Three Up:
1. St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman Paul Goldschmidt — The frontrunner to win the National League MVP continues to play at a high level. The first baseman finished the week hitting .542 with three home runs, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. For the season, Goldschmidt is hitting .340 with 31 home runs, 100 RBIs, 87 runs scored and five stolen bases.
2. Houston Astros Third Baseman Alex Bregman — The infielder continued his strong second half, as he finished this past week collecting nine hits with two home runs and eight RBIs. Bregman also chipped in with a stolen base and seven runs scored. In the month of August, Bregman is batting .357 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored. This strong month has raised Bregman’s batting average to .261. He also has 18 home runs, so he has a chance to finish with 25 for the season.
3. Atlanta Braves Starting Pitcher Charlie Morton — The veteran seems to have figured out some of his issues as we head down the stretch, and for him, hopefully that includes the postseason. Entering August, the 38-year-old had a 4.34 ERA, but Morton has lowered that to 3.99. In four starts this month, the right-hander has allowed just seven earned runs while striking out 38. It’s good news for fantasy owners who have stuck with the veteran.
Three Down:
1. New York Mets First Baseman Pete Alonso — It was a rough week for Alonso as he only collected four hits while striking out six times. Alonso currently is hitting .244 this month, which would be the lowest monthly total this year. We’re not worried about Alonso, but hopefully he can turn it around quickly. The games are dwindling and fantasy owners need him down the stretch.
2. Texas Rangers Shortstop Corey Seager — The infielder only collected six hits with no home runs and drove in two runs this past week. The power is down for Seager, who has a .404 slugging percentage in the second half compared to .484 in the first half. Overall, Seager is still having a strong season, as he’s hitting .251 with 26 home runs, 61 RBIs, 66 runs scored and three stolen bases.
3. Miami Marlins Starting Pitcher Sandy Alcantara — When a Cy Young favorite sees his ERA jump noticeably, he needs to be mentioned. The right-hander failed to finish four innings Aug. 21 as he allowed six earned runs. Alcantara’s ERA went from 1.92 to 2.19 as a result. I’m not concerned, but it should be noted that Alcantara has allowed at least four earned runs in three of his last five starts. To be fair, he allowed zero earned runs in those other two starts. We’re seeing a pitcher who has thrown a lot of innings this season. He has been really good but could be tiring enough that there will be a couple more blips along the way.