Matt Belisle, RP, MIN
Belisle struck out the side in the 9th inning to preserve a 4-0 win for the Twins over the Brewers and appears to have surpassed Taylor Rodgers as the favorite for saves in the Twins bullpen moving forward. While his 4.34 ERA and 7.88 K/9 for the season aren't pretty, what Belisle has done recently would explain why the Twins would look to him as their new closer. Since July 1, he has not allowed a run in 15.1 IP, while recording an excellent 18:2 K:BB ratio during that span. He probably doesn't have a lot of job security at this point, but it's certainly possible that he remains the closer in Minnesota for the remainder of the season.
Trevor Cahill, SP, KC
Cahill was roughed up again on Wednesday, allowing 3 ER's and walking 5 in 2.1 IP while striking out just 1. This makes 4 starts in a row in which Cahill has failed to complete 5 IP, including all 3 of his starts since joining the Royals. Over that 4 game stretch, he has a 9.20 ERA and an awful 7:13 K:BB through 14.2 IP. Cahill came out of nowhere this season to strike out 71 in 57.1 IP (11.15 K/9) through his first 10 starts, but something is clearly wrong now. Whatever it is, he's not someone I want any part of it until he shows that he's turned it around.
Brian Dozier, 2B, MIN
Dozier homered and stole a base as part of a 3-4 effort on Wednesday against the Brewers, and in case you haven't noticed, that's 6 HR's in the last 9 games for the streaky second baseman. For those who don't remember, it was around this time last year that Dozier put together an epic power surge in which he hit 22 HR's in 36 games from July 31 through September 6. 22 homeruns in 36 games! It's obviously not possible to expect Dozier, or any other player for that matter, to repeat such a stretch, but this is probably the best run we've seen from Dozier this season, and we know that he's capable of big things when he gets hot. This type of hot streak is what makes it worth rostering Dozier the entire season, despite a relatively unexciting first few months.
Derek Fisher, OF, HOU
Fisher homered on Wednesday, breaking out of a 4-26 slump to begin the month of August in which he had struck out 10 times and recorded just 1 XBH. Fisher's power-speed combo is appealing, but his high K% (27.8%) will hurt his BA and his low FB% (19.6%) limits his power upside. He does hit the ball hard (42.6% Hard%) and the strong lineup that he's in should help him accrue counting stats, but expectations should be tempered until he further fine-tunes some of his skills.
Carlos Rodon, SP, CWS
Rodon is on a strikeout tear right now, having struck out 31 batters in 18.1 IP over his last 3 starts. On Wednesday, he'll face an Astros team that has the lowest strikeout rate in the league - but the Red Sox and Indians are the two next most difficult teams to strike out, and Rodon racked up 20 K's against those two teams in his last 2 starts combined! The tough matchup has left Rodon reasonably priced, but right now he has the upside to dominate against even the best. DraftKings Value Play Salary $7,000.
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