Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Clutch Performers – Matt Harvey will just not go away. Another dominate performance against the Rockies last night, Matt Harvey finished with a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out six. He has been a top-three pitcher all season long, and with this clutch performance, is showing no signs of slowing down. Who else was clutch last night? Let’s check out the box scores:
- Martin Prado — 4-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
- Adrian Beltre — 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
- Justin Upton — 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB
- Elvis Andrus — 3-for-4, 2 R, BB, 3 SB
Surprise, surprise! – Donnie Murphy provided the fireworks last night for the Cubs as he cranked out two home runs to beat the Phillies. He is a recent call-up and already has three home runs in three games. He maybe worth a pickup if you are trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Who else came out of the woodwork to provide fantasy numbers?:
- Eduardo Nunez — 3-for-4, HR, RBI, R, 2 BB, SB
- Marco Estrada — 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K, ND
- Leonys Martin — 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 SB
Left out in the breeze – It has been awhile, but someone finally got to the big one, Bartolo Colon. Dealing with a stomach ailment, Colon was pounded by the Reds for seven hits, five runs, and three walks in 2.2 innings. This is honestly his worst start since May, and I am not worried at all moving forward. Who else got tuned up last night? Let’s see:
- Hector Santiago — 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K , ND
- Homer Bailey — 5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 K, W
- Tommy Hanson — 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, L
Trending developments – Danny Farquhar is now the closer for the Mariners and has done an excellent job thus far after being thrusted into the role. He shut down the Blue Jays last night racking up two strikeouts in the process. If you are in need of saves, Farquhar should be picked up. Who else is trending?:
- Leonys Martin now has consecutive games with three stolen bases.
- Justin Upton has come on this month and is now on a 12-game hitting streak with five home runs in that time frame. For the past 30 days, Upton has been the sixth best OF.
- Since being called up, Robbie Grossman has stuffed the stat sheets. Batting only .265, Grossman has three home runs and six steals in 10-games.
Prospect Watch – Jameson Taillon is now one of the best pitching prospects in the minors and has worked his way up to triple-A. He should be on your watch list because Taillon may get some work come September with Pittsburgh making a playoff push. Here’s a shot of Taillon doing work in the preseason.
Head-2-Head–The last time he faced Miami, Gerrit Cole was good enough to have a quality start in a losing attempt. He faces up against Jose Fernandez so a win maybe hard to come by, but Cole should be good enough to pick up a quality start nonetheless.
Links of the day – It’s link time …
- Is Andrelton Simmons a top-5 shortstop?
- Digging deep for waiver wire pickups. Should you consider Cody Asche and Wilmer Flores?
- On again, off again Michael Saunders is tricky to read. Is he worth the roster spot?
- We know who was suspended, but do we know who is benefiting now that suspensions have been handed out?