RADIO
Completely Harvey
What else does this kid have to do to show us that he’s the best young pitching star in baseball? Wednesday evening Matt “The Real Deal” Harvey, as Dwight Gooden refers to him, dominated the Rockies. Harvey allowed just four hits, struck out six and posted a goose egg in the walk column en route to his first career complete-game shutout. Alright, now he’s just showing off. Dude, we get it: you’re nails! Harvey placed 78 of his 106 pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA to a dazzling 2.09 through 159.2 IP, which is slightly higher than Clayton Kershaw’s league best 1.91 in 174.1 IP. Harvey improved his record to 9 – 3, which is stellar, considering how little run support he’s gotten in his second season in the majors. Harvey was scheduled to duel with Kershaw this weekend, but the Mets reworked their rotation, putting Harvey on a different schedule. Bummer-- that could have been magical.
AL HOT SHOTS
- Mark Reynolds was DFA'd by the Indians after hitting .215/.307/.373 in 335 at-bats; Lonnie Chisenhall seems to be the playing time beneficiary.
- Danny Salazar proved that his first start wasn't a fluke as he struck out ten including Miguel Cabrera thrice, before Cabrera would tag him for a two-run bomb in the eighth. Salazar will carry uber-value going into the home stretch with Corey Kluber out, his strikeout rates and a winning ball club behind him.
- Leonys Martin swiped three bags for the second consecutive game against the Angels. He’s got definite value in deep leagues with 26 thieveries thus far.
- Robbie Grossman homered for the second consecutive game and also put up his second straight multi-hit performance. He’s worth a look in deep leagues while he’s scorching the ball.
- Yu Darvish has a tight ass. No, I mean….ummm, he literally has a tight muscle in his gluteus. He pitched through it Wednesday, so with any luck he can work that out before his next start, and I can regain my man-card. Ugh.
- Adrian Beltre keeps producing, as he went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI on Wednesday. He’s batting .319 with 25 jacks.
- Alexi Ogando went a little bit longer than in his previous start but again didn't go far into the game, lasting only five innings. The Rangers may be protecting him, but at least he did show some strikeout stuff with four K. He’s a good stash for now, but he shouldn't be starting outside of very deep formats.
- Fernando Rodney coughed up the lead for the sixth time on the year. His job is safe as he’s actually been quite solid since June.
- Wil Myers left Wednesday’s game due to asthma related issues. He should be ok for Friday.
- Stephen Drew hit a three-run, eventual game-winning home run in the ninth inning off of Josh Fields to give the Red Sox a 7-5 win over the Astros on Wednesday.
NL HOT SHOTS
- Dioner Navarro will have an MRI on his ankle after leaving Wednesday's game after a collision at the plate.
- Andrew McCutchen was a late scratch from Thursday’s lineup with shoulder soreness. He made a diving catch on Tuesday which could be the culprit. Either way he’s been on fire and hopefully this doesn't slow him down.
- Tyler Chatwood was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation. He is out indefinitely.
- Michael Young will sit with hammy tightness on Thursday
- Carlos Martinez was recalled by the Cardinals to start Thursday. The 21-year-old is filthy and should be added speculatively in deeper leagues as he could be a decent streaming option.
- Rickie Weeks “felt a little pop or something like that” in his hamstring on Wednesday. He hasn’t been doing much anyway. Scooter Gennett will likely be recalled.
- Martin Prado was 4-for-4 with a walk, double and homer with four RBI and two runs scored. He’s been heating up and seems to finally be settling in with Arizona.
- Brad Ziegler all of a sudden has seven saves and the D'Backs' bullpen seems stable. Who woulda thunk it? He closed out the Rays with a scoreless ninth Wednesday.
- Khris Davis, remember that name. I’m telling you right now, he will find playing time down the stretch and become relevant quickly! He homered and was 2-for-4 Wednesday with two runs scored. With Ryan Braun out for cheating and the Brewers out of contention they should give the kid a shot.
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Follow Shawn Caswell on Twitter, or don’t: @CasKnowsRoto
