Adrian Beltre hit for the cycle for the third time in his career Monday
As the season has progressed, every day it seems that there is a player chasing a historical feat. There was another that reached a memorable plateau, although it was a bit more common for him than almost any other player in baseball history. This daily update for August 4, 2015 will begin with a cycle in Arlington, TX.
Recap
Adrian Beltre hits for cycle for third time
Beltre finished 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI, hitting for the cycle in the Rangers’ 12-9 win over the Astros. This is the third cycle of Beltre’s career, a rare distinction that he shares only with John Reilly, Bob Meusel, and Babe Herman, who last accomplished the feat in 1933. Beltre has had a massive start to August, with four extra-base hits and a 7-for-13 mark to open the month, as he looks to regain value after not posting an OPS over .768 in any month this season. Prince Fielder had his second multi-hit game in three, finishing 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI against Houston. Fielder has a .330 batting average this season, second in the American League, and has a 6-for-14 start to August. Colby Lewis allowed seven runs on 10 hits in six innings on Monday, but still won his 12th game of the season, good for fourth in the American League. Although Lewis has a 4.68 ERA and .265 batting average against, his 12 wins and 1.21 WHIP are very solid, with the Rangers’ offense making him a good option at the back-end of a fantasy rotation.
Carlos Correa now has an eight-game hitting streak, as he finished 1-for-5 with a home run and two RBI for the Astros. Correa fills every category for fantasy owners and now has five home runs in his last seven games while moving his batting average closer to .300. Jason Castro saw his hit streak move to seven games, as he clubbed a grand slam and had a double in his 2-for-4 performance. Castro is quickly gaining value, as he has home runs in three of his past four starts for the Astros and has 10 RBI in the past four games as well. Luis Valbuena hit his 20th home run of the season, and first since June 23, as a part of his third multi-hit game in his past four. His home runs are very valuable, but Valbuena provides very little else to fantasy owners with his .206 batting average.
David Price dominates in Blue Jay debut
Price was masterful in eight innings of work in his Blue Jay debut, allowing only one run on three hits while walking two batters and striking out 11. Price had lost his previous two outings, but was dominant in lowering his ERA to 2.45, WHIP to 1.07, and notching his 15th outing in his 22 starts this season where he allowed two runs or fewer. He has had double-digit strikeouts four times this season and is a sure-fire SP1 and top-five pitcher. Troy Tulowitzki has yet to lose a game that he has started for the Blue Jays, 5-0, and finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored for Toronto. The second-ranked SS in baseball has a .350 batting average in 20 at-bats with the Blue Jays and has scored eight runs since becoming the lead-off hitter for baseball’s top offense. Josh Donaldson continued his march to the AL MVP with a 2-for-4 outing including his 27th home run of the season. Donaldson now has 77 RBI and 74 runs scored this season, good for first and third in the American League respectively, and has a .916 OPS.
Ervin Santana pitched a quality start for the Twins, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings on Monday afternoon. Santana has pitched 39 1/3 innings this season and has a 1.22 WHIP and 3.89 ERA, good enough for a SP4 on a playoff chasing team. Torii Hunter finished 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk for the Twins. Hunter has come out of nowhere this season to hit 17 home runs and knock in 56 runs, providing power for the Twins and fantasy owners alike.
Mets bats break out as NY claims sole possession of 1st
Yoenis Cespedes had his breakout game for the Mets since being acquired at the trade deadline, totaling three doubles and four RBI in his 3-for-5 outing. Cespedes has scored a run in each of his last two games, including scoring twice yesterday, and has hits in seven of his past 10. Between the Tigers and Mets, Cespedes has 31 doubles and 51 extra-base hits, making him an OF2 this season. Curtis Granderson continued his hot streak, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI from the lead-off spot. Granderson has seen his OPS inch closer to .800 (.796) and has 38 extra-base hits and 57 runs this season. Michael Conforto hit his first career MLB home run as a part of his 2-for-4 outing with three runs scored and three RBI. Conforto has six hits in seven games with the Mets, but has scored eight runs during his young MLB career. Bartolo Colon won his 10th game of the season, allowing one run on seven hits in eight innings for the Mets. Colon has a 4.72 ERA and .286 batting average against this season, but his microscopic walk rate of 0.99 per nine has kept his WHIP at 1.27.
Christian Yelich finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a RBI as the lone bright spot for the Marlins in a 12-1 loss. Yelich has underwhelmed this season and the two doubles mark the first time this season that he has had two extra-base hits in a game.
Corey Kluber’s frustrating 2015 season continues
Kluber allowed five runs on 10 hits on Monday, his second start in the last three where he allowed five runs or more. There are plenty of reasons that Kluber can be seen as a top pitcher, chiefly his 1.12 WHIP and American League-leading 162 2/3 innings and 176 strikeouts, but his record dropped to 6-12 on the season. He has matched dominant starts with disappointment recently, as he has allowed seven hits or more in three of his past four outings. Michael Brantley was 2-for-4 with a RBI and has hits in nine of his past 10 games. Brantley has a .302 batting average and 30 doubles this season and still has an outside chance at 15 home runs and 20 or more steals, as he currently has eight home runs and 11 steals. Yan Gomes finished 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in a losing effort. He has three home runs since the All-Star break. Gomes has struggled to a .622 OPS this season, but he has hits in seven of his past 10 games.
Garrett Richards allowed four runs in seven innings, but only allowed four hits and had 11 strikeouts for the Angels. This marks the second time that Richards has posted double-digit strikeouts this season, but also the fourth time in five starts that Richards has allowed three runs or more. He is a fringe top-25 pitcher this season, especially if he can strikeout batters closer to his 8.75 per nine rate from 2014. Kole Calhoun finished 2-for-4 with a RBI for his third multi-hit game in his past four. Calhoun has been a top-25 OF this season and has 33 extra-base hits and a .281 batting average. He had a .915 OPS in July.
Felix Hernandez not amazing, but pulls off W
Hernandez allowed four runs on 11 hits, the third time in six starts that he allowed 10 hits or more, but won his 13th game of the season. Hernandez struck out nine batters, only walking one, but saw his ERA jump to 3.13 while his opponent’s batting average is at .234. He had a run of five straight quality starts snapped by allowing seven runs in his last start, but has walked one batter in each of his past three starts while striking out seven or more. The Mariners ace is the 13th-ranked SP this season, but has not been consistent. Kyle Seager was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double, a home run, and a steal in the 8-7 victory for Seattle. These were the first extra-base hits in the last 10 games for Seager, but he has been solid with 39 extra-base hits this season and a .775 OPS. Seager ended July with a .804 OPS, and the 8th-ranked 3B had eight doubles last month. Robinson Cano was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Cano had a huge July, hitting for a .337/.398/.622 line with seven home runs and 18 RBI, and has regained value as a top-five 2B. Nelson Cruz finished 3-for-4 with his 30th home run of the season and has home runs in four straight games. Cruz has nine home runs in his past 14 games and his batting average sits at a career-best .321.
Charlie Blackmon had the only extra-base hit off of Hernandez, a first inning double, and finished 4-for-6 with two doubles and a run scored. Blackmon is the third-ranked OF in fantasy baseball, as he has 29 steals, 39 extra-base hits, and 64 runs scored this season to go with a .837 OPS. Jose Reyes had his first multi-hit game with the Rockies, finishing 2-for-5 with two RBI, and stole his second base since being traded to Colorado. Reyes has hits in three of his five games with the Rockies and his 18 steals and .279 batting average have made him a top-five SS this season.
What to watch for
The best matchup of the evening sees AL Cy Young candidates Chris Sale and Chris Archer facing off in White Sox/Rays. Archer has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts but also allowed five and nine earned runs within his last six starts. Sale allowed seven earned runs in his last start, but has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his past 10 appearances. Shelby Miller, Max Scherzer, and Jake Arrieta will also pitch today.
Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.
