Three Up:
1. Houston Astros Third Baseman Alex Bregman — It’s been an overall struggle for Bregman this season, but it appears the infielder is turning the corner as we head toward the finish line. Bregman is batting .400 in the month of August with three home runs, nine RBIs and 12 runs scored. Bregman has not hit more than four home runs in any month, but there’s a strong chance he will eclipse that this month. Overall, he is hitting .258 with 16 home runs, 64 RBIs and 65 runs scored.
2. San Diego Padres Third Baseman Manny Machado — It was a rough July for Machado and rightfully so as he was dealing with a bad ankle injury. It appears Machado is healthy again and showing the consistency that he always has. In the month of August, the third baseman is batting .333 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and 12 runs scored. For the season, Machado is batting .290 with 21 home runs, 70 RBIs, 75 runs scored and seven stolen bases. In the final month and half, we will be sweating out our preseason Machado home run bet of over 28.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.
3. San Diego Padres Starting Pitcher Blake Snell — The left-hander is in a groove. That was on full display this past week as he struck out 18 while allowing only one earned run. Since July 1, a stretch that spans eight starts, Snell has only allowed more than one earned run once. The left-hander had an ERA of 5.22 on July 14, but he has lowered it to 3.66 with his recent performance. Snell has always frustrated me with his inconsistencies and until recently, it was more of the same. We’ll be cautiously optimistic that Snell can continue this performance down the stretch.
Three Down:
1. Pittsburgh Pirates Shortstop Oneil Cruz — The 23-year-old is an electric talent and is going to be a fantasy star. However, despite flashing those skills at various times since his promotion, the overall numbers are not good. Cruz struggled this past week, as he struck out nine times and only collected three hits. Overall, Cruz is batting .200 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs, 22 runs scored and six stolen bases. I figured Cruz would help more in the stolen base category and his current batting average is killing fantasy managers.
2. Philadelphia Phillies Catcher J.T. Realmuto — It was a rough week for the catcher, as Realmuto only collected three hits while striking out eight times. It’s been an inconsistent season for Realmuto, and his .258 batting average would be the worst finish in his career. However, Realmuto has 14 stolen bases and should once again flirt with 20 home runs.
3. Kansas City Royals Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. — It’s already been a successful rookie campaign for the 22-year-old, but like Cruz, young players are going to go through struggles. Witt is having a rough month, as he is only hitting .239 with a slugging percentage of .304. The shortstop has dealt with a hamstring injury, which could be a factor. However, this game is really hard and players are constantly making adjustments. We’ll see if Witt can make an adjustment and finish strong. Overall, the youngster is batting .253 with 15 home runs, 57 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox