Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Mr. Clutch (pitcher) – It has been heartbreaking for fantasy owners to watch Ervin Santana, start after start, just get absolutely zero run support. Well, all that changed last night because the Royals were able to supply one run, and that’s all Big Erv needed against the Tigers. Santana scattered two hits over 7.1 innings while striking out six to pick up the win. Big Erv has been all that and a bag of chips this season, but the lack of run support has diminished his value somewhat. I’m all-in on this guy. Hopefully, George Brett can get his boys to start hitting for Santana.
Mr. Clutch (hitter) – A lot of people, including me, thought Domonic Brown would start to fade after that monster month he had. But here he is, coming right out of the second-half gate, ripping the cover off the ball, going 3-for-5 with a homer. Brown, along with Chase Utley, helped power the Phillies over the Mets. Brown is 15th (for hitters) on ESPN’s player rater for the season and 68th in the past 30 days. I think he stays, at the very worst, in the top 50, which is pretty damn good for where he was drafted.
Surprise, surprise! – It was an all-out slugfest last night in Houston as both Brad Miller and Brandon Barnes went toe-to-toe for the “Surprise, surprise!” title. The belt goes to Miller, who finished 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs. Miller is owned in every league that he needs to be owned in as well as Barnes. Nothing more to see here than a couple highlights on SportsCenter.
Here comes the heat – Dare I say that Wil Myers might turn it on in the second half? Well, he started off strong, going 3-for-5 with a home run in the win over the Blue Jays last night. He is going to hit, but he may also struggle from time to time. With a rookie like Myers, you have to be a patient owner because the highs will outweigh the lows in the long run.
Left out in the breeze – When you get rocked against a team that is looking to have a fire sale, you hace to make cut here. Jeremy Hefner got beat with the ugly stick last night. He lasted two innings, allowing eight earned runs off 10 hits. Surprisingly, the Phillies tried to give the game away, but the deficit was too great for the Mets. Hefner had been on a tear before the All-Star break, but that went out the window. Twelve-team leagues should be dumping him until further notice.
Who’s trending? – A bidding war is developing over Cuban defector Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, whic could very well spill over to fantasy this season if he lands on the right team. He’s got a mid-90s, four-seam fastball as well as a change-up, forkball and curveball. At 26 years old, he is apparently big-league ready. If he comes in guns a blazing, like Yasiel Puig, he could be worth a pickup. Keep your eye out for this guy.
Bench me, please? – It is the first day back from the All-Star break; let’s not throw any plyaer under the bus yet for an awful performance last night. Instead, let’s throw out my top five most disappointing second-half players:
- Chris Davis — The dude hit 37 home runs in the first half! There is this thing called “regression to the mean,” and I fear he may regress just a bit. I’ll buy top 15ish for Davis, but I am not buying Davis finishing as the second overall fantasy player. Not happening.
- Patrick Corbin and Jeff Locke — These guys are eerie similar when you tell their story. Both beat out highly touted prospects in spring training, both were viewed as back-of-the-rotation guys, both look like absolute studs this season. I’m buying Corbin a bit more than Locke, but I expect a significant drop off from these guys in the second half.
- Yasiel Puig — Sell, sell, sell! The plate discipline is just not there people. Quit smoking that small sample size and flip this guy for a real stud. And for you people crying about Puig not making the All-Star game, hush-it. Quick, name me the last 10 All-Star MVPs? Give up? That’s right, cause nobody cares about the All-Star game.
- Matt Harvey and Jose Fernandez — I absolutely love both pitchers, but for the remainder of this season, they are sell-high guys. Fernandez will get shut down around 175 innings, and the Mets already are skipping Harvey in the rotation this week to cut his work load. Everyone loves these guys, but if you are in a year-to-year league, sell now.
- Matt Moore– He went 13-3 in the first half with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. His last five opponents (@NYY, Tor, @Hou, CWS, Min) have not been a murderer’s row. The underlying numbers suggest this guy is a ticking time bomb. I suggest you sell while the selling is good.
The Streamer – Jake Peavy is back people and should be added right now. You need a streamer? Well, I’m giving you a top 30 pitcher who is widely available.
Links of the day – You like links? Well you came scrolling down to the right place.
- Closers! You need them, you want them but where are they? Check out a few guys here that could be closing sooner rather than later.
- Who’s Grant Green? Don’t know? Well here is you chance.
- Wanna buy low on some pitchers? Check these guys out.
- Wait one minute! Here are some hitters that have hit the waiver wire that need a second chance. If you need a bat check these guys out.
- Henry Urrutia? Who is that? Find out here.