Jonathan Schoop (2B-MIL) wasn't in the Brewers starting line-up for the second straight game as Milwaukee wrapped up a key series with the Cardinals on Sunday. Supposedly a big deadline acquisition by the contending Brewers, Schoop has been absolutely awful with his new club, hitting a meager .163 with no homers, three RBI, 19 strikeouts (38%), and just one walk (2%). After starting the season off poorly (he was batting just .197 with a .587 OPS at the end of June), he seemingly turned things around in July with a .360 average, nine homers, and 19 RBI. Maybe he's pressing with the Brewers, but he looks more lost than ever and, what's worse, Jonathan Villar is hitting .270 with three homers, nine RBI, and a pair of stolen bases since going the other way in the that deal. The 26 year-old Schoop certainly has more long-term potential than Villar, but I'd trust the latter more down the stretch; for what it's worth, in the one league where I own Schoop I just added Villar to start at 2B.
David Dahl (OF-COL) went 2-3 with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base as he hit third against the Braves on Sunday. He is now hitting .276 on the season with six homers, 19 RBI, and five stolen bases on the season, including .279 with three home runs, six RBI, and three stolen bases in just 43 at-bats since returning from an injury on August 5th. Although he has a .352 BABIP, his average is suppressed by a 28.1% strikeout rate, and he isn't an especially patient hitter (6.8% walk rate). Long touted for his combination of power and speed (he did hit 25 homers and steal 22 bags across 634 plate appearances spanning Double-A, Triple-A, and the majors in 2016) and especially intriguing because he calls Coors field his home, it appears that the 24 year-old Dahl may have carved out a full-time role with the Rockies and is therefore worth adding to your roster as the season winds down.
Hunter Renfroe (OF-SD) went 2-3 with a homer and three RBI against the Diamondbacks on Sunday. The Padres clean-up man is now hitting .249 with 14 homers and 45 RBI on the season. I've always been a Renfroe fan, so I might be biased when I say that I think he is starting to put it all together. His trademark is his prodigious power, and he's certainly displayed that in his 291 plate appearances this season. But he's never been an especially patient hitter, and that appears to be changing - he's logged a 7.8 walk rate this season well above his previous high (5.6%, last season). And after whiffing at a 29.2% clip last season, he's cut that to 24.4% this season - certainly an acceptable rate for a slugger today. And the hard-hit rate is a staggering 46.4% this season after he recorded a 34.6% last season - and he's hitting just 39.2% grounders while lofting 39.2% into the air and smoking 21.6% line drives. Forget that he plays half his games at spacious PetCo Park - this guy's power (graded 70 raw) is legit. I'd add him to see if he can provide your team with a spark in the homer and RBI departments down the stretch.
Jhoulys Chacin (SP-MIL) stymied a red-hot Cardinals line-up over shutout 6 innings on Sunday, allowing four hits and walking none while punching out three. He now has a 3.58 ERA and 1.17 WHIP to go along with a 7.27 K/9 and 3.28 BB/9 on the season. I'd be wary of some regression with Chacin, as his xFIP sits at 4.48 and his SIERA clocks in at 4.57. The culprits include a .253 BABIP allowed (.281 career), his 3.28 BB/9, and a 9.4% HR/FB (10.3% career, and his lowest since 2013). He gives up a lot of hard contact (37.2%) and has recorded an uncharacteristically low 42.9% groundball rate so far in 2018 (47.7% career) while allowing more flyballs than usual (34.4% this season, 31.3% career). I wouldn't be too confident in Chacin going forward, as I expect some rougher outings to move the surface stats toward the mean.
German Marquez (SP-COL) made his fifth straight quality start on Sunday, handling a strong Braves offense over seven innings in which he gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while fanning five. Marquez was shaky on the surface prior to the All-Star break, recording a 4.81 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, although his 3.82 xFIP, 9.26 K/9, and 3.23 BB/9 were all solid. His first-half numbers were inflated by a rough first month of the season (5.14 ERA and 1.57 WHIP, with an uncharacteristically high 5.14 BB/9) and terrible June (6.75 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, although his xFIP was just 3.64). Marquez has been excellent during the second half of the season, boasting a 3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.02 K/9, 2.76 BB/9, and 2.83 xFIP through five starts entering Sunday's game. Especially since the 23 year-old has increased the strikeouts while reducing the walks, I would trust him going forward in 2018... except in home starts, where he has a 6.42 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 3.79 BB/9, and 1.75 HR/9 on the season (as opposed to a 2.92 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.55 BB/9, and 0.97 HR/9 on the road).
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