Philadelphia placed a waiver claim on Justin Bour and then traded a minor league pitcher to add him to the roster. On the surface, it seems like a sideways move since they signed Carlos Santana in the off-season. But, Bour carries some big numbers against the Braves, who the Phillies will face seven times the last 11 games of the season. Bour’s hit a combined .328489/.746 against the present Braves staff with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 90 plate appearances (67 at-bats).

Plus, Santana’s only slashing .209/.362/.387 against right handed pitching this year but hitting .241 against southpaws with five home runs in 116 at-bats. Bour’s line against right-handed pitchers of .241/.360/.475 with 17 home runs in 257 at-bats (HR every 15.11). Here’s Bour’s spray chart from this season including all hits and field outs on line drives along with fly balls:

It may or not work out, but it’s refreshing to see the Phillies going for it as things tighten up in the National League East.

 

Night Moves

A moment of silence for Mike Trout owners. His sore wrist landed him on the disabled list. He cannot be fully backdated, so Trout can return on August 16th if healthy enough to return. Plan accordingly.

Carlos Correa owners can move him back to the active lineup. He’s been reactivated and will hit third tonight in Houston. He last played on June 25th for the Astros.

Adam Jones will be shifting to right field the rest of the season. Baltimore promoted Cedric Mullins from Triple-A and will play him in center field the rest of the season. Mullins missed some recent games due to illness, but produced a .288/.346/.465 slash line with 76 runs, 11 home runs, 46 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 108 games. For those seeking steals, Mullins was only caught stealing once this year at Triple-A in his 22 attempts. Danny Valencia has been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Mullins.

Two injured players on different paths to return. Tommy Pham took batting practice this afternoon and hopes to ramp up his rehab soon. However, Aaron Judge reported he’s on track in recovery from his wrist fracture, but will not swing a bat for the next couple of days and has not set timetable for a return yet.

Miami placed Kyle Barraclough on the 10-day disabled list with lower back stiffness. They recalled Drew Rucinski and selected the contract of Rafael Ortega from Triple-A New Orleans to fill out the roster.

J.P. Crawford also returns to the Phillies and could take at-bats away from Scott Kingery going forward or be a late inning defensive replacement for Asdrubal Cabrera .

More fallout from the Brewers bullpen implosion from Thursday. Joakim Soria landed on the disabled list with a right thigh strain. A struggling bullpen loses an arm while trying to weather the storm. On a side note, Milwaukee will start their power hitting infield tonight with Jonathan Schoop at shortstop, Travis Shaw at second and Mike Moustakas at third.

It feels like a lost season for Domingo Santana , but he’s on fire at Triple-A. Santana’s .317 his last 11 games with six runs, three doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and owns a 1.055 on-base plus slugging with five homers his last 21 games.

Rotation news for the Mets. Steven Matz will throw a simulated game on Saturday and could pitch in next Thursday’s doubleheader against the Phillies. Manager Mickey Callaway also stated the Mets could move to a six-man rotation to keep Corey Oswalt around when Matz returns.

Kenley Jansen officially landed on the disabled list due to his irregular heartbeat. He could miss up to a month and potentially longer depending on how he responds to treatment. Scott Alexander notched the save Thursday night in his stead, but an interesting arm to track for saves going forward according to the team’s beat writer:

 


That Just Happened

Just another day at the office for Kyle Hendricks . He allowed a run in first inning, his 22nd earned run in 24 starts for an 8.25 first inning ERA. Hendricks ERA the rest of his innings, a much more palatable 3.14 spanning 114.2 innings. Although he did not factor in the decision, Hendricks did turn in a quality start.

Save number nine for Pedro Strop working around his own error with a scoreless ninth inning and a strikeout. Strop’s recorded a save in each of his past six appearances and converted seven of eight save chances dating back to July 19th.

Rookie Juan Soto continues to produce going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Through 71 games this year, Soto’s scored 50 runs with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, two stolen bases and a .309/.428/.553 slash line. More impressive, his 51 walks against 54 strikeouts.

Daniel Murphy tallied three hits in four at-bats with a double and a run scored. He’s hitting .333 in August through 33 at-bats but it’s a bit empty with only three runs, three doubles and an RBI.

 

What To Watch For

Turmoil in the Brewers bullpen could lead to a committee. If Milwaukee leads tonight in the ninth, look for Jeremy Jeffress or Josh Hader to get the save chance. Good news, Christian Yelich has hit .403 (50-for-124) the last 29 games with seven home runs and 25 RBI.

Same goes for the Rockies with both Seung-Hwan Oh and Wade Davis serving up home runs on Thursday. Adam Ottavino should get the next save chance, but Colorado has $50 million reasons to keep Davis as the closer in spite of his second half 13.50 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in 8.2 innings since the start of the second half.

Aaron Hicks continues to surge with a .304/.459/.609 slash line his last 14 games with four home runs and nine RBI. Giancarlo Stanton ’s also wielding a hot bat homering in three straight has hit four in 21 past at-bats against Mike Minor .

Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell makes his second start since returning from the disabled list and the team plans to stretch him out to 75 pitches in Toronto.

Kevin Gausman makes his home debut for the Braves against the Brewers. Carlos Rodon looks to stay hot in a tough match-up versus the Indians and Jacob Nix makes his major league debut for the Padres at home facing the Phillies.

Be sure to check back in the morning for Fantasy Alarm’s Round Up to stay ahead of your competition.

 

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com

BaseballSavant.com

Baseball-Reference.com

MiLB.com