Jake Odorizzi
Odorizzi returned from the DL on Saturday with a strong outing, outdueling the red-hot Dallas Kuechel for his fifth win of the season. Odorizzi went 5.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out five. The outing was the first for Odorizzi since going on the DL with an oblique strain over a month ago after a June 5 start. Although the win-loss record doesn't show it (5-5 after Saturday's win), Odorizzi is having a breakout season of sorts after spending plenty of time of sleeper pages in previous seasons. Interestingly enough, although Odorizzi's ERA (2.30) and FIP (2.94) are far superior to previous seasons, the flashy strikeout rate from previous seasons that helped to make him a candidate for breakout, have actually slipped in this actual breakout season. Odorizzi is striking out just 7.43 batters per nine, a mediocre total in today's league. Last year Odorizzi struck out 9.32 batters per nine, and his strikeout rate in the minors was always well above a batter an inning. Odorizzi has been relying on his fastball less and less in 2015, but not because of any decrease in velocity, instead he is getting more comfortable with his splitter, which if anything should point to more strikeouts. Odorizzi's batted ball profile is quite similar to last season, and bigger strikeout totals would appear to be on the horizon, which would only increase Odorizzi's already high value.
Mark Buehrle
The fastest pitcher in baseball had another strong outing Saturday, which continued a streak of rejuvenated success for the 36-year old. Buehrle went seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits, while walking none (of course) and striking out only two (also, of course) to get his tenth win. Even though Buehrle has just 61 strikeouts in 121.1 innings this season - a borderline unfathomable rate in 2015, which ranks lower than only Mike Pelfrey this season - the other three categories are enough to make Buehrle a strong fantasy commodity. Buehrle has eight consecutive starts in which he has gone at least seven innings and given up two or fewer runs - an impressive feat. With a strikeout rate as low as his, Buehrle is also going to look like a regression candidate, but he's pretty rock solid at this point. The Blue Jay offense gives him plenty of run support as well, and in those aforementioned eight starts, Buehrle has four wins, and his total of ten wins on the season are only bettered by three pitchers in baseball this season.
Josh Reddick
Reddick continued his quietly strong season for the A's on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs and an RBI. Reddick is now slashing .288/.345/.458 on the season, and has 40 runs and 51 RBI. One of the keys to Reddick's success has been as simple as putting the ball in play with a lot more regularity. Reddick's 11.1 strikeout rate is the lowest of his career, and by far the lowest in recent seasons. His BABIP has not fallen despite putting more balls in play, which has fed directly into the large increase in his batting average. That's not all, however, as Reddick is also making better contact when putting the ball in play, as indicated by his improvements in line drive rate, hard-hit ball rate, and lack of infield pop ups. Another big thing for Reddick is health, which has been (knock on wood) on his side so far this season. All signs are positive for Reddick, and if he has an owner who doesn't entirely believe in him, getting him for his current value is not a rip off by any means.
Rob Refsnyder
The Yankees' middle infield prospect, Rob Refsnyder made his MLB debut on Saturday, going 0-for-3 in the game. It's appropriate that one of the Yankees' biggest debuts in a while would come against the Red Sox, but the hitless outing wasn't what Refsnyder was hoping for undoubtedly. Obviously, the Yankees aren't going to make any judgments from his first game, and Refsnyder should see plenty of at bats for the Yankees after the All-Star Break, as Stephen Drew is slashng .182/.257/.372, and, as a 32 year old hitting below the Mendoza Line for a second consecutive season, doesn't have nearly the potential of the 24-year old number seven prospect in the Yankees' system. Refsnyder was slashing .294/.391/.418 in Triple-A this season, so while he may not contribute a ton of power, he plays a premium position and should hit for a solid average in the Yankee lineup. And while Refsnyder will be hitting at the bottom of the lineup while he adjust to the big leagues, that means hitting in front of Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, two pretty good hitters. He's definitely worth an AL-only pick up, and is worth a speculative pick up in deeper mixed leagues.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Joe Mauer
Mauer is hitting .337 since June 18, and looking a lot more "Joe Mauer-y" of late, even tallying four home runs during that stretch. Mauer gets to face the newly recalled Shane Greene on Sunday, when the Twins and Tigers face off. Greene had a great start to the season before imploding his way off of the major league roster, and any and all Twins are good plays Sunday. Mauer is 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI off of Greene in their careers, and, given his hot bat and the nice match up, is a steal for just $2,500.
FanDuels: $2,500
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