Bryan Reynolds went 4-for-5 with a double, a grand slam, three runs scored, and a stolen base against the Cubs on Sunday. Reynolds plated half of Pittsburgh's eight runs with one swing of the bat in the third inning, transforming a one-run deficit into a three-run lead. The dinger was his 22nd of the season but first since August 14, as the first-time All-Star went into a tailspin during the dog days of summer. Prior to Sunday, he batted just .215/.307/.292 with no home runs and only six RBIs over his previous 20 games, causing his OPS to tumble 45 points. Perhaps Sunday's big game will get him back on track, however, as he also added his 30th double and fifth stolen base to his ledger. With 81 RBIs and 77 runs, he still has a slight chance of hitting the century mark for both as well, while the four hits pushed his average back over .300 to .301.
Javy Baez led the Mets to victory on Sunday by going 4-for-4 with a homer, three runs, two RBIs, and a stolen base against the Nationals. Sunday marked Baez's first four-hit game of the season and only his second with at least three hits, the last of which came all the way back on April 23. He's rediscovered his power stroke lately, however, after initially struggling when he was sent to the Mets at the trade deadline. Four of his six home runs with his new club have come in his last nine games, giving him 28 on the season. The four hits raised his batting average to a serviceable .251, while the stolen base was his 14th of the year and first with New York. Despite leading the National League with 159 strikeouts and walking only 18 times, he's been a strong fantasy asset this year given his contributions across multiple categories.
Luis Castillo suffered his MLB-worst 15th loss on Sunday despite limiting the Tigers to three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over six innings. Castillo continues to endure terrible luck in the W-L department, losing for the fifth time in his last six starts despite posting his fifth straight quality start during that stretch, lowering his ERA to 4.20 in the process. After a terrible first two months of the season in which he had a 7.22 ERA, Castillo has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the past three months with a 2.77 ERA and a 9.6 K/9 rate since the beginning of June. He's only gone 6-7 during that span, however, as he continues to receive poor run support like he did on Sunday, when Cincy scored just one run. Despite the poor luck there, fantasy owners should continue to roll with him down the stretch given his contributions in other categories. He'll look to get back in the win column against the Cardinals in St. Louis in his next scheduled start.
Frank Schwindel powered the Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the Pirates on Sunday by going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, two runs scored, and a walk. With Chicago trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh, Schwindel blasted a go-ahead homer with his 11th big fly of the season -- 10 of which have come in his 32 games with the Cubs since late July. Schwindel is arguably the hottest hitter on the planet right now after homering in three straight games and in six of his past seven games, as he absolutely feasted on Pittsburgh's pitching this weekend. He's now batting .338 with an absurd 1.037 OPS, as the 29-year-old rookie is making a belated push for NL Rookie of the Year honors. While he's going to cool off eventually, he's solidified his must-start status across all fantasy leagues.
Jonathan Villar went 2-for-6 with a double, a solo homer, and two runs scored on Sunday. Villar paced New York's 13-6 win over Washington from the leadoff spot, scoring the Mets' first run after doubling in the first and swatting a solo shot in the second. Villar's been red-hot over the past couple weeks, batting .440 with eight extra-base hits, 10 runs, and seven RBIs over his last 13 games. He's now hit safely in 11 of his last 12 starts, raising his average from .241 to .268 and boosting his OPS from .743 to .809. After being dropped down to the bottom third of the order due to his struggles, but he's returned to the leadoff spot during his recent heater. Assuming he stays there for the rest of the season, he's worth starting all formats due to his ability to contribute in multiple categories.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
