Odubel Herrera, OF, PHI
Herrera was out of the starting lineup once again on Wednesday, marking his 4th absence in nine August games, but he did come off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit single, a SB, and a run scored. All four of his absences this month have come against LH starters, as it appears the Phillies have had enough of Herrera's inadequacies against LHP's. This isn't really a knock to his fantasy value as he was anyways hitting a mere .225 with a .573 OPS against southpaws this season, compared to .302 and .852 against righties, so if anything the days off could help him maintain a high BA.
Adam Ottavino, RP, COL
Ottavino has been named the new closer for the Rockies and received his first opportunity to make good of the promotion during Wednesday's matchup against the Rangers. It didn't exactly go as planned, as he entered in the 8th inning hoping for a 4-out save, but ended up allowing two inherited runners to score and eliminated the need for a bottom of the 9th. Despite the blown save, no runs were charged to Ottovino's name, and he still hasn't given up an ER since 2014. True, he has only pitched 22.1 innings over the past two seasons, but that's still very impressive, especially for someone who pitches half of their games in Coors Field. Any closer in Colorado (or any pitcher for that matter) is limited, but Ottavino has as good of a chance to succeed as anybody. He has a 9.36 K/9 since joining the Rockies in 2012, and has a GB% over 60% each of the past two seasons. He also has the lowest career ERA in Rockies' team history (min 100 IP) at 3.28. He can't be considered an upper-tier closer, but he should at least collect a few saves in the near future.
Joe Panik, 2B, SF
Panik hasn't exactly lit it up since returning from the DL in late July, in fact he has done quite the opposite going 5-43 (.116) without a single XBH since his return. Panik doesn't hit for a lot or power or steal tons of bases, so he has to hit for average to have any sort of fantasy value. However, this isn't time to Panic, as Panik is still making excellent contact (7.7% K% since his return from the DL) and has suffered from a .125 BABIP during his recent slump. Expect him to bounce back soon, at least in the BA department.
David Phelps, SP, MIA
Phelps' return to the rotation has been successful thus far as he has allowed just 1 ER in 9.1 IP through his first two starts for the Marlins in 2016. Overall, Phelps has been excellent this season, as his 2.40 ERA is by far a career best, mostly thanks to an 11.03 K/9 that is significantly higher than ever before. Of course this is the first year that Phelps has been used exclusively as a reliever (until now) so much of his improvement could very well just be a function of his role. Considering that his career K/9 as a reliever is 10.33 compare to 6.99 as a starter, that would seem to be the primary factor, and I wouldn't be too quick to assume Phelps is a changed man. Time will tell if he can carry his success in the bullpen into the starting rotation, but for now let's just see if he can get deeper into games.
Jay Bruce, OF, NYM
Bruce has been crushing RH-pitching this season with an .891 OPS and 21 HR's in 284 AB's against then entering Wednesday's game. On Thursday, he'll face Arizona's rookie RHP Braden Shipley who in a small sample size has allowed a 1.001 OPS to left-handed hitters this season. Value Play DraftKings $4,900.
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