Drew Smyly (SP - TB) - Making his 3rd start for the Tampa Bay Rays, Smyly took on Shane Greene and the New York Yankees at home in the Trop. He tossed his second straight quality start by going 7 innings and giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk. On the season, Smyly's strikeout rate has dropped 6% from 2013, likely partially driven by a 1.2% drop in his swinging strike rate (down to 9.5%). Most of his key underlying statistical indicators remain better than league average so that's a good sign for the 25 year-old. He doesn't have the type of stuff to be a dominating starter but he turns in enough quality outings to slot into the back of most fantasy baseball rotations.
Shane Greene (SP - NYY) - Shane Greene had another impressive outing on Saturday, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings with a career high 10 strikeouts. Greene has now started 7 games for the Yankees this year and managed to get 3 wins while posting a 2.91 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Saturday's start also raised his strikeout rate from below league average at 18.6% all the way up above league average to 21.3%. His outlook for the rest of the year is a little murky, especially when considering that he had an ugly 4.61 ERA and 1.58 WHIP at Triple-A before getting called up and he tends to struggle against left-handed batters. I'm treading lightly here and I wouldn't invest too heavily in him. If you're fortunate to have him, I wouldn't be afraid to entertain offers.
Phil Hughes (SP-MIN) - Hughes looked strong on Saturday, tossing 7.1 innings while yielding just 1 run on 7 hits and striking out 6 in a win over Kansas City. After going through a bit of a rough patch in July, Hughes looks like he's back on track in August with 3 straight games of 1-run baseball. On the year, the bounceback pitcher has managed a 3.76 ERA and has a fantastic 140/15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Hughes is inducing groundballs at the highest rate of his career and the move from Yankee Stadium to Target Field has also reduced his HR/FB% down to 6% this year.
Avisail Garcia (OF-CWS) - Avisail Garcia returned to the big leagues with a bang, smashing a double and an RBI for the White Sox. He finished the game 2-for-4. Garcia has been on the DL since April 9 after tearing his shoulder labrum earlier this year. Garcia has a little speed and a little pop but nothing overwhelming. He hits too many groundballs to be overly successful in the batting average department (over 56%) but if he was dropped in your league after the injury earlier this season, he's worth grabbing once again.
Carlos Santana (1B - CLE) - Carlos Santana smashed his 21st homerun of the season against the Orioles on Saturday evening. He went 2-for-3 with a 3-run homerun off Ubaldo Jimenez while bumping up his RBI total up to 59 for the season. Santana has been ice cold in August, batting just .174 with just 4 RBI in the month leading up to the night's performance. While he has struck out more often (about 3% more than in 2013), his 17.4% walk rate is outstanding, which has allowed him to salvage his on-base percentage to be .369 despite having a batting average of just .231. His multi position eligibility keeps his value pretty high in fantasy leagues and he provides big power numbers from the catcher position.
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