Fantasy Baseball Daily Round Up: August 31

Published: Aug 31, 2018

It only took Giancarlo Stanton to hit his 300th career home run for Yankee fans to bequeath him his first curtain call this season. Stanton became the fifth fastest player in history do so in games played (1,119) and he’s the ninth youngest player to do so. He entered this contest in the midst of a six-for-38 (.153) slump with 16 strikeouts. Hopefully for his owners, this snaps Stanton out of his funk and allows him to relax and resume launching home runs. He’s a streaky player.

Stanton's 300th home run ball will be in his locker after the game, thanks to Eddie Fastook of Yankees' security. Tim Kunz caught the ball. He traded it in for a meet and greet w/ Stanton, autographed baseballs, tickets to future game, a clubhouse/field tour and 2 Bud Lights
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) August 31, 2018

Night Moves

Not too much news on the injury front Thursday, but Seattle did scratch Jean Segura (shin) from his start. He fouled a ball off of his leg on Wednesday and considered day-to-day going forward. Jason Heyward left Thursday night’s game early as well in Atlanta.

In bigger news, it’s being reported the Yankees have agreed in principle to a trade for Andrew McCutchen . Still not official at the time of this writing, but, here’s a sneak peek of McCuthen’s spray chart this year with all of his hits and field outs on batted balls in the air with Yankee Stadium as the backdrop:

Also, Gary Sánchez completed his rehab outing in Triple-A and heads back to New York. He should be activated prior to the start of Saturday’s game.

Good news for Shohei Ohtani ’s owners, he will return to the mound and start on Sunday in Houston.

Keep an eye on how Eloy Jimenez as rosters expand this weekend. It’s rumored he’s thinking about filing a grievance being stuck in the minors while absolutely raking. This could set a precedent for other players under the guise of player control over development. It’s not a system set up to benefit talented young players.

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That Just Happened

Lorenzo Cain stayed hit reaching base for the 16th straight game and extending his personal hit streak to 12 games going 2-for-4 with his 10th home run. He’s hitting .388 in it. Josh Hader recorded his 11th save, one day removed from an awful outing during which he allowed over 25 percent of his earned runs. Look for Jeremy Jeffress to return to the ninth inning if a save chance occurs on Friday night.

In a microcosm of Miguel Sano ’s season, he hit his 13th home run of the year, and sixth in August. But, he’s hitting .211 and getting on-base only 30 percent of the time this month.

Steady Edwin Encarnación drove in a run for the Indians and has reached at least 90 RBI for seven straight seasons, leading all active players. He’s recorded an RBI in four straight games and hit safely in seven of his last eight.

Despite losing, both Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres remained hot for the Yankees. Voit hit his fifth home run of the year and since joining New York has scored seven runs with four home runs, nine RBI and a .342/.390/.579 as he continues to wrest playing time away from Greg Bird . Torres racked up three more hits, including his 21st home run, last night. He’s recorded multiple hits in seven of his last 12 contests going 19-for-47 (404) with nine runs, three home runs, eight RBI, eight walks and two stolen bases.

Tough night for Dellin Betances who not only blew the save, but served up two home runs in an appearance for the first time in his career. Look for Zach Britton or David Robertson to get the next save chance.

John Gant won his sixth game giving up three hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 5.2 shutout innings. He’s 3-1 in August with a 3.06 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.

Save number 11 for Pedro Strop , to the relief of his owners. Strop’s saved nine of 11 chances since July 19th when Brandon Morrow landed on the disabled list.

Strong outing for Lucas Giolito against the Red Sox. Giolito worked 6.1 innings allowing two hits, one earned run and two walks with eight strikeouts. He produced 14 swinging strikes and 22 called of his 113 pitches before his bullpen imploded. Over his last four starts, Giolito’s 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA and 27 strikeouts.

Mookie Betts hit his 29th home run and drove in two. He only needs one more home run and four stolen bases to reach a 30/30 season. José Ramírez also sits on the precipice of this achievement with 37 home runs and he swiped his 29th base last night. Mike Trout and Ryan Braun both reached at least 30 home runs and stolen bases in 2012, the last time it’s occurred.

Entering last night’s start, Andrew Heaney last won a road game in September of 2015 going winless in eight decisions with a 5.92 ERA in 17 starts. So, of course, he fired six shutout innings ceding five hits and a walk with six strikeouts en route to a win in Houston.

Tyler White accounted for the Astros offense hitting his 11th home run with two RBI. He’s hit nine home runs and driven in 24 in the second half with a .352/.404/.736 slash in the seond half.

Robbie Ray gets a win in his first decision over his last eight starts. Ray struck out nine and held the Dodgers to one earned run in 5.1 innings. He’s now 11-2 in road starts with a 2.25 ERA in 25 games since the start of 2017. David Peralta launched his 26th home run with three RBI. In 24 games this month, Peralta’s hit 10 home runs, driving in 21, with a .376 average and robust 1.189 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Manny Machado hit his 33rd home run, and ninth with Los Angeles. He’s hit seven in his last 13 games.

Setting a career high with 13 strikeouts, German Marquez gets a quality start on the road limiting the Padres to two hits, one earned run and a walk in a no-decision. Over his last 10 starts, Marquez owns a 2.70 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 66.2 innings.

Entering the game in a double switch, Franmil Reyes hit his 12th home run to propel San Diego to a walk-off win in his second at-bat. He’s hit safely in eight of his last nine games going 10-for-22 with three home runs.

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What To Watch For

Will the Blue Jays be able to trade oft-injured Josh Donaldson ahead of the waiver deadline? Also, which relievers will be on the move? It could be a wild day of transactions with fantasy fallout to ensue.