With the dust settling from the trade deadline passing, teams will push for the playoffs or continue rebuilds over the last two months. Fantasy players need to use this time for evaluation leading up to drafts in the winter. Those looking for the fantasy fallout of all the trades can find them on Fantasy Alarm. Matt Selz covered the prospects on the move (2019 MLB Prospect Report: Trade Deadline Moves) and the fantasy impact from the trades for major league players can be found in the Trade Tracker (Fantasy Alarm MLB Trade Tracker). 

During games on Wednesday, pitching gems led the way. José Berríos only needed 81 pitches while throwing seven shutout innings in Miami giving up two hits with 11 strikeouts. 

This marks Berrios’ 10th win among 15 decisions. He generated 13 swinging strikes and 21 called of his 81 pitches for a robust 42 called plus swinging (CSW) percentage leading the way on Wednesday. 

Jacob deGrom and Lucas Giolito locked horns in a pitcher’s duel in Chicago as well. deGrom allowed five hits, one earned run and two walks with 11 strikeouts, recording a 31.9 CSW percentage. He moved into fifth place all-time in strikeouts in Mets franchise history as well moving his total to 1,174 for his career. Since the start of last season, deGrom’s recorded a 2.12 ERA over 54 starts with his team going 22-32 in these games. Less than optimal. 

Giolito righted the ship coming off his worst outing of the season against the Twins. He yielded three hits, one earned run and three walks with nine strikeouts against the Mets. 

Here’s the rest of the notable pitching performances from Wednesday:

  • Luis Castillo , Cincinnati: 101 pitches, 25 swinging strikes, nine called, 33.7 CSW%. Surging to his 10th win, Castillo racked up 12 swinging strikes alone with his change-up. He worked seven innings giving up six hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts. 

  • German Márquez , Colorado: 85 pitches, 14 swinging strikes, 16 called, 35.3 CSW%. After firing six shutout innings limiting the Dodgers to two hits with 10 strikeouts, Marquez left the mound during his warm-up pitches in the seventh inning. It’s reported as body cramps due to the heat, so Marquez owners appear to have dodged a bullet. 

  • Daniel Norris , Detroit: 73 pitches, seven swinging strikes, 17 called, 32.9 CSW%. Norris won his third game allowing three hits and two walks over five shutout innings with five strikeouts on the road against the Angels. 

  • Kyle Hendricks , Chicago Cubs: 104 pitches, 17 swinging strikes, 12 called, 27.9 CSW%. Hendricks fired seven shutout innings in St. Louis giving up seven hits while striking out seven en route to his eighth win putting the Cubs in a tie for first place. 

Bullpen Notes

With so many relievers on the move, this puts fantasy owners in a tough spot trying to discern who will receive the save chances in Toronto, Texas, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Miami. It’s clear changes will ensue in the Braves bullpen with another Luke Jackson meltdown combined with the arrival of Shane Greene and Chris Martin . Wade Davis turned in the stinker of the day tying a career high allowing five earned runs in one-third of an inning leading to his fifth loss. He coughed up a three-run home run to Will Smith giving the Dodgers the lead then a two-run home run to Kristopher Negrón . Although Davis has only allowed runs in two of his eight outings in July, his home ERA of 11.29 versus his road ERA (0.68) needs to improve if he’s going to remain the closer. 

Here’s the rest of high leverage events from Wednesday:

  • In a wild finish, Sean Newcomb garners the win despite letting both inherited runners from Jackson score in Washington. Sean Doolittle incurs his third loss serving up a home run to Josh Donaldson . 

  • Save number 20 for Raisel Iglesias . He’s the fifth Reds reliever to record at least 20 saves in three straight seasons. 

  • Aroldis Chapman held on for his 27th save moving into a tie with Brad Hand for the American League lead. But, Chapman allowed a hit, earned run and two walks with a strikeout. In July, Chapman finished with an 8.31 ERA and 2.51 WHIP in 8.2 innings. Of more concern, the 11 walks and nine hits in them. 

  • After Toronto gutted its bullpen via trades, and with Ken Giles still on the shelf, Justin Shafer notched his first career save striking out one in a clean outing in Kansas City. It appears he could be the arm to own in this bullpen for saves going forward though there will be growing pains. 

  • Taylor Rogers struck out both hitters he faced during the Twins win, but does not get a save entering the game with one out and a three-run lead. 

  • In the ever fluid Rays bullpen, Chaz Roe gets his first save working around a hit and a walk in Boston. Colin Poche records his eighth hold allowing a hit with four strikeouts. 

  • With Shawn Kelley on the injured list and Chris Martin traded, surely José Leclerc will get save chances, right? Well, last night Jesse Chavez received the chance tossing a scoreless ninth giving up a hit with two strikeouts. Stay tuned. 

  • For the third straight game, Edwin Díaz yielded a run but hung on for his 24th save with three strikeouts. He finished July with a 6.30 ERA and 1.70 WHIP. Alex Colomé takes the loss for the White Sox giving up three runs (zero earned) on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. 

  • Save number eight for Craig Kimbrel . He survived two hits with runners on second and third with one out inducing a ground out by Matt Wieters before striking out Yairo Muñoz to end the game. 

  • Josh Hader gets his 24th save giving up a hit in a scoreless ninth in Oakland. 

Hitter Highlights: Bo Knows Hits

Tying a franchise record with six hits in his first series, Bo Bichette also hit the first home run of his career in Kansas City:

As a part of the developing Blue Jays lineup, look for Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio to finish the second half strong. 

Home run number 25 for Josh Donaldson led to a big win on the road: 

Donaldson’s hit 17 home runs in 43 games since June 11th. Adam Duvall hit his fourth home run, and third in the last two games, cementing his spot in the outfield going forward. 

Juan Soto moved his RBI streak to six games with his 20th home run. He’s knocked in eight runs during the streak pushing his season total to 70 and on pace for 105 this year. Soto will turn 21 in October. 

Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez launched his 29th home run driving in two. Since the break, he’s slashing .303/.377/.758 with nine home runs and 17 RBI in 19 contests. 

More home runs for the Twins with Max Kepler (29) on pace for some team history:

Mitch Garver also hit his 20th in only his 59th game driving in three runs. Eddie Rosario added his 23rd home run with two RBI. 

Tampa Bay activated Kevin Kiermaier . He went 2-for-4 with a triple and his 11th home run. Austin Meadows launched his 16th home run. He’s hitting .297 his last 20 games. 

A double dong night for Roberto Pérez . He’s up to 18 home runs this year and drove in four during an Indians win at home against the Astros. Carlos Santana (23) and Jason Kipnis (9) each hit three-run home runs as well. 

Stay hot Austin Nola . He racked up three hits while hitting his fourth home run. Over his last 14 games, Nola’s hitting .391 with 10 runs, five doubles, three homers and eight RBI. There’s leagues he owns catcher eligibility making him an under the radar add. 

Back with a vengeance, Willie Calhoun extended his hit streak to six games with his seventh home run driving in three. He’s hitting .417 in the streak and has 10 RBI his last 10 starts. 

What To Watch For

During the day slate, can Micheal Pineda maintain the momentum for Minnesota in Miami? Zack Wheeler will match-up with Dylan Cease in Chicago. 

Looking at the night games, Danny Salazar will make his first start for Cleveland since 2017. He could be stretched out to around 70 pitches. But, he faces Gerrit Cole . In a battle for the lead in the National League Central, Jon Lester will be opposed by Jack Flaherty in St. Louis. 

Some prospect news by the Dodgers:

Dustin May will make his major league debut facing the Padres on Friday night. 

Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm across all fantasy formats to remain ahead of the competition. 

 

Statistical Credits: 

BaseballSavant.com

Fangraphs.com

MLB.com - Game Notes