Christian Yelich- OF- MIL- Hot- Yelich went 3-for-5 with a double, 2 RBI, and run scored. He has been looking more like the MVP of the past over the past few weeks. Since August 12 Yelich has gone 32-for 93 with 8 doubles, 14 runs scored, and 13 RBI in 25 games. Where Yelich still hasn't come around is homers. He has only 2 long balls in this stretch. Yelich has seen his BABIP rise to .348, still a little lower than his .353 career mark. His Exit Velocity of 91.3 is lower than his outstanding seasons of 2018 and 2019, but still solid. His HardHit% of 50.7% is very good. Yelich has a FB% of 25.6%, but in 2018 it was 23.5% and he hit 36 homers. Seeing Yelich's average go up (It's now at .260) is a good sign for the rest of this season and heading into 2022.
Adrian Sampson- P- CHC- Hot- Sampson was charged with the loss last night despite only giving up 2 runs in 5 IP. Both of the runs came on solo homers. Overall he gave up 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. It was Sampson's second start of the season. He has also appeared in relief 4 times. Sampson owns a 2.20 ERA, but his FIP is 5.86, primarily because he has allowed 4 homers in 16.1 IP. He put up a 4.96 ERA at AAA Iowa this season and a 5.40 ERA in the KBO in 2020. In 169.1 MLB career IP Sampson has a 5.37 ERA. His current season number sticks out as an outlier. Don't count on his being a sleeper in the last few weeks of the season.
Yadiel Hernandez- OF- WAS- Hot- The lefthanded hitting Hernandez continued to exhibit reverse splits, going 2-for-4 with a homer, facing 2 different southpaws last night. He is hitting .321 with 4 homers in 61 PAs versus LH pitching this season. Hernandez had a .394 BABIP against them before last night's game, so the average may be supported by some good fortune. Overall, Hernandez is slashing .279/.336/.447 with 8 homers in 217 PAs. He has also added 3 steals. He has an Exit Velocity of 89.8 and HardHit% of 37.8%, which shows some ability behind the power numbers. Hernandez had a blistering 9-game hitting streak in late July-early August. He currently is on a 3-game streak in which he has gone 4-for 4-for-11 with a homer. Watch and see if he keeps this up and shows trends of streakiness.
Albert Pujols- 1B- LAD- Stats- Pujols made a successful return to St. Louis, as he hit a homer in his first AB in his old stomping grounds as a member of the Dodgers. It was Pujols' 17th homer of the season in 274 PAs. His .212 ISO is his best since 2015. A BABIP of .222 is negatively impacting his average. Pujols has an Exit Velocity of 90.1, equaling his 2018 number and better than any other season since 2016. His Barrel% of 8.5% is his second best since Statcast started keeping numbers in 2015. Pujols also has his best HardHit% of his past 3 seasons at 37.9%. Pujols still has a power stroke that he exhibits frequently when he gets playing time.
Aaron Loup- RP- NYM- Hot- If your league counts holds then Loup has value. He picked up his 16th hold last night and also has a 1.11 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Loup has also struck out 50 in 48.2 IP. Last season with Tampa Bay Loup had a 2.52 ERA in 25 IP. The 33-year-old handles a middle relief role well and contributes in leagues that places value on holds.
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