Jose Altuve flexed some muscle, going 3-for-5 with his 22nd HR of the season while scoring 3 runs. Altuve has had an incredible year at the plate, but has nearly completely abandoned stealing bases. He has been successful on just 4 of 7 SB attempts this season. Altuve is still an elite talent, but without 30+ SB in his arsenal, he's no longer the (fantasy) league-changing player that he once was. All that said, he seems like a lock to hit a new career high in HR all while maintaining a BA over .300.
Yuli Gurriel went yard two more times yesterday, and he's now up to 25 roundtrippers. After batting .408 in July, Gurriel has continued to stay ridiculously hot, while having 16 RBI in 10 August games. Nothing seems to be slowing down the 35-year-old, as we've seen improvements in his contact rate, HR/FB rate, BB%, and K% this season. Across the board, he looks like a stud the rest of the way.
Tim Anderson was 4-for-5 yesterday with two doubles and two runs. He is quietly having a solid season, with a wRC+ over 118 on the season. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't maintain this pace going forward. His BABIP is .374, which is about 40 points above his career rate. His LD rate is up slightly this season, but seemingly not enough for a 40 point improvement to balls in play.
Homer Bailey was lights out, going 7 scoreless with 7 K off just two hits against the Giants. He lowered his ERA to 5.22 with the start. It was an encouraging start, but they are few and far between for Bailey. If you're desperate, he can be utilized in matchups like last night -- against a lighter hitting team in a pitcher friendly park. But otherwise, he's too inconsistent to trust.
Xander Bogaerts continued his breakout campaign, going 3-for-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. Bogaerts should break nearly every career best (HR, RBI, AVG, maybe R) this season. Funny enough, his wRC+ is only just a handful of points higher than last year. Remember that wRC+ adjusts for league average, which tells us that while Bogaerts is having a career year, so is (apparently) the rest of the league. Regardless, as a shortstop he's among the game's elite this season in a stacked position. Looking at peripherals, the power is for real but I would bet he ends the season with an average under .300, as his BABIP is a little higher than last year despite a worse LD%.
