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Fantasy Baseball Daily Update: 7/31/15

Fantasy Baseball Daily Update: 7/31/15
Max Scherzer added another game to their NL East lead Thursday

Max Scherzer added another game to their NL East lead Thursday

The trade deadline is here and the biggest pitching target on the market will join with the biggest hitting target available, as David Price was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, who recently acquired Troy Tulowitzki. The Tigers will receive prospects, including Daniel Norris, and are still looking to trade Yoenis Cespedes as they “reboot.” This daily update will begin with the best pitcher in baseball throwing another shutout.

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Recap

Max Scherzer shuts out Nationals, earns his 11th win
Scherzer pitched a scoreless appearance for the first time since his no-hitter on June 20 and won his first start in three starts after pitching seven scoreless innings against the Marlins. He only allowed three hits, struck out six batters, induced 11 ground ball outs, and saw his ERA drop to 2.22. The most shocking part of the outing for Scherzer is that he walked three batters, matching his total for the past eight starts. Ryan Zimmermann hit only his sixth home run in his 2-for-4 outing, adding a double for his second and third extra-base hits of the second half. An injury-plagued season has seen his OPS drop to .642 and he only has 21 extra-base hits. Michael Taylor had a hit for his sixth straight game and stole a base. Taylor is a sneaky addition for fantasy owners, as he has nine home runs and 12 steals this season.

Dan Haren allowed only four hits and one run in his six innings pitched, but saw his record drop to 1-5 over his past 10 starts. Haren does have outstanding statistics this season, including a 3.42 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, but the Marlins have not been able to win games for him. He could be seen as an SP4 and has seven quality starts in his past 10 starts. Christian Yelich finished 2-for-4 for his fifth multi-hit game in his past 10 starts and stole his 10th base of the season. Yelich had potential as a 20 home run/20 steal player with an OPS near .800 coming into the season, but only has five home runs, and 17 extra-base hits, this season with a .703 OPS.

Brandon Phillips makes history
Phillips became the first player in MLB history to have four hits, seven RBI, and two steals in a game, finishing 4-for-5 against the Pirates. Phillips has a .253 batting average in July and now has 19 extra-base hits and 13 steals this season. He has been a top-10 2B this season, with 48 runs scored, and has hits in eight of his last 10 games. Marlon Byrd finished 3-for-6 with a double and a home run and three RBI. Byrd has nine extra-base hits in July and seven RBI this month. Jay Bruce was 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI in the 15-5 rout. Bruce has 43 extra-base hits and 59 RBI this season, including 16 extra-base hits and 19 RBI in July, making him a huge candidate for trade today. Bruce has hits in eight of his last ten games and has 10 RBI in the past five games.

A.J. Burnett allowed seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits to the Reds. Burnett has allowed 18 earned runs in his past 16 innings, spanning three starts. His ERA has jumped up to 3.06 and he is now off of the fantasy radar. Andrew McCutchen finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI, bringing his July RBI total to 20. McCutchen also has 10 extra-base hits this month and looks more like the top-five player with his .898 OPS.

Rain, late rally slow Mets
Justin Upton clubbed a three-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Padres an 8-7 win over the Mets on Thursday. Upton finished 1-for-5, but now has home runs in three of his past four games and four home runs and 10 RBI in July. He has struggled to a .172 batting average in July, but Upton is still an OF2 for the rest of the season, especially if he moves to a team with a more dynamic offense today, like the Baltimore Orioles or New York Yankees. Derek Norris finished 5-for-5 with a grand slam and four singles for the Padres. Norris has been a top-10 catcher this season, but only has a .214 batting average in July. These RBI were the first of the month for Norris and his home run was only the second extra base hit.

Curtis Granderson finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, home run, and three RBI. Granderson has become a fantasy target for the back-end of the OF, as he has five extra-base hits in his last five games and has gotten on base in 21 of 23 games started this month. Daniel Murphy was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI for his third multi-hit game of the second half. He has hits in four of his past five games, although he only has a .247 batting average in July. Jeurys Familia blew his fifth save of the season and the All-Star has blown his last three save opportunities. Pressure is firmly on Familia, who has seen his ERA jump from 1.25 to 2.22 in the second half, as the Mets just acquired Tyler Clippard.

Carlos Carrasco shuts down Athletics
Carrasco pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits and one run to the Athletics, and struck out seven batters for his 11th win of the season. Carrasco has a 1.15 WHIP this season and also has a stellar 5.19 K:BB ratio this season. He has allowed five and six runs in his past four starts, but also has six quality starts in his last 10 starts. Carlos Santana finished 1-for-3 with a home run and has home runs in two of his four games. Santana also has a six-game hitting streak and Santana has 31 extra-base hits and seven steals this season.

Josh Reddick has a double in four straight games, finishing 1-for-4 with a RBI. Reddick has had a big week, with five extra-base hits and two steals, and Reddick has hits in nine of his past 10 games. Although he has been more of a platoon player against right-handed pitchers, with a .325/.374/.529 slash line against right-handed pitchers, Reddick is the 21st-ranked OF.

Scott Kazmir and Astros sweep Angels
Kazmir pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings in his second start, marking his second outing with with seven or more shutout innings. Although he did not earn a victory, Kazmir saw his ERA drop to an AL-low 2.10 and he has a 1.04 WHIP. Jason Castro was the walk-off hero, hitting a three-run home run to clinch the sweep. Castro is not worthy of a fantasy roster spot, as he only has 20 extra-base hits and 22 RBI this season. Preston Tucker was 2-for-4 and has hits in six of his past 10 games. Tucker has a .305 batting average and six home runs in July, making him a sneaky candidate for an OF4.

Matt Shoemaker pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits, and striking out seven batters while walking one batter. Shoemaker, who is not known for his strikeouts, has 17 strikeouts in his last two starts in 13 innings pitched. He has pitched back-to-back scoreless appearances, allowing a combined five hits.

What to watch for

The Mets sit three games behind the Nationals and Matt Harvey and Gio Gonzalez will face off in Queens. Harvey has pitched seven innings in each of his past three starts, but has a 3.81 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in July. Gonzalez has a 1.88 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 24 innings in July and has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his past 10 starts. Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, and Clayton Kershaw will also pitch today.

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

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