Anthony Rizzo, 1B, NYY
Rizzo had a big day at the plate on Sunday, going 4-4 with a HR, a double, and 2 RBI against the Royals. The homerun was Rizzo's first since May 20, ending a span of 45 games without a dinger. Since the start of June, he has been completely unproductive, slashing .154/.268/.191 across 157 PA's before Sunday's breakout performance. He has been striking out well more than usual this season, as his 22.3% K% would easily be his highest since his rookie season with the Padres in 2011. Since then, he's never had a K% above 18.8%. His HardHit% is only slightly lower than his career average, but his maxEV of 110.6 would be a career low and his .395 xSLG doesn't indicate that he's been getting particularly unlucky. Rizzo can't be trusted in fantasy leagues right now, until he shows a few more signs of turning things around.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., OF, ARI
Gurriel went 0-5 against the Reds on Sunday as he continues to suffer through an awful month of July. In 17 games this month, Gurriel is hitting .167 with a .214 OBP across 70 PA's. The good news is that he's still making excellent contact as he's striking out at just a 15.7% clip this month, but his BA has been dragged down by a .170 BABIP despite an EV of around 90 which is actually slightly higher than his season average. Considering that he's still making frequent contact and hitting the ball relatively hard, one would have to assume that this slump will end sooner rather than later.
A.J. Puk, RP, MIA
Puk blew the save against the Rockies on Sunday, allowing a run on 2 hits (1 HR), and a BB, while striking out 2 in 0.2 IP. He has really struggled recently, allowing 9 runs (8 ER) in 6.1 IP (11.37 ERA) over his last 7 appearances, and taking 2 losses and 3 blown saves during that stretch. Manager Skip Shumaker had said after Puk's previous stumble that Puk would remain the Marlins closer for now, but he may be inclined to change his mind after yet another blown save. To be fair, Puk has been quite unlucky during this rough patch, as he has posted a 12:3 K:BB but has been hurt by a .417 BABIP. On the other hand, he has also allowed 4 HR's over these last 7 appearances. Regardless, if the Marlins do decide to make a change, it could be Tanner Scott who starts seeing more save opportunities.
Mitch Keller, SP, PIT
Keller was shelled for 6 ER's on 9 hits (3 HR's) and 1 BB in 5 IP against the Angels on Sunday, while striking out 7 in the loss. This is now two disastrous outings in a row for Keller who allowed 8 ER's to the Guardians his last time out. After a promising start to the season, Keller's performance has taken a large downturn over the past couple of months, as he has posted a 5.51 ERA over his last 11 starts. There's been some bad luck here, as his LOB% during this stretch is under 70% and his xFIP is around 4.40, but that's still not good. After striking out at least 8 batters in 7 consecutive outings earlier in the season, Keller has now gone 9 straight starts without reaching that mark, and he has struck out 5 or fewer in 5 of those 9 starts. He's not as bad as his last two starts indicate, but the breakout that appeared to be happening earlier in the season now appears to be very short lived.
Tyler Wells, SP, BAL
Wells allowed 3 ER's in 4.1 IP against the Rays on Sunday, allowing just 1 hit (a HR) but also walking 4 while striking out 3. This marks the second straight clunker for Wells after he had a string of 7 consecutive starts in which he allowed exactly 2 ER's. Homeruns have been a problem all season for Wells, but his walk and strikeout rates have also been trending in the wrong direction lately. In 4 starts this month, he owns a 15:10 K:BB across 18.1 IP while also allowing 4 dingers en route to a 5.89 ERA. It's worth noting that Wells struggled in the second half last year as well, posting an 8.35 2nd half ERA after he had finished the first half with a 3.38 mark. He may be worth shopping around to see if you can get anything of value for him.
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