Adam Wainwright (SP-STL) - Wainwright continued his lack of consistency Tuesday, allowing five runs on 10 hits over just 5.2 innings against the Reds. He was touched for two home runs while walking two and striking out six and seeing his ERA rise to 4.67 in 192.2 innings. I guess the good news is that he's stayed healthy enough to post 32 starts, but a 6.18 road ERA has been his downfall, and that's one that's impossible to explain. He's been great at home (2.92 ERA prior to Tuesday), but this is certainly a step back. On the plus side, his 7.1 K/9 is about what we'd expect, but a 2.6 BB/9 is a bit uncharacteristic, and would be his worst mark since 2007. Wainwright is 34 and his velocity has been about the same, so we have to think he can figure some things out this winter/spring and come back strong. I like him at least a little bit as a 2017 buy low candidate.
Anthony Rendon (3B-WAS) - Rendon hit his 19th home run of the year Tuesday in going 1-for-3 with three RBI. He's batting a modest .269/.348/.448 while playing in 152 games. Rendon put up an .824 OPS in his other full season (2014), so his .796 mark this year is a bit disappointing considering his potential upside. Rendon has the potential for so much more given he walks more than 10% of the time and strikes out in less than 18% of his plate appearances. His former top draft pick and prospect status makes him a prime breakout candidate next year.
Gordon Beckham (INF-SF) - The Giants acquired Gordon Beckham on Tuesday from the Braves. Given the trade happened in September, Beckham won't be eligible for the playoffs, but the Giants hope he can provide some infield depth in the last week. It's been a tale of two halves for Beckham, who was batting a solid .290/.387/.458 in 107 at-bats prior to the All-Star break, but he's hit just .158/.228/.271 with 34 strikeouts in 133 at-bats since. He's been a better hitter versus southpaws the past few years, so it's possible this move was designed to have him play against Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill later this week, assuming they actually pitch. Beckham could steal a couple starts from Joe Panik, but outside of DFS leagues potentially, he'll have little value.
Wilson Ramos (C-WAS) - It was announced Tuesday that Ramos had suffered a torn ACL. That's obviously huge news for the team's NLDS series against the Dodgers, but it also impacts 2017. At a minimum, I'd expect Ramos to miss all of April, but I wouldn't expect him back much before June 1. Ramos was batting .307/.350/.496 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI and he had been on a nice roll with a .400 BA in his last seven games. Ramos took a nice step forward with his plate discipline as well as his power this year, posting a 6.7% BB% (<=5% the prior three years) and a 15.1% K% (20% in 2015). It will be interesting to see how this impacts Ramos' impending free agency.
Julio Urias (SP-LAD) - Urias has been announced as the Dodgers starter on Thursday against the Padres. I wouldn't expect it to be a lengthy outing (five innings max) for a couple reasons. First, he's already at 119 innings for the year versus just 80.1 innings in 2015. He's pitching to an undefined innings limit, but he's probably close. Second, Urias has tallied just 5.2 total innings since September 2. The Dodgers are merely looking to set up their post-seasons rotation at this point. Urias has posted a 1.48 ERA in his last 30.1 innings. Overall Urias has pitched to a 3.53 ERA and 9.6 K/9, and we can probably explain the 9.7 H/9 via a .366 BABIP, at least somewhat. He'll also look to improve his 3.5 BB/9 next year, and I'd expect him to be extended to 150-160 innings in 2017, with most/all of those coming at the big league level.
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