Kyle Manzardo (1B/DH - CLE) - Manzardo returned to the majors with a bang on Sunday, hitting two solo homers against the Pirates in a 6-1 win. I expect that he'll be the primary DH (at least against RHP) down the stretch for the Guardians, and as even though his first stint with Cleveland was rather poor, I expect better things from him this time around. He blames a lot of his struggles on trying to figure out how to be a productive hitter while not playing the field, and I do think that is a thing for many young players (which is why I hate the idea of prospects coming up to DH). Manzardo is probably akin to a more talented version of the Hoskins/Torkelson class of player, where there's plus contact and plus power but an approach that limits AVG to an extent. I do believe that he is worth a claim for the stretch run in hopes that the excellent OBP/power combo provides production now that he's a bit more accustomed to being a nearly full-time DH.
Zach Eflin (SP - BAL) - Well, that was surprising. I was certainly a little concerned about Eflin coming off of the IL and starting in Colorado, so much so that I wouldn't have started him if I had any other options in just about any format. Naturally, he went out and allowed 4 hits and a run on 85 pitches, walking 1 and fanning 9 in an extremely efficient outing. That gives him 5 QS in 5 starts since coming to Baltimore, and the schedule lines up very well for him the rest of the way: TB, @DET, and SF before finishing up at the Yankees. I'm running him out there for the next 3 without thinking after watching him on Sunday. His velo was up on all of the hard stuff and down on the breaking pitches Sunday, so all of that looks positive as well.
Tommy Pham (OF - KC) - The Royals went a little crazy over the weekend, picking up Robbie Grossman, Yuli Gurriel, and Tommy Pham to bolster their squad for the stretch run. Pham and Gurriel were both in the lineup on Sunday, with Pham hitting leadoff....my assumption is that Grossman will primarily be a short-side platoon bat. The other two should play most of the time though, and Pham in particular still has a bit to offer at age 36. I know the numbers don't look impressive at all this year, but the Statcast xAVG of .277 and XSLG of .422 are a bit better, and while the exit velo is off a bit this season, it's still solidly above average. He has a bit of speed and still has excellent plate discipline and contact ability. He is still a quality hitter, and I would have no qualms about grabbing him if I needed an OF. This is a top-10 offense, and he may be their leadoff hitter for the last month of the season, and his underlying stats show that he is at least average in every facet of the game on offense.
Alex Cobb (SP - CLE) - Cobb was the guy that we've become accustomed to seeing over the past few years on Sunday, going 6 strong innings against Pittsburgh, allowing 2 singles and an unearned run with 6 K's. He didn't walk a batter, generated 11 GB outs against 1 flyball out, had 11 swinging strikes on just 80 pitches, and showed a slight increase in velocity. All positive stuff, and while his next outing against the Dodgers gives me a bit of pause, the following week against the Rays is a plus matchup, and the Twins and Cards after that aren't anything particularly scary. I think that he's worth a pickup for the stretch run based on what I saw Sunday.
Spencer Torkelson (1B - DET) - I really don't want to get sucked in here again, but Torkelson hit another homer on Sunday against the Red Sox, giving him 4 in 55 ABs since his return from AAA. He was hitting 308/368/577 since his recall coming into the contest, and while that AVG isn't likely to be sustainable, the power should be. He just turned 25, and he looks very much like a Rhys Hoskins clone stat-wise. Hoskins was pretty perpetually underrated due to the low batting averages, but particularly in OBP-based formats he was very useful. The AVG issues don't really stem from swing-and-miss as much as they come from the very high pull/FB rate.....very similar to Hoskins. I still have hope here, even for the remainder of this season.
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