Brad Miller (SS, TB): Miller hit his 20th home run as part of a 2-4 night, hitting cleanup as the Rays DH. It was his third straight game with a homer and his fifth home run in seven games. He's almost doubled his home run total of 11 from last year in 109 fewer plate appearances. It's an impressive boost in ISO from .144 each of the past two seasons to .245 this year, but is this power sustainable? Well, he has made a huge jump in average fly ball distance, rising from 283 feet last year (132nd in baseball) to 301 feet this year (35th in baseball). His average exit velocity has ticked up as well, to 92.2 MPH this year from 90.1 MPH a year ago. His hard contact is also up 3.9% from a year ago, to 34.2%. He's pulling the ball more as well, as his 40.8% pull percentage is the highest rate of his career. This is all lending to his 19.8% HR/FB% which is nearly double his previous career high. Even given all these improvements in power, a near-20% HR/FB rate is hard to maintain, especially when you're playing half your games in spacious Tropicana Field. The Rays are sitting him against lefties as well, which limits his overall upside, and he's a mere 4-8 on the basepaths this year so steals aren't going to be a big part of his appeal moving forward. 20-HR power is mighty hard to come by from middle infielders though, which does make Miller intriguing. He should be rostered in more leagues.
Pedro Alvarez (1B/DH, Bal): Pedro had yet another two homer night, finishing 2-5 with two solo shots. He's up to 18 now on the season and has six homers in his last five games. He's simply on fire, and the O's would be wise to keep rolling him out there while he's firing on all cylinders. He's seen consistent work recently, but he will continue to sit against lefties as he features a mere .201 wOBA against them this season. You've certainly missed the best part of whatever little run he's going on here, but if you're in a 14 team league or deeper, he's just as viable an option these days as someone like Brandon Moss or Chris Carter. He does one thing and one thing only, and that's hit for power against right-handed pitching. If you need home runs and RBI and can deal with a below average batting average, give Pedro a look while he's hot.
Devon Travis (2B, Tor): Travis hit two solo home runs from the leadoff position, going 2-5 in the ballgame. His second home run was the go-ahead run that would eventually seal it for the Jays in the 9th. The bombs bring his 2016 total to 9 in 232 plate appearances, good for a .189 ISO. Not bad for a middle infield option, and his stock rises greatly if he continues to bat leadoff for this offense. He's not a big OBP threat with a 6% BB%, but has used his .335 BABIP to fuel a .290 batting average to this point. Given his low 17.7% line drive rate and 27.3% hard contact rate it's hard to see either of those BABIP or BA numbers maintaining. So while his average may fall, he has shown in his career that he's got some decent pop for a second baseman, and he's 3-4 in stolen base attempts this year too, so while he's not a burner, he'll chip you in some steals.
Dallas Keuchel (SP, Hou): Keuchel finally flashed some of that 2015 beardy dominance, using 111 pitches to toss a three-hit shutout of the Rangers with two walks and seven strikeouts. According to Brooks Baseball, Keuchel didn't throw a single cutter in the outing, a pitch that Keuchel has relied upon 14.1% of the time this season coming into the game. He relied heavily on his sinker/slider combination, and clearly it was to great effect. He's still averaging only 90 MPH on his fastball, so his command needs to be precise to not get killed, a feat he's failed to accomplish this year with a 2.74 BB/9 that for his profile just isn't good enough. This is a very encouraging start, and if he can get back to limiting hard contact with his pitch mix to the extent he had in his prior two seasons, we will see more vintage beard down the stretch. If you've held on this long, don't sell now. He'll match up with the Twins at Target Field for his next start.
Ian Desmond (OF, Tex): Desmond went 0-4 with a strikeout. He's mired in a 2-28 slump, and had struck out at least 28% of his plate appearances in each month since May. That's obviously going to put a damper on your batting average, and his .363 BABIP should continue to fall and drag his .294 average down with it. His plate discipline and contact numbers aren't too dissimilar from his prior seasons when he's posted averages of .233 and .255, aside from his swing rate on pitches outside of the zone, which he's shaved 4.4% off of. Even with a considerably cooler second half than first, he should still retain solid value as he hits second in the Rangers lineup consistently. He'll have copious amounts of R/RBI opportunities there, and he's attempted 21 steals with 17 of those converted successfully, and as they say, speed doesn't slump.
Let's talk some ball! Follow me on Twitter @NathanDokken
This is just a small sample our our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 player updates daily: http://www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
