Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”

After undergoing an MRI on his injured foot, Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the bridge of his foot. This likely pushes his timetable back a few weeks, if not longer. With Doolittle out, Kelvin Herrera increases his value as the interim closer and it would not be surprising to see the Nationals go after some more bullpen help at the trade deadline. 

The Cincinnati Reds will be moving to a six man rotation for the time being. With Homer Bailey coming off of the DL, the Reds will add an extra man to the rotation until their are able to trade Matt Harvey which is expected before trade deadline at the end of the month. This is good news for Sal Romano , who was likely the odd man out.

Walker Buehler will be recalled on Wednesday to start for the Dodgers against the Phillies in Philadelphia. Buehler was demoted prior to the All-Star Break in a move to closely monitor him and his workload. Buehler has a fantastic future, possibly as a #1 starter, but will likely face some sort of innings restriction down the stretch this season. That could come in the bullpen or shut being shut down, but the Dodgers are not going to risk his arm long term.

According to Fantasy Alam’s own Jim Bowden, the Houston Astros are “all-in” on free-agent to be Zach Britton . The Astros are likely looking to add some bullpen help with Ken Giles having struggled this season and Britton would be a nice get. There are multiple teams interested in Britton, so it is not a forgone conclusion that the Astros will make a deal, but it is the best way to improve their stacked team. The Orioles will likely move a number of pieces including Brad Brach , which should put Mychal Givens as the de facto closer if both Brach and Britton get moved.

That Happened?!?

The Kansas City Royals acquired Brian Goodwin from the Washington Nationals on Sunday for Jacob Condra-Bogan. Condra-Bogan is a non prospect, but Goodwin could pay regularly for the awful Kansas City Royals. Goodwin has good power and plus speed, so if he can get enough playing time, he could make a fantasy impact.

Vince Velásquez threw seven scoreless innings versus the Padres striking out seven. This was good Velasquez, but while he can be a dominant pitcher, he also can be completely disastrous in other outings and they are hard to predict when those blow ups are coming.

Rougned Odor went 3-for-3 with a home run in the win over the Indians on Sunday. While he started off slow this season, Odor is now hitting .330/.398/.560 with six home runs and seven stolen bases over last six weeks. Odor has a ton of potential, but he has a low floor that we have seen up close and personal in the last year and a half.

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Zach Eflin returns from the DL after suffering a blister during his last start before the All-Star Break. He has been very good this year with his added velocity,  posting a 3.15 ERA and a 24% strikeout rate in 68.2 innings pitched.

Eric Lauer versus Jacob deGrom . While deGrom is the headliner, Lauer has been pretty good this season and is facing a Mets offense that is truly atrocious versus left-handed pitching. Lauer is a nice sneaky DFS play.

Khris Davis versus Cole Hamels . crushed two home runs versus the Giants on Sunday in their 10 inning victory. Davis’ second shot tied the game in the eighth and gave him 23 bombs on the season. The home runs have been only his second and third over the last month, but he has been picking up his average and on base percentage during this time. If he can keep the gains in contact with the power, we could be looking at a big second half for Davis. Hamels is likely to be a hot name in trade talks with the Rangers tanking this season, so a big performance versus a good A’s team would increase his value on the market.

Adalberto Mejia has been recalled by the Twins to start today versus the Blue Jays. Meija has started once in the Majors this season and it did not go well, but he has been much better in AAA this season, sporting a 3.32 ERA with almost a strikeout an inning.

Baseball. Lots of baseball.