Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”

Yohander Mendez was demoted to AAA following an incident that violated team rules. Reportedly, Mendez and teammate Rougned Odor were out late and things “got out of hand.” Odor was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup as a result. Mendez is a top pitching prospect in the organization and this could further his return to the Majors.

Hunter Strickland was placed on the 10-Day DL with a fractured hand. He reportedly punched a wall which resulted in the injury. He will miss 6-8 weeks with the injury. Sam Dyson will be the primary closer in his absence, but Mark Melancon and Tony Watson could play roles. Melancon is owed a huge amount of money by the Giants and Watson is lefty specialist.

A.J. Ramos will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum that will require surgery. Ramos has been on the DL since the end of May, but after further examination, the injury is more serious than previously thought. With Jeurys Familia a likely trade chip at the deadline, Anthony Swarzak will likely have a the opportunity for a lot of saves after the trade deadline.

That Happened?!?

J.P. Crawford will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a broken hand after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday. Crawford has not been good offensively for the Phillies but has been a very good defensive player. In his absence, Scott Kingery will likely play everyday. Kingery has struggled offensively as well this season, but that has not deterred the Phillies from trying to get him as many at bats as they can. Kingery has nice upside with a nice power/speed combination and eligibility at multiple positions.

Rich Hill returned from the DL on Tuesday to throw six scoreless innings and strikeout six. Hill recently changed his mechanics in an attempt to  fix the struggles that he has been dealing with when healthy. While this is not necessarily the end of the blister issues, it appears he may have gotten his mechanics in order and he can be an effective pitcher while healthy.

Freddy Peralta threw six scoreless innings versus the Padres, striking out seven in the process. Peralta also did not walk a single batter. This is the Peralta we saw in his first outing of his career versus Colorado, but he failed to live up to those expectation in his second start and was promptly sent down. Peralta has a funky delivery and it will cost him his control at points, but he has a live arm that can be dominating at the same time. He is worth the gamble in deeper formats.

Domingo Germán pitched seven innings versus the Mariners, striking out nine. He allowed two hits, one run, and zero walks in the outing. He has not walked anyone in two of his last three outings and has struck out 28 total in those outings. German can lose his command at times and has a little Michael Pineda type risk/reward to him, but when he is on, he can be fantastic.

Ian Desmond hit 15th home run of the season yesterday. Desmond started out the year dreadfully, but has turned it on as of late. Over the last five weeks, he is hitting .274/.361/.547 with nine home runs and four stolen bases. He is still under the Mendoza line for the season, so it is likely that he can still be acquired for less than what he is worth.

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Frankie Montás versus Joey Lucchesi . Montas continues to be effectively wild and gets a bad Padres teams. Lucchesi is making his first start off of the DL.

Can Ross Stripling keep it up? Stripling has been fantastic and a godsend for the Dodgers and their beat up rotation. His curveball has been filthy and he is supporting an almost 30% strikeout rate and a 49% ground ball rate.

Is Jose Urena any good? Urena has a 2.88 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over his last four starts and gets a Giants team that has struggled as of late.

Can Shin-Soo Choo keep raking? Choo is hitting .330/.492/.617 over the last 30 days and in spite of it, no one is talking about him.

Odubel Herrera versus Michael Wacha . Herrera has homered in his last three games and in four of the last five. Wacha had been great before getting blown up for three homers in his last start versus the Cubs.

Baseball. Lots of baseball.