Gerardo Parra - Parra came into Monday's game with a line of 408/469/704 for the month of July, and he managed a 1-2 line with two walks against Chris Heston and the Giants Monday night. Parra isn't really doing a ton that's different this year than he has in the past except for one thing: he's hitting the ball harder. His hard contact rate is up 7.5%, his avg HR distance is up over 20 feet, and the batted ball speed on his homers is up a full 2 mph. These may not seem like huge differences if you don't pay attention to such things frequently, but they are. Throw is his typically excellent LD rate and the roughly 10 steals that he'll pick up (particularly now that he's batting leadoff), and he looks every bit a player that needs to be started in all formats despite the fact that he sits occasionally against LHP.
Raisel Iglesias - Recommending a guy with 1 QS in his first 7 MLB starts isn't exactly a prescription for success, but Iglesias definitely has some potential. The potential, both good and bad, was on display against the Cards Monday night, as Iglesias allowed a 4th-inning grand slam to Kolten Wong but little else over 6 innings of work, fanning 7 Cards in the process. His spotty control was only evidenced by the 3 HBP, as he walked none in the outing, and with 13 more swinging strikes his percentage there is pushing 12 now, with a K/9 over 9.00. With the Reds pretty clearly in "win later" mode, and with Iglesias still just 25, he should get plenty of opportunity to prove himself this year. He's a flyball pitcher that has bouts of wildness, so enthusiasm should be tempered here, but he could definitely be a spot-starter in many formats down the stretch, and his DFS potential in some of the bigger parks looks fairly high.
Robbie Ray - Ray continued to pitch well on the road, holding the Mariners to 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings Monday, walking 2 and striking out 8. His ERA was 1.35 on the road coming into the contest, and with improvement in control that he's shown this year (and an extra 2 mph on the fastball) he's earning some trust in favorable matchups in all formats.
Chris Heston - Heston tossed his 6th straight QS Monday, limiting the Brewers to 2 runs on 5 hits over 7 innings, walking 3 and striking out 4 to move to 11-5 on the year. Heston has been excellent and looks every bit the reliable mid-rotation starter, but before we get too carried away let's take a look at the schedule over this hot stretch: 5 bottom-5 offenses against RHP and Monday's opponent, the Brewers, who rank 17th. Just tempering the enthusiasm is all...let's keep in mind this guy had an ERA near 6 in AAA two years ago. I expect that he'll settle in as a #3-#4 SP the rest of the way.
Randal Grichuk - Expect Grichuk to sit for a day or two after Sunday's aggravation of his groin injury, although the Cards don't think that he will have to go on the DL. I've been really impressed with Grichuk's power this year, which I suppose is no surprise after he hit 28 homers as a 22 year old last season between AAA and the majors. The AVG is the biggest question for his overall value going forward, as the swinging strike% is dangerously high, yet the LD rate and hard contact figures would lead you to believe that he might be able to overcome the K issues. I think he'll probably settle in as a .250-.260 hitter with the potential to hit 30 homers and steal 5-10 bases a year, which is pretty valuable to be sure. There's a bit more risk in both directions than for your average player, especially in terms of potential playing time with a reasonably loaded Cardinal offense. He still looks like a solid option to me in just about all formats at present, but when everyone is healthy the PT could get squeezed a touch.
