Chris Davis- TEX- FYI- The Rangers are reportedly interested in acquiring a righthanded bat who can play first base. Prominent names are Jorge Cantu of the Marlins and Ty Wigginton of the Orioles. With Davis hitting just .148 against lefthanders, it’s easy to see why. If the Rangers pull off a deal, then Davis will see decreased playing time.
Mitch Maier- KC- FYI- With Scott Podsednik traded and Alex Gordon shifting over to left field, Maier is going to see increased laying time in right field for the Royals. Manager Ned Yost said that Maier will also see time in the leadoff spot in the order. Maier hasn’t demonstrated much in the way of ability to steal bases, so that won’t help his fantasy value much. In fact, Maier doesn’t really have a whole lot to offer in any category. His current .250 average is very close to his preseason projection of .248. With 3 homers in 252 PAs he isn’t doing much in that category. There really isn’t a lot to recommend Maier.
Joe Mauer- MIN- Great Player- Fantistics’ Michael Leone pointed out on Sunday that Mauer was due to be red hot and the Minnesota catcher responded as if on cue. Since then he has gone 9-for-13 to raise his average to .310. Regression to the mean seems to be coming fast and furious for Mauer.
Travis Hafner- CLE- Hot- Hafner continued his hot by empty month, going 2-for-3 to raise his July batting average to .328. He did not score, knock in any runs or record an extra base hit. This average is being driven by a huge helping of luck (.500 BABIP) and is no indication that Hafner has recovered his once prodigious abilities.
A. J. Burnett- NYY- Caution- Burnett recorded his first quality start after 2 non-quality efforts, but needed 114 pitches to get through his 7 shutout innings. He has thrown 110 or more pitches 5 times previously this season and followed them up with a quality start just once. Given his inconsistency this year, I wouldn’t count on big things for Burnett the nest time out.
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