Sunday, July 30, 2017

Leonys Martin homers in his Seattle return

Leonys Martin hit a Seth Lugo pitch for a solo home run over the right center field wall in his first at-bat since being recalled to the Majors in Seattle's 9-1 win over the New York Mets on Sunday.  Martin also singled and struck out twice.

Fantasy Implications: Martin was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday when Mitch Haniger was placed on the 10-day disabled list. The 29-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment on April 23 after slashing a poor .111/.172/.130 in his first 58 plate appearances, and outrighted to Tacoma after he cleared waivers on April 27. There Martin hit well (.312/.352/.506) with 24 stolen bases. He is not likely to add much fantasy value before Haniger returns.  If Martin is to contribute, it will be in the steals department. 

James Paxton earns another win in July

James Paxton continued his dominance Sunday recording his sixth win of the month in Seattle's 9-1 win over the New York Mets. The 28-year-old left-hander allowed no runs, on six hits and zero walks while striking out eight in six innings of work. He was relieved in the seventh inning by Emilio Pagan. 

Fantasy Implications: Paxton (11-3) is the first pitcher in Seattle franchise history to register six wins in July. In the six wins, the undisputed ace of the Mariners staff pitched 39.1 innings with an outstanding 1.38 ERA, .079 WHIP and a 46/6 K/BB ratio. His next scheduled start is on the road Friday in Kansas City against a hot Royals team that has won 10 of its last 11 games. Fantasy owners should regardless continue to play Paxton with confidence.        

Matt Davidson hits game-winning home run

Matt Davidson lined a two-run walk-off home run to center field off Cleveland reliever Bryan Shaw to propel the White Sox to a 3-1 victory over the Indians on Sunday.

Fantasy Implications: Davidson has now slugged 21homers this season in 86 games. He will most likely be a regular in the lineup following the trade of Todd Frazier to the Yankees.  Although the 26-year-old corner infielder's power is enticing, there is still a lot of swing-and-miss to his game.  Because of his meager .236 batting average and high 42 percent strike out rate, Davidson should be avoided to most risk-averse fantasy owners.

Steve Pearce hits walk-off grand slam

Steve Pearce smashed a walk-off game winning grand slam to left field to complete a ferocious seven-run ninth inning rally in Toronto's 11-10 victory over the Angels on Sunday.

Fantasy Implications: It was Pearce’s second walk-off grand slam this week, the first coming on Thursday night against Oakland. He is in the midst of another productive season, hitting .267 with an OPS of .781 following Sunday's victory.  The 34 year-old now has 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 60 games this campaign. Though his playing time has increased lately, he occasionally loses starts to Ezequiel Carrera in the outfield.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Robinson Cano goes hitless Saturday against New York

Robinson Cano went hitless (0-for-4) Saturday in Seattle's win against the Mets. He struck out once and stranded one base runner.
Fantasy Impact: Cano has struggled in July with the bat and with the glove. In the 29 games he has played this month, he is 18-for-90 (.200 AVG) with only seven extra-base hits (two doubles and three home runs), while committing five errors. With an unusually low BABIP (.262) and good contact rate, look for the veteran second-baseman to turn things around soon.

Yovani Gallardo earns fifth win of season against the Mets

Yovani Gallardo allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out two through 5.2 innings Saturday to earn his fifth win of the season against New York.
Fantasy Impact: Gallardo (5-7) making his second start since being reinserted from the bullpen into the starting rotation, danced in and out of trouble, leaving a couple of base runners in the fifth and sixth innings before being pulled in favor of reliever Tony Zych. His 5.34 ERA and 1.47 WHIP make him a risky play in fantasy lineups. Gallardo's next start is scheduled for Thursday against the Royals

Aaron Altherr is in starting lineup

Aaron Altherr is in the starting lineup batting second for Saturday's game against the Braves.

Fantasy implications: Altherr was slashing .370/.452/.704 in 10 July games prior to landing on the 10-day DL with a strained hamstring. After being activated on July 26, the right-fielder has  continued to yield a hot bat going 4-for-8 with two home runs, two RBIs and one walk in two games. He should see more playing time now that Howie Kendrick was traded to the Washington.