Travis Shaw (3B- MIL)
Shaw had a home run and a steal in Milwaukee's 8-4 win at Miami. The long ball was Shaw's 16th of the year but only his second since June 5. In fact he came into the game with a .302 wOBA, 85 wRC+ and 116 ISO since the beginning of June so it was nice to see the 8th-inning solo homer on Tuesday. Some of those struggles are just bad luck as his hard hit rate and plate discipline are mostly unchanged over the last month, but part of his issues may be a result of poor protection in the lineup. Tyler Saladino hit behind him on Tuesday. It was Brad Miller a couple days ago. Shaw is providing quality protection to Jesus Aguilar, but no one is providing that same luxury to the Crew's 3rd baseman. Therefore, Shaw is seeing the least amount of pitches in the zone of his career. It's even worse over the last few weeks (during Aguilar's scorching run). Keep an eye on the Brewers at the trade deadline. If they add a major piece to the lineup, that could shuffle the order, which could benefit their everyday cleanup hitter.
Enyel De Los Santos (SP-PHI)
In a matchup of two pitchers making their major league debuts, it was Enyel De Los Santos getting the better of Drew Gagnon; in truth, De Los Santos is the only one of those two with legitimate long-term fantasy appeal. In his first game, the 22 year old gave up 3 runs in 6.1 innings with 6 strikeouts. He only allowed one run through the first six innings and then lost steam in the 7th. De Los Santos has a very compact delivery and showed major confidence in his breaking ball, throwing it 18 times, including on multiple 3-ball counts. You'll see his pitch arsenal listed with a curveball, but on Tuesday it played more as a slider, an effective one at that. He had a 1.89 ERA but a very high 92.6% strand rate at AAA this year so don't expect that ERA to translate to the big leagues, but he could provide some streaming help this year and is worth inquiring about in dynasty leagues.
Paul DeJong (SS-STL)
DeJong was in the 2-spot in the batting order for the first time since May 12. That puts him in between the streaking Matt Carpenter and Jose Martinez, a great spot to be in to produce numbers. Maybe that's why the Cardinals rallied for 14 runs against the White Sox. He was a solid contributor in that showcase, going 2-6 with three runs. He now has at least one hit in each of his last six games, dating back to before his hand injury. On the negative side, DeJong only has one walk since his return from the DL and unless he improves on last year's 4.7% walk rate, he probably won't stay in that #2 spot very long.
Maikel Franco (3B-PHI)
Is it possible someone finally got through to the enigmatic 3rd baseman? On Tuesday, he was 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Multiple managers have attempted different strategies to coerce some consistency from the talented slugger, but until recently Franco just hasn't produced on a consistent basis. However, he does seem to be playing with a renewed energy. He appears more focused on defense, more competitive on the base paths and more locked in at the plate. Maybe it was a benching earlier in the season or being dropped in the batting order; he's hit 8th every game since July 3rd. In fact, since July 3rd Franco is 11-29 with two homers and seven RBIs. His season batting average is now a palatable .274 with an ISO approaching .200. Hopefully this lasts, but with Franco you can never be sure.
Kenta Maeda (SP-LAD); DraftKings: $9,300
In two games at Petco Park this season, Maeda has 17 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. He has 27 strikeouts in his last three starts and the Dodgers are starting to let him go deeper into games. He is allowing a .218 batting average on the road and the Padres' hottest hitter, Wil Myers, has only three hits in 18 at-bats off of Maeda. Just to further enhance the argument, San Diego has an MLB-low .287 wOBA and the second highest strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers.
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