Teams in Major League Baseball are finally starting to pick up the pace with the MLB Trade Deadline looming this evening! We saw a ton of Major League Baseball trades yesterday, all of which are broken down in our MLB Trade Deadline Tracker, including Josh Hader to San Diego, Frankie Montas to New York, José Quintana to St. Louis, and both Christian Vázquez and Trey Mancini to Houston. Many top MLB prospects were traded, too, including Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski, Robert Gasser, Esteury Ruiz, and more! However, there are plenty of MLB trade rumors still floating around out there, and everyone is waiting to see if Washington trades Juan Soto for a heap of top MLB prospects. Other big names that could be traded include Noah Syndergaard, Tyler Mahle, Willson Contreras, and Ian Happ. Outside of the trade landscape, Aaron Sanchez turned back the clock and carved up the Tigers, while Andrés Giménez stole three bases yesterday. Austin Riley signed a big extension to stay with the Atlanta Braves, and the San Diego Padres could see Fernando Tatis Jr. embark on a rehab assignment in the very near future. Be sure to check out our monthly fantasy baseball player rankings for August, as well as our injury report so that you can set up your fantasy baseball teams for success moving forward. As we wrap up all of the news and notes from Monday, I’ll give you my favorite MLB player prop and best bet for Tuesday’s Major League Baseball action.

 

 

 

MLB News and Notes from Monday

Trades Galore!

Every trade has been broken down over in our MLB Trade Deadline Tracker, so head there to check out more analysis on all the big trades, including Frankie Montas, Josh Hader, Christian Vázquez, José Quintana, Tommy Pham, and more! Additionally, here are a couple of rumors that are floating around:

 

Kris Bryant to IL

 


Plantar fasciitis is the culprit for Kris Bryant’s third trip to the injured list this season. Bryant has been a frequent member of the injured list over the last couple of seasons, and he’s appeared in just 42 games this year for Colorado. Now, when he has been healthy, he’s been worth every penny for the Rockies, as he’s hitting .306 with an .851 OPS and just a 14.9 percent strikeout rate. It’s also incredibly interesting that he has no home runs at Coors Field this year, despite hitting .323. There is no clear timetable for his return, which leads me to believe that he’ll be out past his required minimum stay.

 

Fernando Tatis Jr. Nearing Return

 


Fernando Tatis Jr. took live batting practice and actually homered in his second at-bat, said manager Bob Melvin.

It sounds like a rehab assignment is on the precipice for Tatis Jr., who will likely need a handful of games before the Padres are ready to insert his name into the big lineup card with no concerns about his health. It goes without saying, but his return will be massive for a Padres team that can use some extra offensive firepower.


Austin Riley Signs Extension

 


Congratulations to Austin Riley for inking a 10-year, $212 million extension to stay with the Atlanta Braves. He’s been excellent this year, and last year for that fact, and while last year was a career year, he’s on pace to outperform his numbers last season! He’s been on a torrid pace in July, hitting .423 with 15 doubles and 11 home runs.

The National League East, National League as a whole, and all of baseball should be shaking in their boots, as Atlanta seems poised to contend for the next half-decade:

 

 


 

Andrés Giménez Stuffs Stat Sheet

 


I’m not sure there is a better way for Andrés Gimenez to kick off a new month than by going 4-for-5 with one double, one RBI, one run scored, and three stolen bases! Yesterday’s performance pushes him up to a .303 batting average on the year with an .860 OPS, 12 home runs, 50 RBI, 39 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases. He’s been caught just twice on the base paths this season, and overall, he’s 30-for-33 in his career. This is a career year for Gimenez and he’s certainly enjoyed substantial gains in his average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard hit rate without sacrificing overall contact or having more whiffs. He’s seen his long-term fantasy value skyrocket, and he will most certainly not come as cheap in 2023 fantasy baseball drafts as he did in 2022. From November 1st to April 1st, Gimenez’s ADP was 274.70!


Tarik Skubal Dealing with Arm Fatigue

 


If Detroit was actually listening to offers for Tarik Skubal, even if it is just arm fatigue, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for an underperforming Detroit team.

Skubal has a 3.67 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 9.03 K/9 across 20 starts this season, but it’s uncertain if he’s dealing with just fatigue, or if there’s more to the overall story. Compared to the past two seasons, he’s keeping the ball on the ground a lot more, likely due to adding in his sinker more to his arsenal, which has helped keep the home runs down. Skubal wasn’t going to come cheap in any deal, given his age, production at a young age, and the fact that he’s under team control for a while, so hopefully this is just arm fatigue and nothing more serious.

 

Tuesday’s Best Bets

 


OVER 4.5 Strikeouts (-118 BetRivers)

I’ve been bullish on Braxton Garrett in his past couple of starts, and that trend continues today. He draws a good matchup against a Cincinnati team that just traded away Tommy Pham, and by the time tonight’s game begins, Brandon Drury and potentially others could be dealt away at the deadline. Regardless, Garrett just struck out eight Reds in his last start against this team, but that game was at Great American Small Park, a place where Cincy typically hits much better. In 2022, the Reds have the 11th-highest strikeout rate on the road, and the ninth-highest against southpaws. Over the last two weeks, only two teams have a higher strikeout rate than the Reds! Garrett has at least seven punch outs in three straight starts, and at home this year, he has a 34.8 percent strikeout rate (14.79 K/9) and 3.21 ERA in three starts. The line for Garrett is at 5.5 on both FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings sportsbook, which I still like the over for by the way, but the latter is giving you +105 for it, so look there first if you can.

 

 


Milwaukee Brewers OVER 4.5 Total Runs (-130 BetMGM)

Milwaukee has been tough on opposing pitchers of late, as they are hitting .291 with an .899 OPS as a team over the last two weeks. Furthermore, when looking at the team’s numbers for the year, they hit righties far better than lefties, and their left-handed hitters in particular thump right-handed pitching. In walks Bryse Wilson, who has a 6.31 ERA on the year and he has an even 5.00 ERA over his last five starts. Yes, some of his better starts this year have come against Milwaukee, but he flirts with danger, and has a 1.60 WHIP on the year. He allows a ton of contact, and with the way Milwaukee has been swinging it of late, it’s a recipe for disaster. I expect Milwaukee to get to Wilson early, en route to at least five runs this evening.
 

 


 

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