Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins - Dozier sat for just the fourth time this season on Tuesday and went 0-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance. Dozier has struggled overall at the plate this year with a.220/.308/.393 triple slash with 12 homers and five stolen bases on the season. Dozier is currently the owner of a .244 BABIP while having batted ball rates that are extremely similar to last season when he was a .270 hitter. His LD% is slightly down (4%) but he's split that 4% between his GB and FB rates while maintaining a near identical hard/medium/soft contact profile. Dozier has been a strong second half hitter in recent years posting wRC+'s of 155 and 158 in each of the last two years.
Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays - Archer looks ready to return to the majors after allowing one hit and striking out seven batters in four innings with the Stone Crabs in High-A. Archer is having a terribly interesting season because he has a K% of 23% (lowest since 2014) despite having a swinging strike rate of 3.4% higher than he did in that season. His 4.24 ERA also isn't outstanding, but he does own a FIP of 3.79 and that's factoring in the weird K% that could have some positive regression headed its way. If that wasn't weird enough, there's one more strange Archer tidbit to chew on. We all know the idea of the "third time through the order" and how it usually is a big hump for pitchers to get over but for Archer, it's actually the 2nd time through the order giving him fits. He owns a .296 wOBA on the first trip, .375 wOBA on the second trip, and back down to .298 wOBA on the third trip through the order. He's a guy to watch hard once he returns to the majors and there's enough here to try and buy him before he comes back.
Mikie Mahtook, Detroit Tigers - Mahtook was recalled from AAA on Monday and now has hit leadoff in back-to-back games for the Tigers, including going 3-for-4 on Tuesday afternoon. Mahtook has been absolutely dreadful this season with a .221/.253/.286 triple slash across 83 plate appearances, but if he continues to hit leadoff for a stretch of time he can be a useful add in AL-only leagues to just take advantage of the situation.
Kyle Higashioka, New York Yankees - Higasioka now has two career hits for the Yankees and both of them have been homers. Higashioka took Sean Newcomb deep Tuesday in his only base knock of the evening. He's now just 15 plate appearances into his big league career and while he's only hitting .154, he's slugging over .615 and has had a few seasons in the minor leagues where he's slugged over .500. He's not going to supplant Gary Sanchez, but he could provide some pop while Sanchez remains sidelined.
Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles - Trumbo homered for the second straight day while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Since June 17th Trumbo has been on an absolute tear at the plate slashing .294/.333/.725 with a 185 wRC+ and 8 of his 11 homers for the season. Trumbo will always be an outstanding source of power and if he can keep his BABIP up around the .300 mark he can also keep his batting average around the .260 mark as well.
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