Brett Anderson, Colorado Rockies - Anderson left Tuesday's start one pitch into the fourth with what appeared to be a lower back injury. Up until that point, he was pitching well allowing one hit over three innings while striking out two. He was a good choice as a streaming option (one that I took) thanks to his 3.09 FIP and the fact he dominated the Cubs last time out, striking out nine and allowing just two runs over 7.0 innings. Anderson had been a nice comeback story, but his success came mainly on the road with a sub-2.00 FIP compared to one over 4.00 at Coors Field. He is scheduled as of now for a second start this week coming Sunday, but that may be in doubt now with his back flaring up. Franklin Morales, who relieved Anderson in the 4th could be a candidate for a spot start, or the Rockies could call up Eddie Butler who started tonight for AAA Tulsa.
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies - Howard launched his 17th homer of the season Tuesday and it marked his 7th of the season off of a lefty. While he has posted decent homerun and RBI numbers, Howard has been flat out terrible over the course of the season posting just an 85 wRC+ which is over 40 points below his career average. He also has a wOBA of .293 which is also the first time in his entire career he's seen it dip below the .300 mark. As noted, the only positive for Howard is that his homeruns are up compared to the past two season as he is on pace to eclipse what he hit in 2012 and 2013 combined. For a playoff run, his power is nice but only if you can afford to carry his .216/.297/.373 triple slash combined with no speed along with it.
Emilio Bonafacio, Atlanta Braves - Bonafacio received his second start as a Brave replacing BJ Upton in both centerfield and the leadoff spot against the Mariners. Bonafacio has cooled down significantly since his tear to start the season and now owns a 91 wRC+. Provided he can get on base (.323 OBP) he could be a nice source of steals and runs a top the Braves lineup that desperately needs a leadoff hitter. He still doesn't hit righties all that well at .236 with a .257 wOBA but is hitting a great .403 against lefties with a .448 wOBA, but Upton doesn't hit really anyone well so Bonafacio should be getting a lot of plate appearances over the rest of the season.
Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs - Baez batted second for the Cubs in his major league debut and played second base. The #8 prospect in baseball according the Keith Law went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts before hitting his first career homer in extra innings. Baez turned around a slow start in AAA Iowa to launch 23 homers with a triple slash of .260/.323/.510 before his callup. He also swiped 16 bags and drove in 80, showing he is more than capable of filling all the categories fantasy owners need. Baez is a high upside add but his numbers will come with a lot of strikeouts. The fact he is playing second gives him even more value due to the top heaviness of the position.
Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates - Although the reigning NL MVP has a fractured 11th rib, it appears that the Pirates are going to avoid placing him on the DL if possible in hopes of him being healthy sooner than the 15 day stint. This comes a day after McCutchen reportedly couldn't even bend to put on his own socks, so I would guess that he does go on the DL at some point. Starling Marte is likely to get the starts in center while McCutchen is sidelined and Josh Harrison should get the majority of the starts in left. It'll be a situation to monitor over the next few days to see how he reacts to the injury and how quickly the team thinks he'll be able to heal.
Josh Sperry - @jsperry1991
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