Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Sad Story
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If the Rockies intend to keep making a push for a Wild Card spot, they’ll have to do it without their young stud shortstop.
Trevor Story has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and is set to undergo season-ending surgery. It’s a brutal ending to what has been a fantastic rookie campaign for Story, as he’ll finish the season with a .272/.341/.567 batting line with 27 homers, 72 RBI and eight stolen bases. The 27 longballs is a total currently good enough to lead the National League.
The Rockies are slated for now to go with Cristhian Adames and Daniel Descalso in the shortstop stop with Story on the shelf. Even playing half their games at Coors Field, neither player is worth picking up in fantasy leagues.
It will be interesting to see if the club tries to add a veteran shortstop in August on a waiver deal. Erick Aybar no doubt can be had, although it’s certainly arguable whether he’d be an upgrade. Jimmy Rollins is also out there, as he’s yet to catch on anywhere after being released by the White Sox back in June. Whoever they use, the Rockies are obviously going to be looking at a major drop in production.
David Dahl will move up a notch to the No. 5 spot in the batting order that has been vacated. The rookie outfielder is off to a fine start in his first eight games at the major league level, sporting a .355/.394/.581 batting line with two homers.
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Closer Carousel
We had some movement with closer jobs prior to the trade deadline with relievers changing teams. Since then, injuries and ineffectiveness have resulted in some more changes.
Ken Giles was supposed to be the Astros’ closer when he was acquired via trade from the Phillies over the winter. It took longer than expected, but he finally has the gig. With Will Harris having blown two straight save chances and three of his last five opportunities, he’s going back to a setup role and Giles is taking over the ninth inning.
“As always, these roles in the ‘pen evolve over time, and the ebbs and flows of the season sometimes create change,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And I’ll have Ken Giles start to pitch the ninth inning.”
Giles had a rough spring training and start to the season, but he’s been lights out since the beginning of June, putting up a 1.27 ERA and 35/5 K/BB ratio over 21 1/3 innings. The hard thrower has been particularly nasty of late with 14 straight scoreless appearances, boasting a ridiculous 23/4 K/BB ratio over 13 1/3 frames during that span. He should run away with the closer job and not look back.
Another ninth-inning swap has occurred in Seattle, where Steve Cishek has been demoted in favor of rookie fireballer Edwin Diaz. Cishek has actually had a fine season overall, posting a 3.40 ERA and 62/16 K/BB ratio across 47 2/3 frames. The sidearmer has scuffled of late, though, with a 7.20 ERA and a couple blown saves over his last 10 appearances. He served up a go-ahead homer in a tie game Monday and that was the final straw for manager Scott Servais.
“Obviously, Steve has struggled the last couple of times out, and we probably need to look at where we are headed in the short term to get him back on track,” Servais said. “We’ll talk about it. We’ll probably take the gas off a little bit and try to get him in some better spots — maybe not when the game is on the line all the time — and he can get it back going again.”
Diaz has been absurd since his promotion in early June, holding a 1.73 ERA and eye-popping 52/8 K/BB ratio over 26 innings. Of pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings, Diaz’s 18.0 K/9 is easily the best in baseball. He walked a batter but struck out the side to earn his first save in Tuesday’s win over the Red Sox. It remains to be seen whether the Mariners will eventually give Diaz a shot to start again – he was a well thought of starter prospect before being moved to relief at Double-A earlier this year – but he should be a dominant closer.
Huston Street has been placed on the disabled list with a knee injury and Joe Smith has been traded, creating another ninth-inning hole. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said that he plans to use a committee approach at closer, but Cam Bedrosian is the obvious choice to get the first crack at the job and he struck out the side versus the A’s Tuesday to earn his first career save.
The son of former major league closer Steve Bedrosian, Cam has been up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues the last few years, but he’s found his footing this season with a 0.90 ERA and 51/11 K/BB ratio over 38 innings. It’s unclear at this point how long Street will be sidelined. He’s really struggled this season with a 6.45 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, so it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if Bedrosian gets a shot to keep the job if he pitches well.
Benintendi, Arcia Arriving; Reed Returning
The Red Sox were reportedly considering adding an outfielder at the trade deadline, but there never seemed to be much urgency even though they’ve received little this season from their left fielders. The reason they lacked urgency is because they had a top outfield prospect in their back pocket.
Andrew Benintendi was summoned from Double-A Portland on Tuesday and is set to make his first major league start Wednesday (he struck out as a pinch-hitter Tuesday). The seventh pick in the 2015 Draft, Benintendi made a meteoric rise through the Red Sox system, batting .312/.392/.540 over 657 plate appearances the last two seasons. He’s slated to receive regular at-bats in left field against righties.
Just 263 of Benintendi’s plate appearances came above A-ball, but he’s consistently displayed a great batting eye with more walks than strikeouts on the farm. The Red Sox think that mature approach will afford him well as he skips over Triple-A. While Benintendi is an exciting prospect who could hit for some power and steal bases in the majors, his home run (nine) and stolen base (16 on 25 attempts) totals in 2016 don’t blow you away. It’s hard to imagine the 22-year-old providing a ton of category juice over the final two months, but he’s certainly worth an add in deeper leagues to see if it can happen.
Not only does the trade deadline result in lots of players changing uniforms, it often signifies the time of the year when rebuilding clubs take a look at younger guys. That’s the case with the Brewers, who called up top prospect Orlando Arcia on Tuesday.
Arcia was ranked at midseason by Baseball America as the No. 14 prospect in the game. The slick-fielding shortstop hasn’t done at ton at the plate this season at Triple-A Colorado Springs, putting up a .267/.320/.403 batting line with eight homers and 15 steals. It’s especially underwhelming when you consider he played in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and at a launching pad at Colorado Springs.
What we must keep in mind with Arcia, however, is that he won’t turn 22 until later this week. He’s consistently been way younger than most players he’s competed against coming up through the minors, and he’s usually more than held his own. It’s the reason many are so bullish on his long-term prospects. That said, he’s probably not ready yet to provide a ton of help for fantasy owners, especially when considering how deep the shortstop position has been this season.
Another youngster we’re going to get to see is A.J. Reed. Unlike Benintendi and Arcia, Reed has already dipped his toe into the major league waters. It didn’t go well, as he batted just .156/.250/.289 with 19 strikeouts over 52 plate appearances before being sent back down last month. Reed earned another opportunity by hitting a blistering .436 (17-for-39) with four homers and three doubles over 11 games.
You never know when things are going to click for a young hitter at the big league level, so it’s impossible to know what Reed will do in his second go-round in the majors (he went 0-for-4 in his return Tuesday). He’s consistently mashed in the minors, though, and is one of the top young power prospects in the game. The 23-year-old should get regular playing time against righties between first base and the designated hitter spot and is worth another shot in deeper formats.
National League Quick Hits: Aaron Altherr went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBI in a victory over the Giants on Tuesday … Julio Teheran was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a right lat strain … Scott Schebler had three hits, including a walk-off, three-run homer in Tuesday’s win over the Cardinals … Jacob deGrom whiffed eight across seven frames of shutout ball against the Yankees on Tuesday … Ryan Braun (side) hit a solo homer in his return to the lineup Tuesday … Wilson Ramos went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday’s win over the Diamondbacks … Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with four RBI in a victory over the Dodgers … Francisco Cervelli left Tuesday’s game against the Braves after taking a pitch to the helmet … Jason Hammel tossed six shutout innings in a win over the Marlins on Tuesday … Brandon Moss returned from the disabled list to go 3-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored in a loss to the Reds … Brandon Belt went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday’s loss to the Phillies … Dexter Fowler went 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday’s victory over the Marlins … David Phelps will move into the Marlins’ rotation on Friday in Colorado … Ryan Zimmerman (wrist) remained out of the lineup Tuesday … Jake Peavy has been sent to the Giants’ bullpen to accommodate the arrival of Matt Moore …
American League Quick Hits: Lance McCullers departed Tuesday’s start against the Blue Jays with soreness in his pitching elbow … Danny Salazar (elbow) was placed on the DL Tuesday, but an MRI showed only inflammation … Dylan Bundy recorded seven while allowing just one hit over seven scoreless innings in a victory over the Rangers on Tuesday … J.D. Martinez (elbow) will be activated from the disabled list Wednesday … Max Kepler clubbed another home run, drew three walks, scored three runs and stole a base in Tuesday’s victory over the Indians … Robinson Cano ripped a go-ahead three-run homer in Tuesday’s win over the Red Sox … Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in a win over the White Sox on Tuesday … Avisail Garcia didn’t start Tuesday but came off the bench to homer twice in a loss to the Tigers … Pedro Alvarez ripped a pair of solo home runs in Tuesday’s win over the Rangers … Jose Bautista went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Tuesday … Carlos Santana went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday’s loss to the Twins … R.A. Dickey tossed seven frames of one-run ball in a win over the Astros Tuesday …
