Adrian Beltre (3B - TEX) - Beltre hit his 15th home run of the season as part of a 3-5 night to raise his line to .326/.356/.527. Despite the near-30 home run pace, his power is down as his ISO is .201, which would be his lowest since 2009. That is driven by his mysterious power outage against lefties, whom he's only hit three home runs against with a .113 ISO, numbers completely out of line with the rest of his career. His average will likely drop a little bit, but the doubles power should creep back up as he remains an excellent option.
Doug Fister (SP - DET) - Fister was knocked around for the third straight start, allowing four runs on eight hits (one home run) in six innings against the Royals to close the first half with a 4.75 ERA. He also walked three with just two strikeouts. His strikeout and walk rates have remained very good on the year, but the combination of a 26.7 LD% and the Tigers' awful defense has produced a .339 BABIP. He's also allowed 17.9% of his fly balls to leave the yard, more than double his career average. That should regress which will make him an option in most matchups, but he will continue to be hurt by his defense.
Felix Doubront (SP - BOS) - After a rough first inning, Doubront settled down against the Yankees and ended up allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits in 6 1/3 innings, walking one with six strikeouts. Two of the four hits were long balls though, and he's now allowed 15 of them in 96 innings. He has struck out over a batter an inning though which gives him matchup-option potential against weaker offenses outside Fenway Park. However, he will be shut down and/or moved to the bullpen at some point, as he's on pace to blow past his career high in innings.
Ricky Romero (SP - TOR) - Romero continued to struggle with the home run ball, as he gave up his 15th of the year in Chicago. That was the only damage he allowed as he only surrendered two runs on three hits in six innings, although he walked three and struck out only two. Romero finishes the first half with a disastrous 5.22 ERA as his strikeout, walk and line drive rates have all worsened. His HR/FB% is very high at 17.5% but even if that neutralizes, his xFIP is still an ugly 4.52. He's simply not an option until he gets things right.
Derek Holland (SP - TEX) - Holland allowed three runs on six hits (one home run) in six innings to the Twins in his return from a shoulder injury. He walked two while striking out four and ends the first half with a disappointing 5.05 ERA. Although his strikeout and walk rates are right around last season, his fly ball rate has risen eight percent at the expense of his ground ball rate, which is bad news in Texas. He's going to need to get that corrected to be a solid second-half option, but his talent makes him worth buying low.
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