Taylor Rogers, RP, MIN
Rogers recorded his second save in as many days against the Royals on Saturday night. A minor back issue kept Rogers from action for a few days this past week, but he is clearly past that as manager Rocco Baldelli played him in back to back games for the first time since May 27th-28th. Rogers is owned in just 14.3% of ESPN leagues, but has now established himself as the go-to reliever and main closer on one of baseball's best teams. He strikes a lot of hitters out (11.4 K/9) and is pretty stingy with free passes (2.10 BB/9). He owns a solid 2.10/3.24 ERA/xFIP on the season and should get ample opportunities to close out games with Minnesota winning so many contests (tied for 2nd most wins in baseball). I guarantee few, if any, pitchers in your free agency are as safe of an add as Taylor Rogers is right now.
Austin Meadows, OF, TB
Meadows' recent struggles continued on Saturday, as he went 0 for 4 against the Angels. He is now 2 for his last 25 and has struck out in almost half (12) of those at bats. The slump has seen his average plummet from .346 to .315 and he hasn't hit a homer in 76 plate appearances. Meadows had been on fire all season, so this regression is certainly not surprising. He just seems to pressing a bit lately; over the last week he has been chasing pitches (+4.4 O-Swing%) and whiffing more often (+2.8 SwStr%) than he was previously this season. Despite the skid, he still has very good overall numbers in 2019; his wOBA sits at .397 and his wRC+ is 155.
Shawn Kelley, RP, TEX
Kelley tossed a 1-2-3 ninth in Cincinnati yesterday to lock down his 8th save of the season. This was a nice bounce back game for Kelley after he struggled against Boston on Sunday, giving up four hits and a run. Kelley owns a nice 2.55 ERA, but that is about all that looks any good in his 2019 statistical repertoire. He is below average with a 7.30 K/9 ratio, his HR/9 is a hefty 1.46 and his 4.57 xFIP doesn't bode well for fantasy owners. Kelley has essentially been gifted the closing duties (for now) for the Rangers because Jose Leclerc has been so awful. However, Leclerc basically has the opposite ERA/xFIP split as Kelley (5.94 ERA/3.58 xFIP) and he signed an extension through 2024 earlier this year; so chances are Leclerc will be the Rangers "certified" 9th inning guy again soon.
Charlie Morton, SP, TB
Morton was saddled with his first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon when he surrendered four runs in 6.0 innings against the Angels. Morton came into the start with the league's 3rd lowest HR/9 rate of .44 (among qualified starters), but was severely hurt by the long ball in this one; three of the four runs he yielded came from a pair of home runs. Morton has been stellar this season and actually hadn't lost a decision in 22 straight starts before Saturday's hiccup. He still owns a sparkling 2.40/3.91 ERA/xFIP on the season and considering how hot the Angels offense has been (5th best wRC+ since June 1st), yesterday's decision shouldn't concern fantasy owners much.
Miguel Cabrera, 1B/DH, DET
Cabrera went 3 for 4, with a double, in Detroit's contest against Cleveland on Saturday evening. He is hitting .294 on the season and continues to battle for fantasy roster worthiness in 2019 (51.2% rostered in ESPN leagues). However, the 36-year-old veteran has an insanely low .100 ISO this season (just four home runs), and he isn't getting on base via the walk like he used to. His 8.5 BB% is the lowest of his career and without any power he has just a .323 wOBA this year. People will continue to hold on to Cabrera, but only because of his name, not because of his performance.
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