Emmanuel Burriss:
The biggest winner in the Brewers-Giants trade from a fantasy perspective yesterday was a man not even involved: Emmanuel Burriss. We’ve touched on Burriss’ tremendous speed potential in the past and noted his limited experience above A ball as well as the limited expectations you need to have for him outside of BA, SB, and maybe Run potential, but with Ray Durham out of the picture he becomes an everyday player. He was thrust into the leadoff role immediately on Sunday and went 2-5 with a Run. He’s got a chance to swipe 15-20 more SB’s the rest of the way with everyday playing time and could make a significant impact for those thirsting for speed.
Austin Kearns:
Of course I’d finally throw in the towel on Austin Kearns and then he’d start showing signs of the “sleeper” potential upon returning from injury, looking like a completely different player than early in the season. Since his return Kearns has hit .327/.414/.531, posting a solid .77 EYE and showing a great extra base hit rate (12.2%). The streak has been helped just a tad by some good luck on balls in play (.296 BHIP%), but not a significant amount by any means. THIS is the kind of player I thought we’d see earlier in the season when I noted Kearns as one of my sleepers coming into this year. In deeper leagues he’s an immediate add if owners have been sleeping on his YTD stats, which aren’t very exciting, and in traditional mixed formats he deserves a look as a back-end option.
Edinson Volquez:
Volquez struggled through 5 innings against the Mets on Sunday allowing 11 base-runners and 4 ER’s while striking out just 3. Volquez has now struck out 3 or less 4 of his last 5 starts, while walking 3 in 4 of those 5 starts as well. Of course those starts came around a 10 K, 2 BB performance against the Brewers so who knows how much of a trend this really is, but it’s something to take note of. I’d mentioned a few weeks back that Volquez’s slightly declining peripherals and the fact he’s never pitched more than 178 innings in a season makes me hesitate for his value the rest of the season and I stand by that. I don’t think Volquez is going to fall apart over the course of the 2nd half but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a modest decline as well as a potential innings cap towards the end of the season that could also come into play, diminishing his value a bit in h2h leagues. If you can move him for another similar top tier option with a bit more safety (someone like Johan, CC, etc) I’d jump at the chance for the added security in a more veteran ace.
Dan Uggla:
Uggla’s struggled mightily since returning from the DL going just 4-26 with 9 K’s. He’s still hitting for power when he is making contact, notching a 2B and a HR, but the struggles with contact continue to impact his batting average which has dropped from .289 to .278 in this recent streak. Uggla’s had a noticeable pattern since entering the big leagues where he rakes through May, June, and July before suffering a steep falloff in August and September. I’ve tried to draw Uggla owners to this plan all year long so with some of the slow-down starting to come I’m hoping they are prepared or have already acted. Uggla’s career OPS by month goes like this: April - .752, May – 1.044, June - .913, July - .757, August - .802, Sept/Oct - .706. On top of that all of Uggla’s peripherals are in line with last season (EYE .41 vs. .41) and (2B’s rate 7.8% vs. 8.0%), except for his HR Rate which has jumped from 4.9% to 7.7%. At age 28, Uggla is in the prime of his power production so some of this jump could be predicted, but taking a look at his HR/FB Rate which has jumped from a fairly consistent 13.9% to 22.2% makes me believe some of the high HR total has been attributed to some good fortune. This will end up being a career year for Uggla but I think 70% of the production is already in the past and if you can move Uggla for a Top 20 player (which his value at 2B should dictate) with a more proven track record, I’d jump at the opportunity. He’ll continue to be a Top 10 and likely Top 5 2B the rest of the way thanks to the power production at a generally shallow position, but I don’t think the 1st half he had can be duplicated by any means.
Jeremy Hermida:
Hermida homered for the 2nd straight game on Sunday in a modest 2-5 effort. He’s been mired in a horrible slump in July in which he’s hit just .196/.297/.429, but there are actually some really good signs regarding Hermida. Most importantly for the first time all season he’s showing the plate discipline we’ve always anticipated out of Hermida posting a .88 EYE and a BB Rate of 12.5%. At the same time he’s knocked out 4 HR’s this month. The plate patience is finally coming along and the power’s coming with it, just the rest of the results are lagging a bit. If Hermida can keep this improved EYE up, he’s got a chance at putting up the type of monster 2nd half that got us all excited about him heading into this season. I know it seems contrary to start paying attention to a guy hitting .196 this month, but it might finally be time to start looking into Hermida again.
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning. Members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here. Not a member? Join today.
