Sean Gallagher:
I’ve been touting Gallagher as a nice sleeper option since the trade to Oakland and while Saturday’s performance was a bit shaky, it provided more reason for me to believe in Gallagher for the 2nd half. The patient Yankees offense worked Gallagher for 5 innings as he walked 4 and through 98 pitches, but he also struck out 7 and limited the Yanks to just 2 ER’s in 5 innings. Gallagher’s going to be his most useful in home starts as he takes advantage of the big OF in the Coliseum with his extreme FB tendencies, but his 14 K’s in 12 innings show the type of great K potential we’re looking for from the youngster.
Joel Zumaya:
Some interesting things are going on with the Tigers bullpen situation as Jim Leyland mentioned on Friday he’d like to cut back from Todd Jones workload. This despite Jones being on pace for exactly the same number of innings he accumulated each of the last two seasons with the Tigers. Last night with Tigers having a save situation and Jones having not pitched since Thursday night (when he converted his 18th save in 20 tries), the Tigers left Joel Zumaya in to try to close it out after a clean 8th inning. Zumaya promptly allowed a leadoff HR to Ramon Hernandez to blow the save and the Tigers eventually lost in 11 innings. While Zumaya blew this opportunity and continues to show problems with his command since returning from the DL, there’s some hint that a changing of the guard (or at least a sharing of the role) may be on the verge of happening. I’m not rushing to pick up Zumaya in the shallow formats I play in just yet but this situation bears watching. I find it unusual for Leyland to comment on Jones’ workload when its nearly identical to the last two years and then to thrust Zumaya into a non-descript save situation (just extending an 8th inning appearance). The way this has all gone down seems a bit unusual and I suspect Zumaya may get a few more opportunities as the season progresses with a full out switch to the role if he has a bit of success. Zumaya’s the future and the Tigers may be interested in finding out if he’s ready to fill that role sooner rather than later.
Joe Mauer:
It took a while for the power to come around this year for Joe Mauer, but since the start of June things have really taken off. After posting a .315/.403/.387 line that had Mauer doubters harping on the lack of power, Mauer went nuts in June hitting .341/.423/.568 and has followed it up with a big July (.325/.472/.600). Mauer’s made further strides in his already incredible approach this season posting a 1.93 EYE and his power has returned to 2006 levels, when he clubbed 53 extra base hits in 521 AB’s. With the power coming on so strong of late, it’s not inconceivable to see Mauer top his career high in HR’s of 13, as he’s homered 6 times in his last 128 AB’s. Tremendous EYE, great batting average contributions along with top flight Run and RBI production, and improving power make Mauer one of the quietly more worthwhile hitters in all of fantasy. There has been such a focus on the lack of power and a movement that Mauer’s a batting average dependent fantasy player that it seems to lose sight of the great Run and RBI production Mauer gives. While McCann, Martin, and even Geovanny Soto get all the publicity at the C position in the fantasy world, Mauer’s been right there with them all season long.
Billy Butler:
We’ve touched on Butler’s high GB Rate and the likely limited power associated with the high GB Rate in the past, but I still think Butler has some sleeper potential for the 2nd half. We’ve seen Butler post strong power and tremendous plate discipline rates at AAA in each of the last two seasons and he’s shown pretty good control of the strike zone so far as a big leaguer, meaning the power is the only thing left to come. After going 2-5 with his 4th HR of the season on Saturday night, he’s now homered in each of the first two games since the All Star Break, while knocking in 7 runs. The Royals are showing enough confidence in him by hitting him in the middle of the order which will give Butler enough opportunities to contribute in the RBI category and if the power comes along at the rate it did in the minor leagues Butler could make some nice steps forward in the 2nd half.
Brian Buscher:
Buscher went into the ASB swinging a hot bat since his call-up in mid-June and the hot bat has continued here after the break. Last night he picked up his 2nd consecutive multi-hit game and knocked out his 2nd HR of the season and raising his batting average to .330. The 27 year old appears to be a bit of a late developer. After only topping a .700 OPS once in his first 4 minor league seasons, the then 26 year old broke out at AA and AAA last season posting an .878 OPS between the two levels. He started hitting at AAA this year and was promptly called up where he hasn’t stopped since. So far much of the production has been driven by a .318 BHIP% as a below average extra base hit rate (6.9%) and EYE (.33) show limited potential, but Buscher showed tremendous plate discipline the last two years in the minor leagues along with solid power peripherals. There appears to be a bit more upside in Buscher’s performance if he can find the plate discipline and power he possessed at the minor league levels the last two seasons, but if he maintains the current level of performance in his EYE and EXBH Rates, we’d expect a significant regression in his batting average. For now he’s worth riding the hot streak and hoping the peripherals improve, but as a long-term play he looks rather speculative.
