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| Wednesday, August 11, 2021 |
| It's not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up. Many hitters struggled early this season. Some have bounced back, some haven't. Let's take a look at two different cases. Over the first two months, Brandon Lowe was batting just .189 with a .679 OPS. In 54 games since, he's done a complete 180. During that time, Lowe is batting .263 with 16 homers and two steals. He's managed to cut the strikeouts a bit while maintaining a high fly ball rate. As a result, I've moved him inside my top-10 second basemen. |
| On the other hand, Michael Conforto has known no such bounce back. He's spent some time on the Injured List so there's a chance he's just not healthy but even still, he's better than .670 OPS. In 43 games since returning from injury, Conforto is batting just .175. The weirdest part is that his underlying numbers don't look much different than last season. He's not a player you have to hold onto, but I lean that way. The only reason I'd drop him is if he's the worst player on your team and you desperately need outfield production. |
| Of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify. |
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| Santander serving dingers |
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| It hasn't been the breakout season some were hoping for Orioles OF Anthony Santander, but he's starting to show signs of life in a very big way and it's time to get him on your radar as someone who can help you make a playoff push. On Tuesday, Santander went lift off with a double dong. He now has three homers over his past two games. In seven games since the start of August, Santander is batting .429 and his strikeout rate is way down while his fly ball rate is way up. Those are the under the hood numbers you want to see. |
| He is currently still just 47% rostered in CBS leagues. Scott compared his profile last season to Mike Moustakas -- a lot of contact and putting the ball in the air. In Camden Yards, if you do that, good things will happen. Despite this, Scott is not there yet with Santander -- the sample size of him doing this is too small. Last year, he had a 15.2% strikeout rate while putting the ball in the air a ton. The fly balls were up in July as well, so I'm removed a bit from Scott here and starting to believe! |
| Out of the outfielders in Santander's roster percentage range, Scott would prefer Lorenzo Cain (and he doesn't know why he can't get back to the Cain we know given his playing time and spot in the order). |
| Barnes' ERA suddenly ballooning |
| It has been an excellent season for Red Sox closer Matt Barnes up until August, but now things are starting to go sideways. He gave up four runs on Tuesday after a blown save in his previous outing. In five appearances this month, he has given up a total of seven earned runs. This is simply not a great time to be imploding as a closer in the home stretch. After a dominant first four months, his ERA has now ballooned to 3.52. |
| Under the hood, it doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him, but this is how it goes for closers sometimes. You can just have a rough patch and suddenly your job is in question. That's even more likely on a team in the mix like the Red Sox. Adam Ottavino already has eight saves this year and it seems like Boston has a comfort level with him. Barnes has top-five potential and that's what he's been for most of the season, but it has been really rocky lately. The Red Sox have 32 total saves already this year -- a massive amount -- needless to say Ottavino would be an immediate scoop up if Barnes continues to struggle. He may even be worth a speculative add. |
| For what it's worth, Ottavino hasn't been great this season, but he has been the consistent eighth-inning man. |
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| More news and notes |
| Both Yankees SP Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery could return from the COVID IL and start this weekend against the White Sox.Cardinals SP Jack Flaherty will rejoin the team and start on Friday.Dodgers OF Mookie Betts is still dealing with his right hip issue and may be placed on the IL Wednesday. Astros 3B Alex Bregman will rejoin Triple-A Sugar Land to continue his rehab assignment on Friday. He's expected back next week, assuming no setbacks. Astros 1B Yuli Gurriel is expected to be activated Friday. Angels 1B Jared Walsh was not activated Tuesday as the Angels had hoped.Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins went to the IL with a groin strain. Brad Miller started at first base Tuesday. C Travis d'Arnaud is set to rejoin the Braves on Wednesday. He's 35% rostered and finished as a top five catcher in both formats last season. I could see dropping him right into 10th in the catcher ranks, just behind Garver, Stassi, and Eric Haase. Rockies OF Raimel Tapia was placed on the IL with a right big toe sprain. Connor Joe started in left field. Blue Jays SP Ross Stripling left Tuesday's start with left abdominal discomfort.Athletics OF Mark Canha left his game with eye irritation.Tigers OF Akil Baddoo left after a collision with center fielder where he was running full speed.Dodgers 3B Justin Turner is not expected back until Friday at the earliest.Mets SS Javier Baez was out of the lineup due to lower back tightness. Astros SP Jose Urquidy will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday.Phillies OF Andrew McCutchen could be activated off the IL Wednesday.Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo likely won't return from the paternity list until Thursday.Tigers SP Matthew Boyd will begin rehab at Triple-A Thursday. He's 41% rostered but Scott certainly doesn't have any interest here!Rockies SS Brendan Rodgers was out for his second straight game with a hand contusion.Cardinals SP Kwang Hyun Kim, who went on the IL Monday, doesn't have anything structurally wrong with his left elbow.Nick Anderson will join Triple-A Thursday. He's 16% rostered if you want to speculate on the Rays bullpen.RP Rowan Wick was activated off the IL Tuesday and could be an option late in games for the Cubs. He had four saves last year for them, 3% rostered. |
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| Where did this come from Mr. Jax? |
| I needed to give a shout out to Twins SP Griffin Jax, who was dominant on Tuesday and it's hard to say anything other than this came out of nowhere! Against the White Sox, Jax went six strong and allowed three runs on five hits and one walk, but he also added 10 strikeouts! He induced 14 swinging strikes on 83 pitches including nine with the slider. He's 6% rostered and we're saying that he should be rostered in AL-only and deeper leagues. In anything shallower, throw him on the scout team. He's worth monitoring. |
| It's not easy to figure out where these spike (strikeout) weeks come from, however, and that's why we're not ready to advise scooping him in anything other than the deepest leagues. Prior to this start, Jax had a 4.4% swinging strike rate over his previous two starts. He also only had 222 strikeouts in 292 2/3 minor league innings pitched. He's not young for a prospect (26 years old). Despite all that, the bottom line numbers are strong. He's allowed just five earned runs over his last three starts and compiled a 3.20 ERA in his minor league career. |
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