Danny Duffy (SP/RP, KC): Duffy was pulled only four outs short from tossing his second straight complete game, yielding only one run on three hits in seven and two-thirds innings with two walks and five strikeouts. He rose to 10-1 and has gone 13 straight starts without a loss, continuing to pitch like an ace in his return to starting. His success can be attributed to increased velocity and an improved changeup. The changeup has allowed him to lean less on his slider, and hitters just haven't been able to square up his pitches with this new usage. His command is also far and away the best of his career, and he's allowed only 1.84 BB/9. There's really nothing not to like here for the rest of the season, so if you own him you need to ride him while he's pitching this well. He's struggled to stay healthy throughout most of his career, so heading into 2017 he's a little hard to trust, but at this point he's looking like an integral piece to a lot of championship hopefuls this season. He'll get the Twins at home in his next start.
Justin Morneau (1B/DH, CHW): The 35-year old Justin Morneau hit his fourth home run in only 90 plate appearances, finishing the night 2-4. So far, as the White Sox primary DH, Morneau is hitting a robust .301/.344/.518 with a 22.2% K%. The .350 BABIP helps for sure, but he's making decent hard contact at 31% and is also hitting 25% line drives, which goes a lot way towards sustaining an elevated BABIP. He is, however, carrying a massive 14% swinging strike rate, which will make his strikeout rate skyrocket if he can't improve, and take his batting average down with it. He's playing pretty much every day though, so he's worth a look in deeper mixed leagues.
Russell Martin (C, Tor): Martin homered twice and drove in three runs, finishing the night 2-5. He's been a far cry from the 23 homer 77 RBI catcher from a year ago, but has battled injuries throughout the season. The pair of taters brought his season total to 12, but his strikeout rate has climbed nearly 7% from a year ago, up to 27.7% this year. It's kept his average to .235 despite a .304 BABIP and 35% hard contact rate. To his credit, he has been a lot better in the second half, posting an .863 OPS with a 17% walk rate and 22% strikeout rate as compared to his first half in which he posted a .656 OPS with a 9.5% walk rate and 29.6% strikeout rate. Catcher has been so bad this year that you probably don't have anywhere to turn anyway, but things are looking up for Martin, and he could be a solid catching option down the stretch in a potent Blue Jays lineup.
Justin Verlander (SP, Det): Verlander tossed seven innings against the Royals, the 15th time in his last 19 starts he's gone that deep into the game. He allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits, three of which were home runs. He walked only one and struck out six in the outing, and he's firmly established himself this season once again as a solid #2 starting pitcher. He's pitching deep into games, owns a 9.47 K/9 which is backed up by a near career-high 11.8% swinging strike rate, and has limited the walks to a 2.37 BB/9 rate. As stated, he gave up three homers in this one, and that's been his only real issue this season, allowing 1.18 HR/9. That won't haunt you too badly when you're not walking many batters and striking out a batter per inning, so Verlander can be fully trusted to be a big part of your rotation as we head into the stretch run of the season. He'll have a tougher matchup his next time out, facing the Red Sox at home.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP, Bos): Rodriguez dominated the Orioles through four shutout innings, not allowing a hit with two walks and seven K's. Unfortunately, hamstring tightness forced E-Rod from the game in the fifth inning and he was left without even qualifying for the win. He's been really strong since his recall, posting a 2.80 ERA in those six starts, so clearly the Red Sox and his fantasy owners will be chomping at the bit to get him back on the mound. His effectiveness has been largely due to his improved slider, which he has used far more frequently since his recall from Triple-A, and obviously to great effect. Hang onto Rodriguez for the stretch run; these results are backed by an improvement in stuff, and he is looking like a legitimate mixed-league viable starting pitcher for the rest of the year and heading into 2017. If he's able to make his next start, it would be a road matchup against the Tigers.
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