Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Clutch Performers – It is hard to believe, but David Price has been the worth of the price of admission since coming off of the DL and then some. He is now 5-1 with three complete games, a 1.87 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP, which is good enough to be the best pitcher in fantasy baseball. Yes, even better than Clayton Kershaw. Who else performed well yesterday? Let’s check it out:
- David Price — 7.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W
- Jeff Samardzija — 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, ND
- Yoenis Cespedes — 3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Carlos Gonzalez — 5-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2 SB
- Francisco Liriano — 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W
- Alexei Ramirez — 1-for-4, 2 SB
Surprise, surprise! – Anything more surprising than 42-year-old Jason Giambi having a walk-off home run? Let’s hit the box score:
- Geovany Soto — 2-for-4, HR, RBI, 1 R
- Clint Barmes — 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R
- Nolan Arenado — 2-for-4, HR, RBI, 1 R
Left out in the breeze – Some big whiffers yesterday, along with some blown saves. Let’s see who took the cake:
- Mark Trumbo — 0-for-4, 3 K
- Ernesto Frieri — 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, L, BS
- Mike Napoli — 0-for-4, 3 K
- Allen Craig — 0-for-4, 3 K
- Aroldis Chapman — 0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, BB, L, BS
Trending developments – The Tigers went out and got some bullpen help, which clearly has been an issue all season long. Jose Veras comes to the Tigers from the Astros for Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later. This hurts the value of both Veras and the incumbent closer, Joaquin Benoit. As long as Benoit continues to produce, he should hang onto the job, but the leash just got quite a bit shorter. If I owned Veras, I would take a wait and see approach to see what shakes out in Detroit. Let’s see what else is trending in the majors:
- Mike Pelfrey has a 3.35 ERA since June 1 and has lasted at least six innings in six of his past seven starts.
- In his last five starts, A.J. Griffin is 4-1 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.
- Wil Myers leads baseball with a .467 BA and 1.435 OPS since the All-Star break.
Prospect Watch – With Jose Veras traded to the Tigers, Jose Cisnero becomes the favorite to slide into the closer role in Houston. They could go with a closer-by-committee approach, but I think they should see if Cisnero can handle the role first. In 25 games, he has a 3.28 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 8.71 K/9 and a 4.14 BB/9. Clearly, his command has been an issue, but if you are desperate for saves, Cisnero could be an option for you. In case you missed it, here is his major-league debut:
Head-2-Head – It’s time for me to get back on track (after a couple rough outings) with picking a streaming option. Today, I am taking Scott Kazmir. He is riding three straight quality starts as well as not having given up an earned run in 14 innings. He is taking on the White Sox, who are batting a robust .231 against left-handed pitching, which puts them in the bottom third in the league.
Links of the day – Ain’t no link like a fantasy baseball link.
- What’s going on in the Tigers bullpen? Find out here.
- Wondering how some recent call-ups have done thus far? Check out this review.
- How are the Rays’ prospects doing so far? Let’s check in with the mid-season review.
- Time to jump on Xander Bogaerts? He and other waiver-wire guys need to be looked at here.
- Albert Pujols is more than likely done for the season. Read the damage report here.