Royce Lewis, 3B, MIN
Lewis had another big day against the White Sox on Sunday, going 2-4 with a HR, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. His 3-run homer off Chris Flexen in the 2nd inning gave the Twins a 7-0 lead and all but ensured that the White Sox would be heading towards their 20th consecutive loss. Lewis continues to post absurd numbers on a per-game basis; in 9 games since returning from his most recent IL stint, he has collected 3 doubles, 3 HR's, and 10 RBI along with a 1.106 OPS. For the season, he has 13 HR's and an OPS of 1.056 across 33 games - for those counting, that's a pace of 64 HR's per 162 games. Lewis' HardHit% is nothing out of the ordinary, but he hits a ton of fly balls (47.1 % FB%) and pulls the ball regularly (52.9% Pull%) which combines to produce a lot of home runs. He may not stay healthy for long, but he's one of the best when he's on the field.
Spencer Arrighetti, SP, HOU
Arrighetti had a dominant performance against the Rays on Sunday, striking out 12 batters in 6 innings of work, while allowing just 1 ER on 5 hits and 2 BB's. He has now recorded at least 6 K's in 4 of his last 5 starts, while posting a 3.41 ERA during that stretch. Through 20 starts for the Astros, Arrighetti has a phenomenal 10.65 K/9, which is one of the best marks in the league. Yet his ERA still sits an awful 5.33, partially because his walk rate is so high (4.50 BB/9) and partially due to bad luck (.341 BABIP). Once the luck element subsides, Arrighetti should be able to put up respectable ratios, which together with the high strikeout rate, makes him a viable fantasy starter, at least when he has a decent matchup.
A.J. Puk, RP, ARI
Puk picked up his first save as a member of the Diamondbacks on Sunday, pitching the final 0.2 innings in the victory over the Pirates. Ryan Thompson, who had recorded the last two saves for Arizona, started the 9th inning with a three run lead but got into trouble, allowing 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB before Puk put out the fire. Thompson has now allowed an ER in each of his last two appearances, and with Puk successfully closing the door on Sunday, he may be the favorite for saves going forward. Puk may very well have the best skills of anyone in the Diamondbacks' pen; since moving to the bullpen with the Marlins in May, he has compiled a 2.10 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 39:7 K:BB across 34.1 IP, and his xFIP is south of 3.00 during that time. He's been even better recently, allowing just 1 ER over his last 20.2 IP (19 appearances) with a 31:4 K:BB across that stretch. He's probably the best Diamondback's reliever to own at the moment.
Paul Skenes, SP, PIT
Skenes allowed 2 ER's on 5 hits and 3 BB's across 5.2 IP against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, striking out 4 in the contest. It's been a sensational rookie season for Skenes thus far, but it's worth noting that he has now walked 3 batters in back-to-back starts after not walking that many in any of his first 12 outings. His strikeout totals have also dipped slightly in those last two starts; he has recorded 6 and 4 K's in his last two turns respectively after having punched out 7 or more batters in each of his previous 9 starts and in 11 of his first 12 starts overall. This could just be a small blip, or it could be that some fatigue is setting in. The Pirates are currently a game above .500 and 3.5 games back of a wild card spot, but if they fall out of the playoff hunt, one would have to think they would limit Skenes' workload towards the end of the season. Obviously you will keep playing him until that happens, but it's something to keep in mind when considering trades before the deadline.
Jonah Bride, 3B, MIA
Bride went 1-5 with a 3-run HR against the Braves on Sunday marking the third time he has gone deep in the past 5 games. He has been batting cleanup for the Marlins since the trade deadline, putting him in a good position to drive in runs. Bride had only hit 1 HR in 114 MLB games prior to this stretch so the outburst has certainly been unexpected, but he has hit 24 HR's in 148 AAA games over the last two seasons. Bride has a decent 41.7% HardHit% this season, but with a 52.8% GB%, it's hard to project consistent power output. His elevated 29.7% K% is also likely to limit his overall production.
This is just a small sample of our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
