Happy Kokomo Friday! Hope you're all geared up for Labor Day weekend and ready to make that final push in your Fantasy Baseball leagues. Speaking of which, here's to hoping Aaron Nola is saving his best for last. He put up another dud against the Nationals this time, giving up six runs over four innings, bringing his ERA to 4.54. It's hard to believe that a pitcher can be unlucky for an entire season, but based on everything we have, that seems to be the case. I know when watching Nola this season, he's missed his spots within the zone, which has led to hard contact at times. He isn't completely blameless, but I do believe he's been pretty unlucky. I know it's hard to trust him this time of year, but I would leave Nola in the lineup for two starts next week.
On the hitter side of things, it's time to take a look at Akil Baddoo again if he's available in your league. He's now homered in back-to-back games and is only 54% rostered. Next week he has six games with only one lefty currently on the schedule. I still prefer Connor Joe over Baddoo, but if Joe is already gone, Baddoo is next up in Week 24.
Of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify.
Webb spins yet another gem
The Giants are one of the best stories in baseball this year and SP Logan Webb is a big reason why. The unsuspecting (borderline ace?) spun yet another wicked gem on Thursday night. Webb went seven innings deep against the Brewers and allowed just four hits and one walk to go along with one earned run. Webb is a big-time groundball pitcher, but what has separated him as a Fantasy Baseball ace over his past 11 starts is the fact that he is also racking up strikeouts. Webb struck out 10 on Thursday and induced 21 swinging strikes on 92 pitches (nine on his slider, five on his sinker, four on his changeup and three on his four-seam fastball).
Webb has been a legitimate must-start pitcher for a while now, and the bigger question has become where does he rank moving forward. Webb may continue to have his doubters, but over his past 11 starts he has compiled a 1.57 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 63 1/2 innings.
I've moved him up to SP25, just behind Max Fried and Framber Valdez, and that almost feels too low at this point. Elite groundball pitchers who average a strikeout per inning are a big-time asset in Fantasy. Webb pitches at Colorado next week.
McKenzie comes firing off the IL
He hasn't been anywhere near the Logan Webb level from a longevity or even pure dominance standpoint, but Cleveland SP Triston McKenzie continues to shine in the second half. We've been hyping McKenzie for a while now and it turns out his short stint on the IL wasn't going to slow down his momentum. Fresh off the IL on Thursday, McKenzie continued what he has shown in recent outings before his trip to the IL.
McKenzie went six innings strong allowing just two hits and one walk to go along with one unearned run. He struck out six and induced nine swinging strikes on 76 pitches. He could've gone longer in this one -- clearly -- but Cleveland played it safe. His pitch count will likely jump in the next start, but the important thing is that McKenzie's velocity stayed up in this start.
In his nine starts since the beginning of July, McKenzie has a 3.27 ERA with 54 strikeouts over 55 innings and just one walk. Fun fact: He's allowed just 60 hits over 97.1 IP this season -- a .173 BAA. That might just be the most incredible McKenzie stat out there right now.
News and notes
- Ozzie Albies has now missed two straight after fouling that ball off his knee Tuesday. He was originally expected to play Thursday so hopefully he returns for the weekend because we need Ozzie in Coors.
- Max Scherzer did leave Thursday's start after just 76 pitches due to hamstring tightness. "In the past I've always been able to make my next start, and I definitely think I'll be able to make my next start."
- After missing two days with an ankle injury, J.T. Realmuto returned to the lineup Thursday. He finished 1-4 with two runs scored.
- Wander Franco left Thursday's game with a headache BUT he did manage a walk to extend his on-base streak to 33 games. He's quietly putting together a solid second half.
- Avisail Garcia exited Thursday due to back and hamstring tightness.
- Gleyber Torres left his rehab game after getting hit by a pitch but later reported that everything is fine. If that's the case, we could see him back as early as Friday.
- Ke'Bryan Hayes has missed three games in a row due to a blister on his hand.
- Wilmer Flores was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain.
- Kyle Freeland received an injection to alleviate inflammation in his hip Thursday and is expected to be ready for his next turn through the rotation.
- Brett Anderson was placed on the IL with a left shoulder contusion.
- Zach Thompson has been moved to the bullpen so it looks like Edward Cabrera's role is safe for now.
The Prospect Report
Every week Scott White drops his prospect report highlighting top prospects around baseball who are either on the verge of being called up or on the periphery. This week feels even more momentous than usual with so many teams calling up prospects. This week highlighted the following players.
Five on the verge: KC SS Bobby Witt; MIN 3B Jose Miranda; AZ 1B Seth Beer; TB 2B Vidal Brujan and newcomer TB SP Shane Baz
Witt: Assistant GM J.J. Picollo already laid the groundwork for disappointment a couple weeks ago when he pointed out that rosters won't be expanded by as much this September and that the Triple-A season won't end as early, running through the end of the month.
"So do we truly have the ability to give somebody an opportunity in September? And if not, we know they're getting another close to 100 at-bats over the course of September," he told The Kansas City Star. "So I think it's totally different, and I think the dynamic has completely changed."
He wasn't addressing Witt specifically, but ... he kind of was addressing him, right? I'm keeping Witt as my No. 1 prospect to stash, but less because I'm optimistic he'll get the call than because his impact potential is that high if he does.
Five on the periphery: CLE OF Oscar Gonzalez; SEA SP Matt Brash; KC 1B Vinnie Pasquantino; LAD SS Eddys Leonard; BAL 3B Coby Mayo
Gonzalez: Gonzalez is one of those swing-at-everything types who sometimes have trouble breaking into the majors, and maybe that's why he's failed to gain much traction in the prospect rankings. But he's proven this year he can put a hurt on the ball when he gets ahold of it. The profile is beginning to resemble that of Jesus Sanchez, complete with all the risks. But given that Gonzalez has continued to get it done since moving up to Triple-A -- and in particular lately, homering five times in his past 10 games -- I'd say he's being undervalued in dynasty leagues.