Zach Britton (RP-BAL): Zach Britton pitched a 1-2-3 9th on Thursday to pick up his first career save. Even though Tommy Hunter warmed in the pen, Buck Showalter let Britton finish the job against two right-handed batters, a significant sign that Britton may have seized the closer's job. While Britton has been somewhat fortunate with a .81 ERA/3.07 xFIP, he has induced plenty of weak contact with an incredible 83.9% groundball rate and a miniscule 10% linedrive rate. With an 18% K-rate and a fastball that averages 94 MPH, Britton has the goods to keep the job. While I advise Hunter owners to hold until we receive official word, I'd pick Britton up immediately in all formats.
Mike Trout (OF-LAA): Mike Trout broke out of his slump in a big way last night, hitting a 3-run walk off homer off of Brad Boxberger (who took over for a dreadful Grant Balfour). Trout did add 2 more strikeouts to move his league-leading total to 52, good for a 28.1% K-rate. Many have noted Trout's growing passiveness--not only does he frequently leave the bat haplessly on his shoulders in looking at strike one, but he has increasingly done so while looking at strike three. Interestingly, we are seeing him swing and miss in the zone 2% more as well (now league average 8.4% swstr rate). Trout is going to have to make some adjustments to cut down on the strikeouts, most noticeably, getting more aggressive early in the count. If anyone in your league is worried he won't adjust, pounce.
Jesus Aguilar (1B/DH-CLE): The Indians called up Jesus Aguilar, who went 0 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout in his MLB debut. With the injuries plaguing the Indians offense, Aguilar should see significant playing time for the next couple of weeks and makes for an intriguing add in AL-Only and deep (14-teams or more) mixed leagues. Aguilar posted a .298/.395/.519 line with 7 homers and a 20:31 BB:K ratio through 37 games in the International League. Aguilar has posted OPS's in the .800-range the past few seasons in the upper minors and has some pop in his bat, especially when facing lefties.
J.A. Happ (SP-TOR): J.A. Happ tossed 6 quality innings of his own to outpitch Danny Salazar and pick up the win. Happ allowed 1 earned run on 6 hits and 2 walks across 6 innings and added 6 punchouts. It has been a rollercoaster ride with Happ, as his marks sit at a 3.57 ERA/4.89 xFIP thanks to a crazy 94.5% LOB mark. He is a risky play in all but AL-Only formats, as his ugly 14:12 K:BB ratio in 17 and 2/3 innings raises some serious red flags. He does, however, have a rotation spot locked up for now, as the Jays announced that Dustin McGowan will be moving to the pen in exchange for Marcus Stroman or Todd Redmond.
Danny Salazar (SP-CLE): Danny Salazar continued his disappointing 2014 campaign by failing yet again to get past the 4th inning. The inefficient Salazar allowed 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, and although he added 3 strikeouts, he allowed 2 more homers. While Salazar has been a bit unfortunate (5.53 ERA/3.82 xFIP, .369 BABIP) his fastball velocity and command are significantly off from last season. Most notably, according to Brooks Baseball, Salazar has lost significant amounts of movement from his slider, as the pitch has been flat and quite hittable so far. The Indians may very well send him to AAA for some much-needed refinement, which could open the door for Trevor Bauer.
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