Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”
Marlins manager Don Mattingly has removed Brad Ziegler from the closer role. Ziegler has been awful this year and has not shown any signs of improvement. This will open a path for either Kyle Barraclough or Drew Steckenrider to claim the role. While Barraclough’s numbers have been better on the surface, Steckenrider underlying numbers are better and Mattingly may want to Barraclough to be available in in different spots during the game. At the end of the day, the Marlins will not win a ton more games rest of the season, so this is not a situation I would invest in unless completely desperate.
According to general manager Mike Girsch, Álex Reyes has a “significant” lat strain and will go on the DL. He is expected to miss at least a couple of starts, but injuries like this often have a 2-4 week timetable and with the “significant” tag, we are probably looking at the latter end of that.
Seranthony Dominguez got a two inning save for the Phillies against the Dodgers on Thursday. Dominguez has been fantastic this year, but has yet to supplant current closer Héctor Neris . He should be owned in all leagues because it won’t be long before Serathony is anointed to the throne.
That Happened?!?
Clayton Kershaw made his return to the Dodgers rotation only to be pulled after five innings of work with a back issue. He will not travel with the team to Colorado and instead will see a back specialist. This is not good news for fantasy owners that have been waiting for the ace to return.
Yairo Munoz hit a three-run walk-off home run versus the Pirates on Thursday. Munoz has filled in admirably for Paul DeJong who is on the disabled list with a broken hand. Munoz is now hitting .314/.364/.471 and could find himself with a role once DeJong returns, especially considering the trouble of Kolten Wong .
José Ramírez hit his 18th home run of the season and third straight homer in as many games on Thursday. Ramirez struggled to begin the season, but has been on fire ever since and is slashing .302/.393/.637 with 18 bombs and seven stolen bases. His teammate, Francisco Lindor , is crushing it as well. Lindor, who also started off the season slowly, hit two homers on Thursday bringing his total to 14 with a .311/.383/.579 triple slash and six stolen bases. Both are rewarding patient fantasy owners.
What We’ll Be Watching Today
Can Sonny Gray rebound? Gray has struggled mightily as of late, posting a 5.94 ERA in his last three starts. He will get an Orioles squad that struggles just as hard though against right-handed pitching. The Orioles are striking out at over a 25% clip (fifth highest in MLB) and have an AL lowest .290 wOBA against right-handers.
Chris Sale versus Gerrit Cole *swoon*.
The Phillies have promoted prospect Dylan Cozens . Cozens is a massive outfielder with enormous power, but that hasn’t always translated to good things for him. He is hitting .226/.325/.440 in AAA with 10 home runs. He may get an extended look here with Rhys Hoskins on the DL with a fractured jaw even though reports today indicate that Hoskins will not need surgery. He does have an interesting series coming up with a ravaged Giants pitching rotation, but he is only interesting in deeper formats for now.
Jameson Taillon versus Miles Mikolas . Taillon debuted a new high powered slider recently and it is nasty. Mikolas continues to outpitch his peripherals.
Sergio Romo gets another start. This time it is against Mike Leake and the Seattle Mariners. We likely won’t be watching for anything but the comedy of it.
Pivetta versus Stratton. Both of my sleeper guys from the preseason that are headed in opposite directions. Pivetta has been great over the last month, while Stratton has been dreadful since his wife had a baby last month. Lesson: Don’t have kids.
Baseball. Lots of baseball.