Mike Trout hit two homers, including a grand slam, to lead the Angels Sunday

A run at history was in play, with the longest scoreless-innings streak within reach. Although the chase for history came up short, there were still events that weighed heavily on deciding fantasy matchups. With all of the outstanding performances on Sunday, this daily update for July 27, 2015 will begin with the best player in baseball making more history.

Recap

Mike Trout hits two home runs, including grand slam
Trout became the youngest player to 30 home runs in a season since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993, as the 23-year-old hit his 30th and 31st home run of the season to lead the Angels past the Rangers. Trout has five home runs and nine RBI in the second half after his 4-for-4 performance on Sunday and now has 11 home runs and 21 RBI this month. Trout leads the American League in home runs (31), runs (75), slugging percentage (.632), and OPS (1.038) and is going to challenge Paul Goldschmidt for the top fantasy player all season. Erick Aybar has also been hot since the All-Star break, finishing 1-for-4 with two RBI against the Rangers, and has seven RBI in the second half. Aybar is hitting .351 in July and has 13 runs and 11 RBI this month, showing that he is worthy of a starting SS position in all formats.

Roughed Odor has been one of the best 2B in fantasy baseball since returning from Triple-A on June 15, slashing .360/.398/.631 coming into Sunday. He continued his hot streak, finishing 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a solo home run, and three RBI, adding to his extra-base hit total of six in four games. He has a 1.105 OPS in July and his 16 runs and 16 RBI make the 21-year-old a must-add in all formats.

Zack Greinke’s shutout streak ends
Greinke lost his scoreless-inning streak at 45 2/3 frames and was saddled with a no-decision after he allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. He had three walks and three strikeouts against the Mets, showing that he did not have his best stuff. Even though he got a no-decision, this was the 19th quality start in 20 appearances for Greinke, who has allowed two or more runs in a start only three times this season.

Jacob deGrom outpitched Greinke, but the Mets bullpen faltered and cost him his 11th win of the season. deGrom allowed only two hits and two walks in 7 2/3 shutout innings and struck out eight. The Mets’ ace has ascended to the third-ranked SP in fantasy baseball and now has a 0.88 WHIP, 2.05 ERA and averages 9.08 strikeouts per nine. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year is a top target in fantasy baseball or DFS games, as he has pitched seven innings or more in eight of his past 10 games and has struck out eight batters or more in seven of his past 10 starts.

David Ortiz breaks out against Tigers
Ortiz finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored, two three-run home runs, and seven RBI to lead the Red Sox on Sunday night. Ortiz, who has an .800 OPS for the season, has six extra-base hits since the All-Star break and 18 RBI in July. Although he is not the 50-home run threat of the past, Ortiz does have 19 dingers this season. His 36 extra-base hits make him worthy of a utility role. Xander Boegarts finished 4-for-5 with two runs scored. He now has six multi-hit games in the second half. Boegarts has a .317 batting average this season, vaulting him into the top-10 of SS, but his lack of power (.417 slugging percentage), plate discipline (16 walks), or speed (four steals) has held him back a bit. Eduardo Rodriguez was dominant for the Red Sox, allowing only one run on three hits in seven innings for his sixth win of the season. Rodriguez has been up and down this year, matching six starts where he has allowed five hits or fewer with three starts where he has allowed six runs or more, but he has a strong 1.19 WHIP and is worthy of being streamed.

Nick Castellanos had a home run for the fourth game in his past six, finishing 1-for-4 in the 11-1 rout. Castellanos has 19 RBI this month and has become a hot target for the remainder of the season with six home runs this month. The Tigers 3B had only four home runs coming into the month, and has a .694 OPS for the season, but his hot streak is worthy of a look in all formats.

Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies club Reds
Gonzalez has been the best player in fantasy baseball over the past week, capped by a 3-for-4 performance with two home runs, four runs scored, and six RBI on Sunday. Gonzalez has five home runs in his past four games and 12 RBI since the All-Star break, seeing his OPS jump to .823. It is a bit premature to say that Gonzalez is an OF2 again, but he has 19 RBI in July, with a 1.223 OPS, and is quickly becoming a good player to have for the fantasy stretch run. Ben Paulsen finished 4-for-5 with a triple, two home runs, and four RBI for the Rockies, seeing his OPS jump to .862. He has been very valuable for fantasy owners, as nineteen of Paulsen’s 48 hits this season have been for extra-bases, and he has eligibility both in the outfield and first base. Nolan Arenado finished 1-for-5 with his 25th home run this season and now has 74 RBI to lead the National League. Arenado has a .906 OPS and 53 extra-base hits this season, but needs to develop better plate discipline, he has only walked 18 times, before he makes the jump to a top-10 player overall.

Jay Bruce finished 3-for-5 with a double, home run, two runs scored, and four RBI to fuel the Reds. Bruce has 14 extra-base hits in July, seeing his .840 OPS in June raise to .998 in July. His OPS has jumped in each month this season, showing that Bruce is an OF3 for the remainder of the season.

Gerrit Cole collects MLB-best 14th win
Cole fired 7 2/3 innings against the Nationals, allowing one run on seven hits, and won his 14th game of the season. Cole is on pace for 23 wins this season and, after a eight-strikeout, no-walk performance, Cole has a strong 4.64 K:BB raio in 132 1/3 innings. He has only walked three batters in 30 innings this month and his WHIP dropped to 1.08, good for ninth in the National League. The Pirates ace is a SP1 now, although he has allowed five hits or more in each of his past six starts.

Joe Ross may not be on the tip of the tongue of fantasy owners, but after allowing three runs in six innings to the Pirates, Ross is worthy of a fantasy roster spot. Stephen Strasburg may be back soon, but as long as Ross has a spot in the Nationals rotation, he should be on the fantasy radar. Ross has 34 strikeouts and has allowed three walks in 32 2/3 innings this season to go with him impressive 0.95 WHIP. Fantasy players have taken notice of Ross, his ownership percentage is up 25%, and he has pitched six innings or more in four of his five starts this season, allowing only one home run.

What to watch for

An American League Central matchup of Edinson Volquez and Cody Anderson in Royals-Indians is the best of the day. Volquez has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his past 10 starts and is 10th in the American League with a 3.15 ERA. Anderson opened his career by allowing one run or fewer in his first four starts, but allowed four runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings against the Brewers in his last appearance. Chris Heston, Lance Lynn, and Robbie Ray will also pitch in today’s small slate of games.

Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.