That Happened?
The Oakland A’s acquired Shawn Kelley from the Washington Nationals. Kelley had been designated for assignment after an in-game incident in which he threw his glove on the ground and stared into the dugout after giving up a home run in a blowout victory over the Mets. Kelley has always had talent, but gives up too many long balls to stay in high leverage situations. Maybe the A’s can “fix” Kelley like they fixed Blake Treinen . Even if they can’t Kelley could be an interesting pitcher for holds rest of the way.
Kyle Seager went 2-for-4 with two home runs versus the Blue Jays on Sunday. Seager has struggled this year, hitting .228/.78/.405 with 16 home run in 443 plate appearances. For years Seager has been one of the steadiest players in the Majors, but he looks like a player in decline. He will most likely not reach 25 home runs for the first time since 2013 and with his increasing strikeout rate, the average won’t rebound much.
The Astros reinstated Roberto Osuna from the restricted list. Osuna was serving a suspension for domestic violence when he was traded at the deadline for Ken Giles . Osuna will likely not close at first, but he will be the closer at some point, even if it is not until next season.
Aledmys Diaz went 3-for-4 with a home run versus the Mariners on Sunday. Since returning from the DL on June 1st, Diaz has hit .288/.305/.494 with eight home runs and a stolen base. Diaz is playing everyday at shortstop for the Blue Jays right now nd while the offense has been as advertised to start the year, he is an overlooked fantasy option as a middle infielder with good pop.
Jon Gray threw eight one-run innings, striking out seven against the Brewers. Gray has now thrown four consecutive quality starts and is sporting a 1.52 ERA over that span. For all the poor luck Gray was experiencing before getting demoted, he is now getting a ton of luck on batted balls in play. He ha a .162 BABIP over his last four starts and while that can’t sustain, especially in Coors, he isn’t as bad as he showed earlier in the season. He is likely a mid 3’s ERA guy with a strike out an inning rest of the way.
What We’ll Be Watching Today
Kyle Gibson versus Trevor Bauer . Two of my favorite pitchers coming into the season face off. Gibson made in-season adjustments last year to his arm slot and position on the rubber. The adjustments paid off as he has a 3.49 ERA and an 8.67 K/9 over 198.1 innings since this time last year. Bauer also has made adjustments to his repertoire and improved his slider and he has a 2.34 ERA and 11.42 K/9 this season in 153.2 innings.
Zack Godley versus the Phillies. Since July 6th, Godley has a 2.64 ERA and 11.15 k/9 on the strength of his curveball returning to form. The curve has always been the money pitch for Godley and the feel for it eluded him the first few month of the season, but with it back, he could be a stud down the stretch.
Lance Lynn makes his debut (as a starter) as a Yankee. Lynn has been better as of late, but this will be his third start against the White Sox this season and the last one he allowed five runs (four earned) in five shaky innings.
Charlie Morton versus Dereck Rodriguez . Morton will need to step up for the Astros rotation with Lance McCullers hitting the DL with an elbow injury. Rodriguez has been fantastic this year in relief of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija .
Baseball. Lots of baseball.