Nolan Arenado, 3B, COL
Arenado had a huge game on Wednesday, blasting 3 HR's and driving in 7 in an 18-4 Rockies victory. He now has 6 HR's and 17 RBI in his last 8 games, giving an MLB-leading 80 RBI for the season. This hot streak follows somewhat of a power drought for Arenado, as he had hit just 1 HR in 29 games prior to this stretch, but Arenado is now on pace to reach 35 HR's and 130 RBI for the 3rd straight year. He is especially crushing lefties, with a .431 BA and .843 SLG in 102 AB's against them this season. Of course, Arenado is someone who will be in your lineup regardless of the matchup, but he is even more valuable in daily matchups with an opposing southpaw on the hill.
Gerrit Cole, SP, PIT
Cole was dominant against the Brewers on Wedneday, allowing 1 ER in 7 IP while striking out 10 without a BB. He now has quality starts in 6 of his last 7 starts, while allowing 2 ER's or less in each of those quality starts. Other than this most recent start though, his peripherals have been about the same over this stretch as they have been all season, so it looks more like just a hot streak than Cole picking up his game to another level. Not that Cole isn't a good pitcher, but with a 3.76 xFIP and a solid but unspectacular 8.06 K/9 this season, he doesn't look like the ace that he was a couple of years ago.
Mike Montgomery, SP, CHC
Montgomery was solid on Wednesday against the Braves, allowing 1 ER in 6 IP while striking out 5. Things haven't been so smooth for Montgomery since joining the Cubs rotation in early June, and he has especially struggled recently with a 9.37 ERA over his last 4 starts prior to Wednesday's outing. Overall, he has a solid 3.83 ERA this season, but his 7.31 K/9 and 4.28 BB/9 are uninspiring and worse than his 2016 marks. He will need to get those numbers at least back to last year's levels (8.28 K/9, 3.42 BB/9) to be worth a look in fantasy.
Chris Taylor, IF, OF, LAD
Taylor's scorching hot July continues as he added another 3 hits including a HR and a double on Wednesday, and is now hitting .434 with 9 XBH's, 11 runs scored, and 7 RBI through 13 games this month. While his BA will see some regression because of his high K%, it may not be as bad as you would think as his 11.0% SwStr% suggests that his K% could come down a bit. Either way, Taylor has proven to be a solid source of power and speed, and he should collect plenty of counting stats as part of an excellent Dodgers lineup. That would be valuable enough, even without the fact that he qualifies at multiple positions, including SS in some leagues. He's currently available in about 40% of ESPN leagues, but that number should probably be a lot smaller.
Luis Castillo, SP, CIN
Castillo doesn't have an easy matchup against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, but that hasn't stopped him until now as he currently owns a 3.41 ERA and 11.17 K/9 in 5 starts, all against teams ranked in the top-5 in scoring in the National League. Castillo's high K% makes him a high upside play, and while Arizona can score runs, they also strike out plenty (23.2 K%, 7th highest in MLB). In fact, Castillo struck out 8 Diamondbacks in 6.2 shutout innings in his start against them on July 8. There is definitely risk here, but the upside is worth the low cost. DraftKings Value Play Salary $6,900.
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