James Wood, OF, WAS
It was another tough day at the office for Wood, who went 0-4 with 2 K's against the Athletics on Thursday. He has really struggled over the last month so - since July 4, he's hitting a measly .117 (11-94) with 1 HR, 2 doubles, and 4 RBI across 25 games. He has a whopping 40.6% K% during that stretch, and his BB% has dipped to 9.4% compared to 14.5% in his first 87 games. His SwStr% during this slump has skyrocketed to 17.1% (10.2% beforehand) as he's swinging more frequently and is making less contact both in and out of the zone. Wood was too good through the first half of the season to think that he won't figure it out and the Nationals will give him every chance to do so. His long term outlook is still very strong, but his short term value takes a hit until he makes adjustments.
Jacob Lopez, SP, ATH
Lopez was spectacular against the Nationals on Thursday, striking out 10 in 7.2 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits without a walk. This makes three straight scoreless starts for Lopez, but this was easily the best of the bunch as he totaled just 9.1 IP in the previous two starts while allowing 13 baserunners. It's been an up and down season for Lopez, but overall he has had an encouraging rookie campaign, posting a 3.59 ERA and 10.89 K/9 across 77.2 IP. He's still a bit of a risky play down the stretch, as his walk rate is on the high side at 3.86 BB/9, and he has a dangerous 52.2% FB%. He's someone to keep an eye on going forward.
Bryan Reynolds, OF, PIT
Reynolds went 2-4 with a HR against the Reds on Thursday, incredibly giving him his 1st HR since late June. Since the start of July, Reynolds was slashing an abysmal .220/.254/.294 with 0 HR's, 8 RBI, 9 runs, 0 SB's and a 31.6% K% across 28 games entering Thursday. Talk about a black hole in a fantasy lineup. Overall, it's been a disappointing season for Reynolds, who is hitting just .239 with 11 HR's through 109 games. He has hit at least .262 with at least 24 HR's in each of the last 4 seasons, but he's well off the pace from reaching those marks this year. His K% is up to 26.8%, well above the 21.4% K% he posted from 2021-2024. He is still hitting the ball as hard as usual, yet his HR/FB is about 4% lower than usual, so perhaps that will correct itself. The increase in his K% rate is concerning though, because Renolds doesn't have the power or speed to make up for a low BA. If he is going to be a sub-.250 hitter, he's become a barely usable fantasy option.
Doug Baldwin, C, ATL
Baldwin had a huge game against the Marlins on Thursday, going 3-5 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI. This breaks a 21-game homerun drought for the catcher, but he was still productive during that stretch, hitting .290 with 6 doubles and 10 RBI. It's been an excellent rookie campaign for Baldwin, who for the season is hitting .287 with 13 HR's and 46 RBI across 281 PA's. He's striking out at a solid 17.1% clip and hitting the ball hard with a 47.3% HardHit%. His .291 xBA and .501 xSLG suggest that Baldwin has earned his success this season, and he is firmly in the starting catcher territory in fantasy leagues at this point.
Darrell Hernaiz, SS, ATH
Hernaiz had another nice day at the plate against the Nationals on Thursday, going 2-3 with a triple, a BB, and 2 runs scored. He's been playing every day at SS for the A's since his call up at the end of July, and he's been quite productive, hitting .321/.375/.607 with 2 HR's and a SB across 32 PA's. Perhaps most impressively, he has yet to strike out at the MLB level this season. We shouldn't expect a ton of power from Hernaiz as he hit just 4 HR's in 96 AAA games this season, but his contact rates have been great throughout the minors and he has a miniscule 5.9% SwStr% in his small sample with the A's this year. That should help him hit for a solid average and give him opportunities to score runs and steal bases.
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