Andrew Benintendi (OF-BOS) - Benintendi returned to the leadoff spot Tuesday in what has been an awful season. He had a pair of singles and a HBP in four PA, "lifting" him to .103/.314/.128. He's obviously maintained his plate discipline, which is very encouraging, but he actually DOUBLED his 2020 hit total with the two hits on Tuesday. Benintendi's .100 BABIP entering the game should obviously continue to rise, but his pre-Tuesday 23.8% hard-hit rate is awful, and if you look at other StatCast metrics such as exit velocity and barrels, those aren't good either. Benintendi also took a step back in 2019, as his OPS dropped 57 points and his K% increased from 16% to 22.8%. The 26-year-old should eventually figure things out, but this is a short season, so that "eventually" could be 2021.
Cole Sulser (RP-BAL) - Sulser recorded his third save for the Orioles on Sunday, making him the presumed closer over the likes of Miguel Castro and Mychal Givens. Sulser made his MLB debut last year for the Rays as a 29-year-old after posting a 12.1 K/9 in Triple-A. After Tuesday however, is he still the closer? Culser allowed two runs in the ninth inning against the Phillies to blow the save and see his ERA spike to 5.63. Castro allowed three runs in 2/3 of an innings in the same game, while Givens posted a scoreless inning and now has a 0.00 ERA in five innings with eight strikeouts. We have no idea who will get the next save, but my money is on Givens. Act accordingly if you need help in saves.
Jordan Montgomery (SP-NYY) - Montgomery may have saved his rotation spot Tuesday after holding the Braves to three runs over six innings to improve to 2-1 with a 5.17 ERA. Montgomery had allowed five runs in four innings in his last start, and with the Yankees prepping top prospect Clarke Schmidt for his MLB debut at some point, Montgomery had best continue pitching like this. 2020 is Montgomery's first full season back from 2018 Tommy John surgery, but he did show some promise in 2017, making 29 start for the Yankees and posting a solid 3.99 ERA and 144:51 K:BB over 155.1 innings. He's not a hard thrower, averaging around 92 mph with his fastball. He should continue to get starts, as J.A. Happ is struggling (10.29 ERA) and the aforementioned Schmidt isn't quite ready.
Austin Romine (C-DET) - The Yankees are probably wishing they had Romine back right about now, as starting catcher is batting .093. Romine meanwhile went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI Tuesday, lifting him to .308/.325/.513 with a pair of home runs. He's walked just once to 10 K's in 40 PA, so it's tough to see the PBA continuing, though he does have some power, as evidenced by his 18 home runs in 505 PA from 2018-2019. Romine has the job all to himself, as backup Grayson Greiner entered the year with an anemic 54 wRC+ (average is 100) and is 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts this year.
Tyler Alexander (P-DET) - Back to the pen? Alexander looked great in his relief outing back on August 2, striking out nine Reds in a row at one point to finish with 3.2 hitless innings and 10 strikeouts. That earned him a start on Tuesday against the White Sox, and things didn't go quite as well - 3.2 innings, five runs, a 2:3 K:BB, and 2 HR. That pushed his ERA from 1.17 to 4.76. Ouch. MLB.com reported last week that Alexander would be in the rotation going forward, so it's probably not a one and done situation, but he'd be well-advised to turn things around next time out. Alexander is a soft-tossing lefty with elite control as evidenced by his 155:27 K:BB in 152 innings split between Triple-A and Detroit last year. The lack of a top-end fastball makes location that much more important, and he just didn't have it Tuesday. His upside is probably that of a No. 5 starter.
