CJ Abrams- SS- WAS- Hot- Abrams went 3-for-5 with 2 homers yesterday. He has broken out this year and is slashing .297/.367/.573 with a career-high 27 homers, 66 runs, 82 RBI, and 17 steals. Abrams has been helping in all kinds of categories. He is overperforming, with a .262 xBA and .467 xSLG heading into yesterday. That's closer to the preseason projections of a .254 AVG and .448 SLG. Abrams has already surpassed his projected 23 homers and is on pace to come close to his 31 steals. He could end up in the 30/30 club but may not keep his AVG where it is now. There has been talk of Abrams being a trade target as the deadline approaches and if that happens it could impact his production over the last two months of the season.
Ryan Jeffers- C- MIN- FYI- With Shea Langeliers possibly out for the rest of the year, Jeffers goes to the top of the list of possibly available catchers. He has been increasing his value by hitting safely in 11 of his last 12 games, including a 3-for-5 effort yesterday. Jeffers is slashing .293/.395/.535 with 9 homers, 29 runs, and 35 RBI in 185 PAs. His 90.4 EV and 42.3% are in line with his career numbers. Jeffers has excellent plate discipline. He has a 23.0% chase rate and 6.0% SwStr%. Jeffers has a 14.1% BB%, which feeds his OBP, and a 16.8% K%. His road numbers are slightly better than his home results. Jeffers could get a boost from changing teams.
Connelly Early- P- BOS- Trade- A trade between contenders lands Early in DC with the Nationals. He is expected to return from elbow inflammation that landed him on the IL next month. Early overperformed a bit before the injury, with a 3.44 ERA and 4.61 FIP. He is still an upgrade for the Washington rotation. Early does miss some bats, with a 9.13 K/9. The park factors for Nationals Park and Fenway Park are almost identical this year, so don't expect to see much impact from changing home addresses.
Curtis Mead- 1B- WAS- Trade- Mead was dealt to the Red Sox. He was enjoying a breakout season with Washington, slashing .254/.352/.500 with 17 homers in 327 PAs. Mead has an xBA of .260 and xSLG of .458, which is still in the 77th percentile. He has a Chase% of 25.2 (77th percentile) and Whiff % of 17.8 (84th percentile) so he has impressive plate discipline. Mead's defense is not as good as what Boston has at 1B and 3B, so he will likely end up seeing time at DH. The Green Monster will be inviting for him as he is mostly a pull hitter.
Francisco Lindor- SS- NYM- Stats- Lindor has underperformed this year. That's not a surprising statement given that he is currently slashing .223/.308/.378 with 6 homers in 211 PAs. Before yesterday's 1-for-5 effort Lindor had a .254 xBA and .438 xSLG. His 91.9 EV and 49.0% HardHit% are career highs. It looked like some regression was happening last week when Lindor had 2 multiple hit games and went 8-for- 15 with 2 doubles and a homer from Sunday through Wednesday. In Lindor's 3 games since then he has only one hit, a single yesterday. He still remains a candidate to finish hot and has had a tendency to perform better in the second half than the first. The Mets are sellers, but while Lindor's name has been mentioned as potentially available, the logistics of a trade would be hard to accomplish.
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