Both Gary Sánchez and Yoenis Céspedes seem to be doing their part in helping to fuel the back page headlines in New York. After drawing the ire of Yankees fans in a loss to Tampa Bay on Monday showing a lack of effort on two separate plays, Sanchez will return to the disabled list after re-aggravating his groin injury. It’s been a lost season for the power hitting shortstop who stood on the precipice of at least turning around his season in the second half with strong supporting underlying data in spite of his batting average below the famed Mendoza line. New York has recalled Kyle Higashioka to take the place on the roster.

As for Cespedes, he’s headed back to the disabled list with his heel issues as reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of the SportsNet New York network which covers the Mets. Cespedes has appeared in 38 games this year with nine home runs and 29 RBI. Not exactly what his owners paid for. If he elects to get surgery, he could be done for the season. Stay tuned.

Some good news for fantasy owners could be on tap with Jeff McNeil finally getting promoted by the Mets. Over his combined 384 plate appearances between Double and Triple-A, McNeil’s slashing .342/.411/.617 with 72 runs, 19 home runs, 43 RBI, six stolen bases and 23 strikeouts against 22 walks. Pretty impressive plate discipline. It’s taken with a grain of salt due to his age (26), but teams who need an upgrade at second base should see what McNeil can do with the Mets going forward. Here’s a look at his spray chart in the minors this year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Night Moves

A bevy of starting pitchers will make their returns tonight whether from injury or being activated from the minors to keep them sharp. Here’s a list which seems to be growing by the minute this evening:

Eric Thames will return for the Brewers and hit leadoff tonight.

Remember when Delino DeShields could provide cheap stolen bases? He’s been optioned to Triple-A after struggling to a .204/.300/.270 slash line through 77 games.

Segue, perhaps a cheap speed option will get to play with Brian Goodwin moving to Kansas City. He made his debut last night as a pinch hitter going two-for-two. Goodwin’s one year removed from hitting 13 home runs with six stolen bases in 74 games for the Nationals last year with a .251 average. Not perfect, but worth tracking.

Jesse Winker will not be in the lineup on Tuesday with a sore shoulder. Cincinnati will also face Phillies pitching prospect Ranger Suarez who will make his debut on Thursday.

 

That Just Happened

Only one game this afternoon with the Braves losing to Miami. Johan Camargo represented the best part of Atlanta’s offense hitting his 10th home run, and eight in his last 52 games since taking over at third base. Camargo’s in the midst of a modest five-game hit streak during which he’s eight for his last 18 (.444) and leads the team in RBI since the start of June with 28.

Not so great day for Julio Teherán who allowed nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Teheran coughed up seven or more earned in less than five innings only two times in his first 130 starts between 2011-to-2016. However, since the start of last year, he’s allowed it to happen six time over 52 starts. Not good.

Brian Anderson racked up three hits, in as many at-bats, and scored three runs. It’s the seventh time he’s tallied three hits in a game this year and he’s currently pacing to 93 runs with 77 RBI in 160 games as a rookie.

In spite of missing time to injury to start the season, J.T. Realmuto ’s more than made up for lost time. He launched his 13th home run and drove in four runs fueling the Marlins win. He ranks ninth in the National League in batting average (.304), slugging percentage (.529) and on-base plus slugging percentage (.884) playing a demanding position. Realmuto could reach his first 20 home run season at his current paces, but has abandoned the running game with only two steals.

While teams seem to be circling the Marlins bullpen canvassing them for trades, Miami deployed Brad Ziegler , Adam Conley and Drew Steckenrider in today’s victory. Ziegler’s recorded a scoreless appearance in 23 of his last 25 contests with a 0.68 ERA his last 26.1 innings. Conley’s also been scoreless in 18 of his last 20 games and dominant the last seven games with 10 strikeouts against three hits and one walk (0.52 WHIP). Many thought Kyle Barraclough would be the trade target of choice but Drew Steckenrider ’s name seems be in talks as well. He’s been a bit rough of late giving up four runs his prior five games but responded with a clean ninth this afternoon.

 

Last 30 Days Leaders

Hitters

Runs - Matt Carpenter (29)

HR - Matt Carpenter (12) with three tied at nine (Alex Bregman , Max Muncy and Jesus Aguilar )

RBI - Javy Baez (25) with two closely trailing (Alex Bregman with 24 and Rhys Hoskins at 23)

SB - Starling Marte (11)

Isolated Power - Matt Carpenter (.547) and Grégory Polanco second (.410)

Hard Hit Percentage - Eugenio Suárez at 60.6 percent

Pitchers

Wins - Chris Sale and Scott Oberg with five

Saves - Craig Kimbrel , Edwin Díaz and Kenley Jansen all with 10, Felipe Vázquez with nine

Strikeouts - Chris Sale (57) in 33 innings and only four walks allowed

ERA - Chris Sale (0.27)

WHIP - Chris Sale at 0.67, he’s been pretty good of late. Also of note, Marco Gonzales at 0.79 tied with Tyler Anderson

K-BB% - Chris Sale (43.8 percent) no surprise, but Kenta Maeda ’s third (32 percent) and Derek Holland (27.3 percent) ranks ahead of Jacob deGrom .

 

What To Watch For

A 14 game slate provides much to see tonight. For starters, how will all the pitchers listed above due to return from injury or the minors fare?

Can Shane Bieber snap the Pirates 10 game heater? 

Tyler Anderson takes his 0.96 ERA and 0.79 WHIP his last 28 innings to the mound against the Astros at Coors Field. Anderson’s done well over his last eight starts as well with a 2.19 ERA and 3.32 FIP in them in 53.1 innings.

Trade talks seem to be heating up for Zach Britton . Last reports suggest the Yankees and Astros lead in their pursuit with New York dangling Brandon Drury as part of the return.

Those in leagues with 10 game eligible rules should take note of Isiah Kiner-Falefa making his 10th appearance at catcher this evening. He’s not hitting for power, but he would rank seventh in runs (33), first in stolen bases (7), 12th in batting average (.253) and tied for 19th in RBI (24) among catchers with at least 150 plate appearances. Very valuable in two catcher league formats.

Possible pitcher’s duel in Philadelphia between Maeda and Aaron Nola ? Can Zach Wheeler parlay his rebound into further trade value tonight against the Padres?

So much baseball and football on the horizon. Be sure to stick with Fantasy Alarm to stay ahead of your competition.

 

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com

Baseball-Reference.com

MiLB.com

MLBfarm.com