Carlos Gomez (OF - MIL) - What has gotten into Gomez? He hit his 16th blast of the year in 323 at bats after hitting just 25 in 1539 prior to this year. It's not impossible to fathom as he is listed at 6'4 and 215 pounds, but it has certainly been unexpected. He's done it by cutting down on his infield pop-ups (a near-six percent reduction) and raising his line drive rate 6.5% from last year. His on-base skills remain suspect at best, but this kind of power to go along with his excellent speed make him a solid option, especially at Miller Park.
Pablo Sandoval (3B - SF) - Sandoval had his second straight multi-hit game, getting three of them to raise his line to .289/.339/.446. However, none of them were for extra bases, and he has just two with no home runs in 71 at bats since returning from a hamstring injury on August 13 with the broken hamate bone in his left hand he suffered in early May also likely having an effect, although he hit for decent power in the time between the two injuries. He's still a decent option against righties, but his power against southpaws has completely evaporated (one home run, .090 ISO coming into the day).
Tyler Cloyd (SP - PHI) - Cloyd was dominant in Cincinnati, surrendering just a Jay Bruce solo shot on four hits in seven innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. The right-hander posted an excellent 2.26 ERA in 26 minor league starts, all but four at AAA, but put up a mediocre strikeout rate during that time which is consistent with the rest of his career. While the outing was impressive, especially in Great American Ball Park, Bruce is Cincinnati's only left-handed threat without Joey Votto. Cloyd is just a spot-start option at this juncture, but he can be used Sunday at home as the Rockies are awful outside Colorado.
Jeff Samardzija (SP - CHC) - Samardzija continued to roll in Washington, allowing just one run on seven hits in seven innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. He did serve up his 20th home run in 165 2/3 innings as he continued to struggle with the long ball, but he owns a 2.64 ERA and 86/21 K/BB in 78 1/3 IP since July 2 as he's shown no effects in piling up his highest amount of innings in his professional career, and the Cubs have said they have no intention of shutting him down. He's a very solid option against teams without much left-handed punch and should be used with confidence in Pittsburgh Saturday and then in a rematch with the Pirates in Chicago next Friday.
Kris Medlen (SP - ATL) - Medlen's scoring streak was only broken up by an unearned run as he was superb again, going the distance against the Rockies to lower his season ERA to 1.56 and a 0.54 mark in his seven starts. He also struck out 12 with no walks, giving him a 50/5 K/BB during that time. It's worth noting that he hasn't faced the highest level of competition and the Rockies lineup he faced today was awful and couldn't hit many pitchers outside of Coors Field, but this is a level of dominance that supersedes the quality of opposition. He's an excellent option Saturday against a Mets offense that has tanked in the second half, especially at Citi Field.
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