I hope you enjoyed your Fourth of July and I wanted to inform FA Nation that in lieu of an episode with Nate Miller, this mid-week edition will be in article form. As FA Nation knows, we record on Wednesday nights, and with the holiday being yesterday, posting our content in article form was more feasible. I will highlight a few things that we typically do on the Thursday episodes, including level of concern, do you believe and of course, a streamer or two for the weekend to help you get a good start before the scoring period ends.

LEVEL OF CONCERN

Salvador Pérez , KC C – Over the last seven days, Salvador Pérez is hitting just .167 with a .200 on-base percentage and a .408 OPS. After hitting 20-plus homers each of the past three seasons with a .247 or higher batting average, Perez is projected the rest of the way to barely hit 20 and his .209 batting average isn’t inspiring much confidence. Despite making more hard contact and less soft contact than recent years, Perez’s BABIP is reduced from previous seasons. He gets a longer leash due to the fact that he is one of the premier options at a shallow position, but 2018 is shaping up to be the worst statistical season of his career.

Level of concern: 5/10

George Springer , HOU OF – In the month of June, George Springer hit .190 with a .658 OPS. In 100 June at-bats, he hit just four home runs, drove in eight runs, stole two bases and struck out 22 times. He’s yet to hit over .300 in a month this season, after doing it twice in 2017. He’s on pace for 28 home runs, 78 RBI, 112 runs scored and nine stolen bases, which would be just slightly off his 2017 campaign. Given where you drafted him, it would be great for that batting average to rebound closer to last year’s .283, but he’s going to need to go on a power binge if he wants to get back into the mid-30s again. All in all, I’m not concerned, given the fact that he’s scoring plenty of runs and has a chance to get to double-digit stolen bases.

Level of concern: 2/10

Marcell Ozuna , STL OF – Over the past week, Ozuna is hitting just .130 with nine strikeouts in 23 at-bats. It was a very successful month of June for Ozuna, but he’s slipped into some lengthy dry spots throughout the course of his inaugural season with the Cardinals. Ozuna popped 37 long balls with 124 RBI last year with the Marlins, but through 80 games, he has just 10 home runs with 44 RBI. At his current pace, he’ll end the year with just 19 home runs and 85 RBI. He was the 12th outfielder off the board (via NFBC). It’s going to take a monster second half to reap any rewards at his price back in January, February and March. I’m concerned.

Level of concern: 7.5/10

DO YOU BELIEVE?

Do you believe that Shane Bieber is a SP4 or better the rest of the way?

Yes. He’s earned a spot in the rotation and with Adam Plutko being optioned to Triple-A, it’s Bieber’s spot to lose. He logged 144.1 innings back in 2017, meaning he can probably get up to around 170-180 innings, give or take. He’s around 100 at this point, meaning we still have plenty of time to evaluate the 23-year-old right-hander. His FIP (3.18) is near his ERA (2.97), and he’s not walking batters at all (1.48 BB/9). He’s done a good job getting batters to chase out of the zone and his 12.4% SwStr% (via Fangraphs) is encouraging.

Do you believe that Avisaíl García will beat last season’s .330/.380/.506 with 18 home runs?

Of all those numbers above, I think he could get to that 18 home run threshold. Last season, albeit in 136 games, he homered once every 28.8 at-bats. This season, he’s homering once every 17.9 at-bats, easily the best rate of his career. He needs to avoid a hamstring injury that looks to be potentially worrisome, but if he stays injury-free the rest of the way, 20 home runs is certainly attainable.

Do you believe Robinson Chirinos gets to 20 home runs this season?

No. Chirinos is on pace for 21 home runs, but his AB/HR metric is worse from the last two seasons. In 2016, it was 16.3 at-bats, and that mark improved last season to 15.5. However, it’s since regressed to 18.3 at-bats this season. Sure, line drives and fly balls are up while ground balls are down, and even his hard contact rate is up, but I’m still not buying that he can get to 20+ long balls. He’s never played 100 games in his career and as a catcher at 34 years old, he could start breaking down, due to fatigue, as the season’s end draws nearer.

WEEKEND STREAMERS

Edwin Jackson (Sat @ CLE)

Matt Harvey (Sat @ CHC)