Chris Flexen, Seattle Mariners - Chris Flexen had a solid bounce-back start Saturday against the Yankees, tossing five innings and allowing just three runs. After a weak end to the month of July Flexen has rebounded nicely for August, especially for his strikeout totals. He struck out six batters in his last start against the Rays, and this time struck out seven against a strong Yankees lineup. He had almost a 30% whiff rate in this outing to pair with a 32% CSW, but solid enough numbers to survive on. The rates he was posting at the end of July were going to make it tough to survive on, so getting back towards the league average helps him greatly.
Carlos Rodon, Chicago White Sox - Carlos Rodon continues to just dominate with 11 strikeouts against the Cubs over just five innings. The Cubs were pretty much helpless against him with just two hard-hit balls, and the team whiffed on 44% of their swings helping generate a 36% CSW for Rodon. Rodon has been absolutely elite all season for Chicago and currently sits with a 2.38 ERA over 109.2 innings, and he's been healthy for an extended period for the first time in his big league career.
Cesar Hernandez, Chicago White Sox - Cesar Hernandez went 2-4 in the White Sox win on Saturday with his 20th homer of the season. The overall slash line for him is just average, but the 20 homers and 50 RBI are great productions from the second base spot, and besides Friday's game he's been hitting in the number two spot in the lineup for Chicago. That's one of the stronger spots in baseball to hit right now sandwiched between Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu, and the lineup is only going to get stronger with Luis Robert nearing a return to the majors. He's not very wildly rostered across leagues and if you're in need of second base help there are certainly worse options to add.
Starling Marte, Oakland A's - Starling Marte went 2-5 at the plate with a RBI and a stolen base. Marte is off to a ridiculous start in the month of August with a .478/.500/.826 slash line, and it comes at an even better time for the A's after Ramon Laureano was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. Marte's going to hit in the second spot the rest of the way and could provide a hefty amount of runs with Matt Olsen hitting directly behind him. The lineup definitely gets weaker with no Laureano, but Marte still is in a strong spot.
Jared Kelenic, Seattle Mariners - Jared Kelenic is off to a strong start in August and continued it Saturday with a pair of doubles. For the month he has a .979 OPS over 29 plate appearances, a big jump over the .440 he posted in July over 57 PAs. Kelenic has undergone a minor stance change since the very end of last month, and it appears to be providing immediate results. After his first stint in the majors, Kelenic went to AAA and immediately started hitting again, and it seems like he's finally settling in at the major league level thanks to time and a stance change.
