should send him back to the bench anytime soon.

 

Baseball. Lots of baseball.