Baseball Daily Dose: Verlander Sharp in No-Hit Bid
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Tigers starter Justin Verlander flirted with a no-hitter in Wednesday’s start against the Angels, but lost it when Chris Iannetta led off the top of the ninth inning with a double down the left field line which kicked up chalk dust. Verlander settled for a one-hit shutout, walking two and striking out nine on 112 pitches. His fastball capped out at 97 MPH in the ninth inning and sat frequently in the mid-90’s.
Had Verlander completed the no-hitter, it would have been the third of his career. He no-hit the Brewers on June 12, 2007, and the Blue Jays on May 7, 2011.
Verlander was making his 13th start of the season, having missed the first two-plus months of the season due to a triceps injury. He was inconsistent through his first six starts – allowing six runs to the Yankees and seven runs each to the Blue Jays and Orioles – but seems to have figured things out since then. Since July 24, Verlander has a 1.38 ERA with a 49/8 K/BB ratio over 52 innings.
The 11-year veteran had a poor showing in 2014, finishing with a 4.54 ERA and his lowest strikeout rate since 2006. His strikeout rate still isn’t at previous levels, such as when he won the AL MVP and Cy Young Awards in 2011, but his current 20.7 percent K-rate is a three percent improvement over last season and is only a few percentage points back of his ’11 output.
Verlander is owned in 83 percent of Yahoo leagues, so fantasy players are unlikely to see him freely available in anything but the shallowest of mixed leagues. Wednesday’s outing ends any chance of picking him up as a buy-low trade target as well.
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Davis Continues Power Surge
When the Brewers traded outfielder Gerardo Parra to the Orioles at the trade deadline, Khris Davis (not to be confused with the Orioles’ Chris Davis) got an opportunity to play every day once again. The hot-hitting Parra – who left the Brewers with an .886 OPS – drew most of the starts in left field. Davis brought an adequate .236/.323/.424 batting line into August.
Davis has responded by becoming one of the hottest hitters in the month of August. Davis cranked out his 10th August home run on Wednesday, a solo shot to left field off of Indians starter Cody Anderson. Only Nelson Cruz has homered more this month, with 12 to extend his major league lead to 39.
In 310 plate appearances this season, Davis is batting .237/.316/.485 with 17 home runs and 45 RBI. Oddly enough, after posting no real platoon split in 2013-14, Davis is hitting right-handed pitching much better than that of southpaws, carrying an .883 OPS with 14 home runs versus same-handed pitching against .542 facing opposite-handed pitching.
Davis is only owned in 39 percent of Yahoo leagues. While the odds are on the 27-year-old cooling off before the end of the season, there’s no reason not to ride him while he’s hot.
Cuddyer’s Bat Heating Up
The Mets made a free agent splash in the off-season, signing Michael Cuddyer to a two-year, $21 million contract in November. It wasn’t working out very well, as he was batting .250/.303/.380 with eight home runs and 30 RBI before landing on the disabled list on July 22 with a left knee injury.
Cuddyer went 3-for-5 with an RBI double and a two-run home run as the first-place Mets won the third consecutive game of their four-game series against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Wednesday. He pinch-hit and ripped a two-run single on Tuesday, and went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo home run on Monday. Since August 11, his first start after being activated from the disabled list, Cuddyer is batting .359 (14-for-39) with four doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI.
With Lucas Duda on the disabled list, Cuddyer started at first base on Wednesday. The Mets’ outfield is currently comprised of Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, and Michael Conforto, so it’s unlikely Cuddyer will find much playing time out there when Duda returns on September 6. Despite the hot streak, Cuddyer will mostly serve as a bench bat the rest of the way, which will limit his fantasy appeal.
Cabrera Ups Average to .370
Lost in the hoopla of Justin Verlander’s no-hit bid was another big night for Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. He finished 1-for-3 with a two-run home run. The blast extended his hitting streak to 11 games, during which he is hitting .523 (23-for-44) with nine doubles, eight walks, two home runs, and 11 RBI. Nine of those 11 games have featured multiple hits. The only time he’s been held hitless since returning from the disabled list was his first game back on August 14, an 0-for-4 performance against the Astros.
Cabrera is now hitting .370/.473/.611, which may be the quietest anybody has ever hit .370 into the end of August. Bryce Harper (1.095) is the only hitter with a better OPS than Cabrera’s 1.084. Cabrera has hit 17 home runs overall and knocked in 65 runs with 65 runs scored.
wRC+ is a Sabermetric stat found at FanGraphs which individually weights each of a player’s offensive contributions, adjusts for park and league factors, then normalizes such that 100 is set at the average. Cabrera’s current 196 wRC+ is the best mark in baseball. Harper is found at 195 and Nelson Cruz is in third place at 180. Cabrera’s 196 would be a career-best if the season were to end today, even better than his 2013 output, 192.
Cabrera is hitting for more power than he did last season and nearly as much as he had previously in his career. And, certainly, his .371 average has had a lot to do with his offensive value as well. Also of note is his 16 percent walk rate, currently a career-high. 14 of those walks have been intentional, but he’s still shown a much more judicious approach to the strike zone, considering he walked in fewer than nine percent of his plate appearances last season.
We wouldn’t expect most players to carry a .370 batting average into the end of the season, but Cabrera has shown over his 13-year career that he isn’t “most players”. If he hadn’t missed six weeks between July 4 and August 13 to a calf injury, Cabrera might have been in the running for the AL MVP award and the AL batting title.
National League Quick Hits: Mets starter Steven Matz will likely make one more rehab start following Wednesday’s outing with Double-A Binghamton … Nationals outfielder Nate McLouth (shoulder) is expected to miss the rest of the season … Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said that catcher Christian Bethancourt will get the majority of starts behind the plate through the end of the season … The Marlins are hoping to get starter Jose Fernandez (biceps) back in mid-September … Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said there is a “good chance” third baseman Maikel Franco (wrist) returns before the end of the regular season … Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal will miss the team’s three-game series against the Giants as his wife is giving birth … Pirates shortstop prospect Cole Tucker underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder on Wednesday … The Cubs placed catcher David Ross on the family medical emergency list and recalled outfielder Matt Szczur from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday … Reds manager Bryan Price said on Tuesday that “it’s going to be a while before baseball activities start” for outfielder Billy Hamilton (shoulder) … Brewers outfielder Khris Davis hit his 10th home run in the month of August in Wednesday’s loss to the Indians … Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal (shoulder) is expected to return on Thursday … Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (oblique) hopes to return to the lineup in a couple of days … Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt smacked his 25th home run of the season in a loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday … Padres outfielder Wil Myers (wrist) took batting practice for the first time on Wednesday … Rockies pitcher Kyle Kendrick (shoulder) is expected to be cleared for a rehab assignment after throwing a 45-pitch simulated game on Tuesday.
American League Quick Hits: Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman (knee) is tentatively scheduled to start a rehab assignment with Single-A Lansing on Wednesday … Yankees starter Michael Pineda, in his return from the 15-day disabled list, gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings in Wednesday’s loss to the Astros … Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit one of his team’s five home runs to down the Royals on Wednesday … The Rays placed catcher Curt Casali (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of catcher J.P. Arencibia from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday … The Red Sox activated starter Rick Porcello (triceps) from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday … Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas slugged his 15th home run but the Royals lost to the Orioles on Wednesday … The Twins placed pitcher J.R. Graham (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday … The White Sox released outfielder John Mayberry, Jr. on Wednesday … Indians infielder Chris Johnson (infection) hit balls off a tee on Monday … Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez (shoulder) will start throwing early next week … Evan Gattis hit a pair of solo home runs in the Astro’s win over the Yankees on Wednesday … The Rangers claimed pitcher Chris Rearick off waivers from the Padres on Wednesday and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock … Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is expected to start against the Tigers on Thursday … Mariners outfielder Nelson Cruz hit his 39th home run in Wednesday’s win versus the Athletics … Athletics pitcher Felix Doubront (foot) has been cleared to start on Saturday against the Diamondbacks.
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