Brett Jackson (OF-CHC) - Jackson got the call on Sunday and was immediately inserted into the starting outfield batting second. It's been a relatively disappointing season for Jackson, who was batting .256/.338/.479 with 15 homers and 27 stolen bases. 47% of Jackson's hits have gone for extra bases, but with just a 61% contact rate, he's been swinging and missing far too often. Jackson had a 65% rate last year, so this isn't really a new problem. That all said, the steals and home runs are very enticing for fantasy owners, who should grab Jackson immediately in all but the shallowest of formats.
Josh Vitters (3B-CHC) - Vitters got the call along with Brett Jackson Sunday and should be the team's starting third baseman from here on out. Vitters is a former #3 overall pick who has been a bit of a disappointment professionally, but keep in mind that he doesn't turn 23 until later this month. Vitters was batting .304/.356/.513 in Triple-A with 17 home runs and six stolen bases. Vitters has had issues defensively, but perhaps that's something the major league coaches can work with. Given his pedigree, he's worth a look, but his EYE this year (0.39) could indicate he's in line for some struggles, especially initially.
Neil Walker (2B-PIT) - Walker went 3-for-5 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI Sunday against Homer Bailey and the Reds. He's up to .292/.359/.449 with 12 homers and six stolen bases to make him a very valuable fantasy second baseman. Walker batted .358 with seven home runs in July, and with Sunday's big game, he appears to be carrying that momentum into August. Walker appears to be benefitting from a .340 BABIP, but considering his career mark is .327, we can't simply conclude he's been lucky on batted balls. Walker's ISO dipped to .143 last year, so it's good to see him showing some improvement there - .157 ISO. I'm not quite ready to say that the recent power surge is for real given that he's looked like a 12-15 homer guy the previous two years, but at age 26, perhaps he's simply hitting his stride and developing 20-25 homer power.
A.J. Burnett (SP-PIT) - Burnett came up huge on Sunday, tossing 8.2 innings of two-run ball against division rival Cincinnati. The Pirates are still 4.5 games out of the race, but they are also tied at the top with the Braves for the two wild card spots. Burnett improves to 14-3 and lowers his ERA to 3.19 on the day. He's gone at least seven innings in each of his last five starts and he's won 13 of his last 14 decisions. Pretty impressive for a guy who was basically run out of New York amidst a chorus of boos. Burnett did allow a homer on Sunday, but his 0.81 HR/9 mark for the year has been a big part of his success considering he clocked in at 1.21 and 1.47 the prior two years when he had 5+ ERAs. Burnett has a 2.00 ERA at home, but prior to Sunday's outing in Cincinnati, his road ERA stood at 4.79. All in all, a great day.
Gaby Sanchez (1B-PIT) - The Pirates made two interesting moves at the deadline, acquiring guys in Sanchez and Travis Snider that appeared to have fallen out of favor with their respective teams. Sanchez probably has the best chance to make an impact this year given the glut in the outfield brought about by Starling Marte's arrival. Sanchez was 2-for-5 with a run scored on Sunday to raise his slash line to a still-paltry .203/.252/.302. He's homered just three times in 197 at-bats, but hopefully Sunday's effort gets things going. Remember, this is still a guy who had 113 extra-base hits from 2010-2011.
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