Sonny Gray completed a strong finish to the first half Sunday
The first half of the 2015 season is now over and it ended on a high note. There was a three home run game, a top pitcher with a complete game shutout, and an exciting walkoff to end the first half. This daily update for July 13, 2015 will begin with that three home run game, a first at home in the more than 40-year history of the team.
Recap
Kirk Nieuwenhuis hits three home runs for Mets
Nieuwenhuis drilled three home runs for the Mets on Sunday, a huge surprise ending to the first half. The multi-hit game was the first of the season for the Mets OF and his first since September 25, 2014. He only had one extra-base hit since returning to the Mets. Nieuwenhuis could see more action if Juan Lagares misses time with a calf injury, but this outing is unlikely to spur a power surge, as Nieuwenheis only has 16 home runs in 559 career at-bats. Even with this outstanding outing, the 27-year-old only has a .564 OPS this season with 28 strikeouts to seven walks. The only good thing for those taking a chance on Nieuwenheis is that eight of his 10 hits this season have been for extra bases.
Paul Goldschmidt clubbed his 21st home run of the season to keep the Diamondbacks close and finished the first half with a 1.064 OPS. His 42 extra-base hits, .340 batting average, and 16 steals make Goldschmidt the top fantasy player of the first half, although he only has a .237 batting average thus far in July with four extra-base hits.
Sonny Gray outduels Corey Kluber
Gray finished the first half with a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits to the Indians while lowering his season ERA to 2.04. Gray finished the first half as the fourth-ranked SP in fantasy baseball and has four scoreless outings in his previous 10 starts. He had a bit of a rough spell over the past three starts, allowing at least three runs in each start, but dominated the Indians, allowing only one walk while striking out six batters. The Athletics ace has a 0.96 WHIP and 3.6 K:BB ratio this season while posting a .198 opponent’s batting average and allowing only five home runs in 123 2/3 innings. Advanced statistics have Gray with his statistics inflated with a 79% strand rate and .249 batting average on balls in play supporting that case. Gray does still have a strong 55.6% ground ball ratio and his low batting average on balls in play and strand rate should be associated with his good job at limiting hard contact, at 21.6% for the season.
Kluber lost for the 10th time this season and yet again had his offense let him down after an eight-inning performance in which he allowed two runs and dropped his season ERA to 3.38. Kluber is 4-10 with a 1.11 WHIP, 5.5 K:BB ratio, and has pitched at least seven innings in eight of his last 10 starts. The reigning Cy Young Award winner has allowed five hits or fewer in four of his past six starts. He allowed four to the Athletics on Sunday, and has averaged 10.40 strikeouts per nine this season. Seven of Kluber’s past 10 starts have been quality, and he has three double-digit strikeout performances since May 28. Even with such a poor record, Kluber has still been a top-25 SP this season, as he has been terribly unlucky. His FIP for the season is 2.51, mainly because the 29-year-old has stranded 71.4% of batters and has a .327 batting average on balls in play. Kluber is a top-10 SP and should be valued as a SP1.
Max Scherzer ends his first half on a high note against the Orioles
Scherzer nearly pitched his third complete game in six starts, allowing two runs to the Orioles in 8 2/3 innings and scattering four hits without a walk. Scherzer is the top SP in baseball and finished the first half with a 0.78 WHIP and 2.11 ERA, posting an insane 10.71 K:BB ratio. The Nationals ace has not walked a batter since June 9 and has struck out seven or more batters in seven of his past 10 starts. He had a rough start against the Reds last Monday, but Scherzer’s .185 opponent’s batting average translates for the rest of the season. Scherzer’s batting average on balls in play has dropped from .315 in 2014 to .242 in 2015 and his ground ball percentage is at a career-worst 33.5%, but his drop in walk rate to 0.95 per nine has made his FIP (2.20) close to his 2.11 ERA. Although his ground ball percentage is a career-worst, he has the second-lowest hard hit ball percentage of his career, 26.8%. He is the top SP and, unless you can get a lot for him, hold him for the stretch run.
Adam Jones had two solo home runs for the two Orioles runs off of Scherzer and has three home runs in his past three games. Jones has four home runs this month and has also added five doubles and six RBI to move into the top-20 of OF this season. He has not hit for contact since returning from a shoulder injury, but his past six hits have all been for extra bases.
Blue Jays and Royals have slugfest to end first half
The Blue Jays nearly came back from a 7-0 deficit, but still fell 11-10 to the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Jose Reyes was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI for his second straight three-hit game. Reyes has an eight-game hitting streak and has had five multi-hit games in the month of July. His batting average has risen from .267 to .283 this month and Reyes should be seen as a top-10 middle infielder for the rest of the season in a strong Blue Jays lineup. Devon Travis had a 2-for-5 outing to cap the first half and has a .379 batting average since returning from the disabled list on June 26. Travis is a top-five 2B for the second half, as he has a .304 batting average this season and is in a Blue Jays lineup that will produce runs. Danny Valencia was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Blue Jays and can provide cheap offense for fantasy owners. Valencia has a .857 OPS in 137 at-bats this season and now has 19 extra-base hits, posting five RBI over the past two games.
Lorenzo Cain, Omar Infante, and Eric Hosmer were the heroes for the AL Central leaders on Sunday afternoon. Both Cain and Infante had three hits for the Royals and each scored two runs for the reigning AL Champions. Cain had a double and RBI, finishing with a .864 OPS for the first half and capping the first half as the seventh-ranked OF. The Royals outfielder has seven extra-base hits and nine RBI this month, scoring 10 runs as the leadoff hitter in the Royals lineup. Infante has been a huge disappointment for fantasy owners that trusted the veteran, as his 3-for-4 outing with a double capped a first half where he had a .555 OPS. Infante is hitting .236 with only five walks and one steal, but does have 19 extra-base hits and scored seven runs this month. Hosmer finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Royals and was 6-for-12 against the Blue Jays this weekend. Hosmer has 27 extra-base hits and a .786 OPS this season, making him a top-15 1B, and his .352 OBP makes him a worthy fantasy target.
Pirates walk off a winner against the Cardinals to close the first half
Gregory Polanco finished an up and down first half with a 3-for-4 performance, including a walk-off single, and had two RBI for the Pirates. Polanco has 17 steals, 21 extra-base hits, and 40 runs scored for the Pirates, but also only has a .653 OPS and .315 OBP through 84 games. His issues with plate discipline are well known, but he still has the potential for more than 45 extra-base hits and 30 steals this season. The talented 23-year-old has hits in six of his past seven games to end the first half and has a .262 batting average to open July, even walking 10 times. He is much better than his 45th ranking as an OF and should be seen as a bounce-back candidate for the second half.
Trevor Rosenthal was drilled and lost the game for the Cardinals. The Cardinals closer only has a 3.00 K:BB ratio this season and has allowed four runs in his last two appearances against the Pirates. Rosenthal was 26-for-27 in save opportunities with a 0.86 ERA coming into the game and is still a top option at closer for fantasy owners.
Randall Grichuk and Jhonny Peralta were solid for the Cardinals in a losing effort. Grichuk had three hits for the second straight game and has a six-game hitting streak with four extra-base hits and three RBI. Peralta has three straight multi-hit games and his home run against the Pirates was his second of the month, adding six RBI in July as well.
What to watch for
The All-Star break begins today with Anthony Rizzo, Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Manny Machado, Todd Frazier, and Josh Donaldson aiming for the Ohio River behind Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The All-Star Game itself is Tuesday and since the game has counted for home-field advantage in the World Series since 2003, the American League has won nine of 12 games.
Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.
