Brad Brach (RP-BAL) - If I'm a Zack Britton owner right now, I'm crossing my fingers that the trade deadline passes without a deal. Britton appears healthy after missing a couple months with a forearm injury, and he's recently returned to the closer role. However, there is interest from contenders such as the Red Sox and Dodgers who already have elite closers, so the possibility that Britton spends the final two months of 2017 as a setup man is real. That would mean that Brach would return to closing for the Orioles, a role he's done quite well in with 16 saves, a 2.68 ERA, and a 0.89 WHIP. If you're a Britton owner and Brach is on the waiver wire, grab him. Either way, if you need to speculate on a potential closer, grab Brach. Brach's 9.6 K/9 is a bit down from his previous two seasons, but he has closer stuff and should be in line for a strong final couple of months.
Francisco Liriano (SP-TOR) - Liriano failed to make it out of the second inning Thursday, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Liriano also lasted just two innings in his last start due to a sore neck, but here was no immediate word of an injury in this one. He just was terrible. Liriano has seen his control take a step back (5.0 BB/9) for the second straight season, and at this point, he's likely either headed to the DL or the bullpen or could be designated for assignment. Given the recent neck issues, they'll likely DL him and hope he's back later this year. Owner of a career 9.2 K/9, Liriano still misses bats when heathy, but there's just no way to recommend him in any format right now.
Justin Smoak (1B-TOR) - Smoak bashed home runs #25 and #26 of the year on Thursday against the Red Sox, also bumping up his RBI total by three to 62. Smoak is now batting .298/.372/.588 in an improbable huge season in which he's gone a long way in making up for the loss of Edwin Encarnacion to Cleveland in free agency. Two numbers stand out the most other than the home runs. First, he came into the game batting .397/.472/.654 against southpaws a year after a .209/.284/.337 against them. Second, Smoak has cut his K% year over year from 32.8% to 19.7%, a massive improvement in his proficiency in making contact. The only real explanation for his improvement came from Smoak himself earlier this year when he said that he's watching more video and concentrating on making better contact. Too simple an explanation of course, as it's not that easy. Maybe he's just finally matured into the talent that once had him as one of baseball's elite prospects as he was coming up through the Rangers' system.
Jonathan Schoop (2B-BAL) - Schoop had a solo homer and two-run single in five at-bats Thursday, lifting him to a surprising .302/.350/.540. Schoop is hitting third between Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, and Chris Davis, so he has plenty of firepower around him. With 19 homers and 63 RBI, Schoop has three more homers than Trumbo and a whopping 29 more RBI than Davis, due in no small part to Davis' oblique injury. Still, a .300-30-100 season isn't out of the question. He's still walking just 5.3% of the time, but that's a nice step forward from last year's 3.2% mark, so the progress seems to be there, and it's reflected in his improved batting average. If he could manage a handful of steals, he'd be a fantasy superstar, but we'll certainly take this.
Deven Marrero (3B-BOS) - Marrero went 1-for-3 with a run scored Thursday, an effort that lifted his ugly slash line to .211/.256/.324. Yes, the recently-released Pablo Sandoval IS that bad to have been let go with $49 million left on his contract for guys like Marrero and Brock Holt. Marrero entered the game with a 5.8% BB% and 30.1%. He has no power, and the 20+ SB speed he showed in his early-20s (he's 2 now) has dissipated somewhat. So basically he's a placeholder until Boston makes a trade for a major league third baseman or the Red Sox decide to promote top prospect Rafael Devers. There's a DFA in his future no later than August 1.
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