Rougned Odor - I'm having a tough time containing my excitement about this kid lately, and another 3-4 day (single, triple, homer, walk) Wednesday isn't helping things any. Odor is now 40-108 (.370) with 7 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 4 SB, 15 R, and 21 RBI since coming back from the minors in mid-June, and while he will still swing at miss a bit it's nowhere near the rate at which he was doing so in the early season. This kid is just 21 years old! I'm actively trying to acquire him in every league I don't already own him, and I would suggest you do the same.
Mike Montgomery - With an xFIP and SIERA over 4.00, a start like Wednesday's was likely coming for Montgomery, and the Tigers delivered with 6 hits and 8 runs (6 earned) in just 2 2/3 innings, aided by 5 walks from Montgomery. Control has always been an issue for him, which is why his BB rate was surprising given the still-low zone% that he was showing prior to the matchup with Detroit, but that makes 3 starts in the last 5 with 3-5 walks allowed, so it's beginning to become an issue once more. I'm not a big fan of Montgomery despite a few areas of his game that are intriguing (swinging strike% and hard contact rate)...I believe that the control issues will be too frequent for him to overcome.
Seth Smith - Smith has played all three games against Detroit, going 4-10 with 3 doubles to raise his season line up to 267/345/474. He's posting career bests in hard contact rate (all seasons) and ISO (non-Rockie division), yet remains as he typically has: underrated. He's owned in between 3-4% of ESPN formats, yet is easily useful in weeks that the Mariners are facing 5 or more RHP. He definitely has value in deeper formats, is often a sneaky daily play, and can be utilized in most formats, as mentioned above, in RHP-heavy weeks.
Kevin Gausman - Gausman had a "meh" start on Wednesday, at least from a superficial level, as he allowed 6 hits (4 XBH) and 4 runs to the Yanks over 6 innings, walking 2 and fanning 4. It gets interesting when you look at the 17 swinging strikes in 96 pitches, which just expands on his improved rate of 10.8% coming into the contest. His chase rate is better than his prior couple of stints with the O's as well.....he's still very much showing the potential to be a solid SP down the road. For the time being I'd treat him as a big park starter only, as his FB rate and hard contact rate are both reasonably higher than you'd like to see, but he's another guy that those planning for next year should take a look at in dynasty formats.
Logan Forsythe - Forsythe has come out blazing in the second half, going 2-4 with a double and a homer Wednesday to give him hits in all 6 games out of the break. He has 3 doubles and a homer with four walks against 2 K's, so basically he's back to doing what he did in April and May. The 28 year old is at or near career bests in just about every offensive category, the most impressive of which might be the BB:K ratio. I like his chances of continuing to provide value in most formats the rest of the way at 1/2/3, with the understanding that he's a well-rounded but low ceiling player.
