Carlos Santana (CLE -3B) - Carlos Santana went 2-for-5 and raised his season batting average to .208. He started off the season in ugly fashion by posting a slash line of .159/.159/.261 through the season's first two months. He hit the 7-day DL at the end of May and has been on fire since returning. Through 22 games in June, Santana hit 6 HR, 15 RBI and slashed .308/.426/.590. Equally impressive was his .441 wOBA and 29% line drive rate during that same time frame. Santana holds eligibility for several positions on many fantasy baseball websites, including catcher, and will carry significant value moving forward. Try to buy low while his season stats still look unimpressive.
Jed Lowrie (TB - SS) - Jed Lowrie tops my list as the most unlucky hitter in baseball this year, slashing .217/.310/.323 with a .243 BABIP. Looking at his underlying statistics, his swinging strike and chase rates are down while his contact rate is up. His batted ball splits also show favorable results with a drop in his groundball rate and an excellent 24% line drive rate. The Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade sent Addison Russell to Chicago, so Lowrie is no longer at risk of losing at-bats at the end of the year. Now is an excellent time to target Lowrie in a trade because is value is depressed throughout the industry.
Chris Archer (TB - SP) - In a game that Vegas projected Detroit to score 4.4 runs, Chris Archer worked into the 9th inning yielding just 2 earned runs to get his 5th win of the year. On the night, he allowed just 4 hits and 4 walks through 8.1 innings while adding 4 strikeouts. Both of the Tigers runs came on solo homeruns. Archer started out rough but has steadily improved each month this season. In April, he put up a 4.11 ERA then brought it down to 3.90 in May and finally, pitched great in June to post a 1.95 mark. After tonight's performance, as well as his showing in June, Archer probably can't be acquired for much of a discount.
Anibal Sanchez (DET - SP) - Anibal Sanchez was roughed up for 7 earned runs on 3.2 innings pitched while allowing 6 hits, 4 walks and just 1 homerun. The ugly showing pushed his ERA from 2.63 all the way up to 3.18 and lowered his strikeout rate below the league average to 19%. Sanchez has been giving up line drives 22% of the time so his .243 BABIP is slightly understated. The tough outing today hurts his trade value but Sanchez remains one of my favorite sell high candidates at this point in the season. The right-hander has an extensive injury history in his past so it's very possible part of his struggles could be injury related. His velocity has been consistently 1-2 MPH lower than last year.
Brad Miller (SEA - SS) - Brad Miller got just 1 hit on Saturday but he managed make that hit a go-ahead double in the 14th inning. Masked by brutal YTD numbers, Brad Miller quietly put together a strong June batting .298 with 5 HRs and 13 RBI. Miller's not an elite prospect by any means but he offers decent pop and speed at a shallow position. After hitting an ISO of just .97, Miller bounced back with an excellent .214 ISO in June. Hitting near the bottom of the Mariners' lineup really hurts Miller's value but at the acquisition cost (available in wire wire of many fantasy leagues),he's worth a gamble when teams need MI help.
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