Melvin Upton Jr. (OF-TOR) - I'm sure you all know by now that Upton has been traded from the Padres to the Blue Jays. Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, it looks as if his value will take a bit of a hit. Toronto manager John Gibbons stated Tuesday that Upton would start against all lefties and "occasionally" give other outfielders a day off. That sounds like maybe three starts a week and perhaps a pinch-hitting effort on occasion. Upton came to the AL batting a modest .256/.304/.439, but it was his counting stats (16 HR, 45 RBI, 20 SB) that made him particularly attractive to fantasy owners. Don't expect that level of production to continue in Toronto given their loaded roster, but using Upton against LHP (.913 OPS against them this year) in DFS leagues should be a nice play. He pinch-hit Tuesday and went 0-for-1.
Raul Mondesi Jr. (SS-KC) - Mondesi was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and was immediately slotted into the KC lineup. He had been batting .304/.328/.536 for Omaha in 56 at-bats after batting .259/.331/.448 in 116 at-bats in Double-A. The playing time of course has been limited by his 50-game drug suspension, but the 20 year-old still offers plenty of upside. In his 43 games, Mondesi had six homers and an impressive 22 stolen bases, so he's worth adding in all but the shallowest of fantasy formats. Because he's struck out in 25.5% of his minor league PA's this year, Mondesi's 2016 BA upside will be in the .260 range most likely, but those steals make him easily worth an add. Mondesi played second base and hit ninth Tuesday, going 0-for-3.
Joey Gallo (OF-TEX) - Gallo was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday and immediately made an impact, hitting a home run Tuesday off the A's Sonny Gray in a 1-for-4 effort. In true Gallo fashion, he also whiffed twice, a malady that has plagued him throughout his pro career. In 123 PA's with Texas last year, Gallo fanned in a whopping 46.3% of them and even in Triple-A this year, his K% was an inflated 30.4%. with a 17.7% BB% there in Round Rock as well as 19 homers in 244 at-bats, he's looking like a true "three-outcomes" (BB, K, or HR) type of guy. Of course given Gallo doesn't turn 23 until November, there's plenty of time for him to cut down on the strikeouts, but even if he fans 30% of the time as a big leaguer, there's still some Chris Davis upside in his bat.
Sonny Gray (SP-OAK) - Gray has struggled mightily this season as the team's de facto ace, and while three runs in six innings against the Rangers Tuesday isn't exactly a dominant outing, he still picked up the win and fanned eight, so we'll call it a success. The outing lowered Gray's ERA to 5.43, and while he's shown flashes of his 2015 self at times this year, Gray has also had a pair of seven-run outings in his last five starts and he hasn't seen a sub-5.00 ERA next to his name since May 3. Gray's velocity has remained steady this year and his K/9 sits at a solid 7.2 (7.6 career), so it's far too early to write the 26-year-old off as a potential ace. He's not one currently, but the tools still remain. A turnaround in his .324 BABIP (.285 career) would certainly help.
James Shields (SP-CHW) - Shields didn't look like a strong DFS play Tuesday at home against the Cubs' offense, but he turned in a strong performance - 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K to lower his ERA to 4.68 overall and 5.17 with the White Sox. Shields' numbers are ugly all around - 1.48 WHIP, 86:52 K:BB, 1.5 HR/9, etc. That all said, has he turned things around now? In his last three starts, Shields has allowed three runs in 21.2 innings, though his 11:7 K:BB speaks to potential luck in those numbers. Shields remains a risky fantasy play, but he's probably safe to use in deeper fantasy formats.
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