Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Clutch Performers – For a player with such high hopes, this season has been a struggle for Bryce Harper. High hopes were derailed by injuries that led to the DL. Last night, however, Harper finally put one over the fence, his first since July 1. Is this a sign of things to come or just a squirrel getting lucky and finding a nut? Harper has all the potential in the world, but we fans may be putting too much on this guy for this season. Still, I think he contributes heavily in the second half. Hopefully, that is the home run that springboards him into an elite second half. Bryce Harper is among the players who turned in clutch performances. Who else made the cut?
- Bryce Harper — 3-for-5, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBIs
- Carlos Quentin — 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBIs
- Carlos Gomez — 3-for-5, 1 HR, 2 R, RBI
- Billy Butler –2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, RBI
Surprise, surprise! – There were a lot of clutch performances from some seldom used fantasy players. Let’s see who was the best of the best:
- Mark Buehrle — 9 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W
- Juan Nicasio — 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, BB, 9 K, ND
- Josh Harrison — 3-for-5, 1 HR, run, 4 RBIs
Left out in the breeze – Who got rocked and who let you down? Let’s head to the stat sheet:
- Yovani Gallardo — 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, L
- Justin Verlander — 6 IP, 11 hits, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L
- Chris Davis — 0-for-4, run, 4 K
Trending developments – Tough break for Tim Hudson owners; he looks to be out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle. If you are looking for replacements, look no further than the Braves depth chart as Brandon Beachy should make his 2013 debut sometime next week. Let’s see what is happening around the league:
- Chris Davis is 6-for-24 with zero home runs since the All-Star break.
- Since coming back from the DL, Hanley Ramirez has been the best fantasy option in the majors and has a .382/.437/.688 slash line in 174 plate appearances.
- In his last four starts, Justin Verlander has a 6.07 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He is 1-3 in that span.
Prospect Watch – It’s very disappointing that this season has been nearly lost to Oscar Taveras due to his ankle injuries. Do not let him slip in your rankings though. Many owners had fallen out of love with Anthony Rendon only a couple years ago due to injuries and he has been a very big surprise this season. If you are in a league that favors prospects, do not let the present ruin the future of your team. Taveras is one of the best fantasy prospects in the game. If you can, try to buy low on this guy now and you could be reaping the rewards as soon as next season.
Head-2-Head– Just don’t even touch Chris Archer right now. He’s too hot to handle. Guess what? He’s pitching today against the one of the worst Yankees offenses in a long time. How bad you ask? They are 23rd in batting average, 18th in homeruns, 29th in RBIs and 18th in runs against right-handed pitchers. So, what I’m saying is don’t be afraid to throw the young hurler out there against the Evil Empire.
Links of the day – It’s time to getcha link on.
You have ben killing it with the young guns all season, and now that there is some inning-limit talk going around, what to do? These guys may be able to offer up some answers.
- Prospect talk time. Check out the Tigers and the Dodgers.
- Who’s trending and who is falling? Some David Price and Tim Hudson talk here.
- Daily notes talking about Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers.
- Sell Patrick Corbin? Yeah, yes and yup. Find out why here.
