Josh Bell-Pirates-OF
Josh Bell was 1-3 with a RBI against the Marlins. Bell was excellent in his limited time at the big league level earlier this year. However, Bell struggled when sent back to Triple-A. He hit .211 with a .312 OBP and .275 SLG. On the year he is hitting .295 AVG with a .382 OBP and .468 SLG. Bell has excellent on base skills as well as some pop from the left side. GM Neal Huntington said that Bell will get "a decent amount" of playing time while Jung Ho-Kang is on the disabled list. The Pirates have not gotten a lot of production out of John Jaso at first-base, so it would make since to play Bell and see what he has got. Bell is not a must add as is playing time is going be questionable and he is struggling, but he does have offensive upside, which is hard to find at this point in the season.
Vincent Velasquez-Phillies-SP
Vincent Velasquez went 6 IP and gave up 5 ER on 7 H, 2 BB, and 7 K's against the Cardinals. Velasquez now has a 4.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 27.3% K. He quickly approaching the most innings he has ever thrown in a season (124.2 IP) and that was all the way back in 2013. He threw 77 IP in 2014 and 88 IP last season. He has shown the ability to miss bats (11.2% SwStr), which has resulted in an excellent strikeout rate of 27.3% K. The only problem is that Velasquez is not very efficient with his pitches and that is why he is averaging just barely over 5 IP per start. This severely hampers his ability to pick up wins. He is an excellent source of strikeouts, but he needs to improve upon his control in terms of walks (8.8% BB) and his command in the zone (1.35 HR/9). He is still a young pitcher with very nice upside if he can be more efficient and go deeper in games. He has a nice matchup with the Mets next time out.
Bryce Harper-Nationals-OF
Bryce Harper was 2-5 with his 22nd HR and 3 RBI against the Braves. Harper's season line has been a disappointment after what he did a year ago. He is hitting .246 with 22 HR and 68 RBI. However, with the addition of Dusty Baker as manager, Harper has stolen 16 bases, which shouldn't go overlooked. Harper's skills still remain elite (17% K, 19% BB). Harper has been hurt by bad luck (.251 BABIP) and injuries. Since missing multiple games with a neck injury, Harper has been on fire. He is 10-25 (.400) with 1 HR, 8 RBI, and 8 BB over his last seven games. This is the perfect time for Harper to get hot as fantasy players are either beginning the playoffs or heading down the stretch run.
Anthony DeSclafani-Reds-SP
Anthony DeSclafani went 7 IP and gave up 4 ER on 8 H, 1 BB, and 6 K's against the Dodgers. DeSclafani now has a 3.27 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 21.6% K. He has been very good for the Reds since coming back from injury. He sports a 3.97 SIERA, which is significantly higher than his ERA and this is likely due to his average strikeout rate and below average ground ball rate. He has room for growth in his strikeout rate if he could get more first pitch strikes. He is getting 58% first pitch strikes this year as opposed to 62% last year and 65% the year before. He has three above average off-speed pitches in terms of SwStr (SL, CV, CH), which means that if he could get in pitcher's counts more often, he could go for the strikeout more frequently. He goes to Chase Field in Arizona next time out, which is a good matchup against the Diamondbacks, but not park wise in terms of his fly ball tendencies.
DFS Value Play
Josh Bell-Pirates-1B
Josh Bell has been called up to take the place of Jung Ho-Kang. The Pirates GM Neal Huntington said that Bell will play regularly while he is up. Bell is a switch hitter that is much better from the left side of the plate. He will be facing RHP Doug Fister. Fister has really struggled with LHB this season (.369 wOBA and 37% Hard). DraftKings: $2,600
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