Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Clutch Performers – J.J. Hardy has been a major disappointment in the second half of this season, but he had a monster performance against the Athletics yesterday. J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 with a home run pushing his total up to 23 home runs on the season, with 16 of those coming in the first half of this year. With a mediocre batting average, very little power and no speed, Hardy hasn’t been worth owning in the second half. With this performance, his bat may have woken up as the Orioles and his fantasy owners need that power for the playoff push.
- Jake Peavy — 9 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 5 K, W
- Miguel Cabrera — 3-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
- Shin-Soo Choo — 1-for-3, BB, 2 SB
- Robinson Cano — 3-for-5, HR, R, RBI
- Jered Weaver — 8 IP, 3 H, ER, 8 K, W
Surprise, surprise! – Ryan Vogelsong was off the DL at the beginning of August, but picked up his first win in a few months by shutting down the Pirates in eight innings of work. His numbers look just downright awful but since coming back from the DL, but yesterday, Vogelsong looks like that old reliable pitcher you could count on start after start. He gets the Diamondbacks next time out.
- A.J. Pollock — 3-for-4, HR, 2 R, SB
- Denard Span — 4-for-5, HR, R
- Marco Estrada — 7 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W
- Andrew Cashner — 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K, ND
Left out in the breeze – These guys just didn’t have it yesterday:
- Sonny Gray — 3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L
- Patrick Corbin — 5.1 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, L
- Christian Yelich — 0-for-5, 3 K
- Freddie Freeman — 0-for-4, 2 K
Trending developments – Here is what’s trending:
- With both Bartolo Colon and Brett Anderson expected to rejoin the rotation this next week, the A’s starting rotation remains in flux. Tommy Milone and Sonny Gray could be on the outside looking in.
- Troy Tulowitzki was rested on Sunday for “rib soreness.” Tulo owners should be on high alert.
- Astros outfielder Robbie Grossman has the longest current hitting streak (12 games), collecting two more hits yesterday.
Prospect Watch – With September call-ups edging closer and closer, one such potential call-up, Billy Hamilton, has had fantasy owners drooling for two years now. Playing time will be hard to come by, but he could see time as a pinch runner and get two steals in a blink of the eye. With the Reds having one of the worst base-stealing teams in the majors, Hamilton should be a lock to be called up. With his speed, he becomes a very intriguing pickup, even if playing time is not guaranteed. Here is a sneak-peak of what he can do.
Head-2-Head– The possible streaming options are not the best tomorrow so I am turning to Zack Wheeler against Cliff Lee and the Phillies. A win maybe nearly impossible to come by, but I expect at least a quality start from Wheeler. Another interesting option is Andre Rienzo who is pitching against the Astros tomorrow.
Links of the day – You want em, you need em. It’s link time
- Digging deep? Here are some guys that should be owned that are available in over 90% of leagues.
- Like Matt Adams? Read why now is the best time to grab him for dynasty leagues.