Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves - Mike Minor finally had a 2013 Minor-esque performance with 6.2 shutout innings while striking out six with three hits allowed. It was Minor's first outing without allowing a homerun and he lowered his FIP in the process to 4.22. Minor's success in 2013 was keeping the ball in the park and that has been what has held him back to this point. As he can work on keeping the ball in the yard he will become a more and more valuable fantasy asset for owners. With an xFIP of 3.22, it shows what Minor can become as his HR/FB% begins to drop towards his career average of 10%.
Bronson Arroyo, Arizona Diamondbacks - Bronson Arroyo had the best outing of the season for a Diamondbacks pitcher with a complete game while tallying seven strikeouts with one walk. Arroyo has really settled down as of late, throwing 23.1 innings over his last three start while allowing just one earned run. His ERA and FIP actually match at 4.15, so Arroyo is what he has been this season. He still isn't striking out batters at a high rate (5.10 per 9) and batters at making contact on 84% of their hacks against him which is right in line with his career average. Arroyo gets the Dodgers next time out, so it wouldn't be too surprising if he goes out and gets hit around in that game.
Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals - Rosenthal has had a shaky season to this point although he hadn't blown a save until Tuesday. He allowed a single to Emilio Bonaficio in the 9th to tie the game and that pushed his ERA to 5.19. Though his FIP is much lower at 3.51, it's still very high for a closer and could make things slightly interesting when Jason Motte returns from injury. He is allowing a lot of line drives and fly balls this season (.48 GB/FB), but batter's contact rates are down to 70.9% which is a career low for Rosenthal.
Daniel Murphy, New York Mets - Murphy launched his third homer of the season Tuesday and his batting average now sits at .320. He now has a hit in five straight games and has homered in two of the past three contests. He is six in the majors among second baseman in steals with eight, and he has only been caught twice thus far. All these numbers combine to help Murphy have one of the better years in the league for a second baseman. Murphy' fly ball rate has dropped is 5% below his career average, but the 5% has moved over to his LD% which is the second highest of his career. Murphy is a solid second base option in all leagues at this point, as he has put up a .292 AVG, 12 HR, 92 R, 75 RBI, and 29 SB stat line over his past 162 games.
Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins - Fantasy owners worst fears were confirmed Tuesday as Fernandez will have to undergo season ending Tommy John Surgery. Obviously he's fine to drop in all regular leagues and probably year-to-year keeper leagues as well. Dynasty leagues who have extended DL spots can hang on to him, as he is still one of the best talents in the league and we will see his success as he returns from surgery. There are a plethora of options to possibly replace him including Brad Hand, Kevin Slowey, or possibly top prospect Andrew Heaney.
Josh Sperry - @jsperry1991
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