Brian Dozier was 2-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBI. Dozier is catching my attention as he sported a 124 wRC+ in June and a 155 wRC+ in July (before yesterday). He has always been a streaky hitter, so this could be wear he goes on a Dozier-like tear. I don't foresee him returning to the days of 30 HR and 15+ SB, but he could be a good low tier 2B option down the stretch if you're desperate, especially the next few weeks if this hot streak continues. At the very least, we should continue to see an increase in power as he's increased his FB% nearly 3% this year.
Ian Kinsler was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and now doesn't have an XBH in his last 12 games. Through half a season, Kinsler has shown that he doesn't have it anymore. It's shocking that the Padres haven't called up uber prospect Luis Urias who is crushing the ball in AAA. That may happen soon, which would make Urias an immediate add. He's worth stashing now.
Brian Anderson was 2-for-5 with a walkoff double yesterday. Anderson has been right about league average this year. Interestingly, his OPS is basically identical to last year(.756) but league averages have increased such that his wRC+ is down from 113 to 102. He's essentially the same player as last year, which is unfortunate as we were hoping for an improvement in his age 26 season. There's still more potential there, but it appears as though it will have to happen in 2020.
Joe Kelly was tagged for a run with 2 hits in just 0.2 innings, upping his ERA to 5.29. Kelly seemed like a lock for Roto leagues this year given his incredible playoff run last year. However, he's been a bit unlucky which has caused his stats to look way off. His ERA was 5.13 entering yesterday, meaningfully higher than his 3.50 SIERA. I'd expect positive regression over the next few months, making him an extremely cheap source of holds and/or ratios.
Garrett Cooper continued mashing, going 2-for-4 with a walk. His wRC+ is up to 140 for the year as the stars have aligned as he's received ample playing time. His comp is a poor man's Eric Hosmer, as the profile is similar (in that they both crush the ball into the ground at a high rate). Cooper actually has an insane 39% HR/FB rate, but only hits 19% of balls into the air. It would be scary to see what the results might look like with more balls in the air, but regardless, he should profile a solid average and OBP for the rest of the season, but his counting numbers won't keep pace given the offense he's in.
