Ryan Howard (1B-PHI) – Howard was forced out of Sunday’s game in the first inning after injuring his ankle sliding into second base. X-rays were negative, so Howard is listed as day-to-day. It sounds like he’ll miss a few days, so if you are setting your lineup for the entire week and have a decent backup 1B/CI, slide him in there. Howard entered Sunday’s action in an 0-for-13 slump, so maybe a couple days off will help clear his head. Howard is batting a relatively disappointing .292/.355/.528 on the season and barring a miracle finish, he’s going to fall short of a fifth straight year of 45+ homers. Something tells me that $25 million a year salary is going to be a payroll burden in the near future.
Adam Wainwright (SP-STL) – Wainwright put his forgettable start (5 IP, 6 ER vs. the Mets) last time out behind him, holding the Pirates to one run over seven solid innings to improve to 15-6 on Sunday. It helps that it was the Pirates, but Wainwright can do this against the best of teams. For the year, Wanwright’s ERA sits at 2.19 with a sparkling 147:39 K:BB in 160.1 innings. He could be in line for 11 more starts the rest of the way, which would put him near 240 innings for the year. Considering he’s a solid 6’7” and he recorded 233 innings last year, that’s not a concern. Interestingly, Wainwright will battle Josh Johnson in his next start, and it would surprise no one should the pair finish 1-2 in the NL Cy Young race.
Dexter Fowler (OF-COL) – Fowler was diagnosed with bruised ribs and a bruised left hip after crashing into the outfield wall on Sunday. He should be considered day-to-day for now, but there could also be a DL stint in his future. Tough break for Fowler, who was 2-for-4 on Sunday and 10-for-20 with two doubles and a HR on his last four games. Fowler has his battling line up to .239/.351/.387 with 11 steals and three home runs in 238 at-bats. Fowler’s contact rate is a bit low at 73.1%, but he does have a 14.2% BB%. Once the 24 year-old starts making better contact he could find himself among the best leadoff men in the game. Fowler’s ceiling may be 15 homers, but it’s tempting to look at his slight 6’4” frame and project how he’ll look after two more years of weight training and big league conditioning.
Jose Reyes (SS-NYM) – Reyes posted a very good June, batting .314/.360/.533 with five homers and seven stolen bases. He had just one of each in 71 July at-bats however, and when you dig deeper, Reyes has really been a shell of his former self. Reyes was a hacker when he first came up, posting a 0.35 EYE in his first full big league season, but that grew to 0.65 the next year and subsequently fell in the 0.81-0.99 range in each of the three following years. This year, it’s back down to 0.46. Power? Reyes’ ISO sits at .138, down from a peak of .187 five years ago, though up 22 points over last year. He’s on pace for 30-35 stolen bases, which is fine for most guys, but this is a guy who once swiped 78 and for which 100+ looked reachable. Reyes is still just 27, and a strong finish wouldn’t be a shock, but a myriad of leg issues means we’ve likely seen his peak seasons.
Blake DeWitt (2B-CHC) – DeWitt was reportedly shocked and disappointed about Saturday’s deal sending him from the Dodgers to the Cubs. To DeWitt’s credit, he made his Cubs debut Sunday and went 3-for-4 with a double and RBI hitting eighth. DeWitt’s power isn’t there just yet, but there is value in a .277/.357/.381 batting line. The Cubs had Tyler Colvin (.325 OBP) leading off Sunday with Starlin Castro (.351 OBP) batting second. A better lineup construction would be to have Castro leading off and DeWitt hitting second in front of the underperforming Derrek Lee. DeWitt showed 15 HR power as a rookie in 2008 (nine in 368 at-bats), so it’s not a stretch to think he can be a 15-20 HR guy in Wrigley Field. Perhaps in a year or two.
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