Three Up:
1. Miami Marlins Starting Pitcher Sandy Alcantara — There’s not a lot more that needs to be written about Alcantara that hasn’t been covered already. We’re watching old-school pitching in an era when pitchers are handled with care. The right-hander was dominant again this week. He pitched 15 innings, didn’t allow a run and struck out 14. Alcantara has failed to complete six innings only three times this season, and that hasn’t happened since May 6. For the season, Alcantara has a 1.73 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 111 strikeouts and nine wins.
2. Colorado Rockies Infielder/Outfielder Kris Bryant — It’s been an extremely disappointing start to Bryant’s Rockies career. The veteran has dealt with injuries throughout the season and didn’t hit his first home run until July 5. However, maybe Bryant is making up for lost time, as he has hit three more since and totaled four over the past week while driving in five runs. For the season, Bryant is batting .300 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. Those numbers should be his stats in mid-April, but hopefully, fantasy owners will be rewarded for their patience during the second half of the season.
3. Texas Rangers Shortstop Corey Seager — Another big offseason acquisition and another player who has struggled with his new team. Despite the 19 home runs, Seager’s average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage would all be career lows outside of 2018 when he played 26 games. The 28-year-old is having a strong start to July, as he’s batting .382 with four home runs, 10 RBIs and six runs scored. Even more impressive is Seager has struck out only once, so more contact is leading to more production. Like Bryant, we can’t change what has happened so we need to hope this will continue for the rest of the season. The talent and track record give us a positive outlook that it can.
Three Down:
1. Detroit Tigers Outfielder Riley Greene — Life as a rookie is never easy, as there are highs and lows. Fighting through that to become more consistent is the goal. Greene is struggling, as he finished the week with a .177 batting average and struck out nine times. The 21-year-old finished June with a .286 batting average and is batting .213 in July. Overall, Greene is batting .244 with one home run, eight RBIs, 13 runs scored and a stolen base in 21 games. Hopefully, the current struggles don’t last too much longer and Greene can start helping fantasy owners again.
2. Chicago White Sox Shortstop Tim Anderson — It’s been a rough start to July for Anderson, as he’s batting .205 with only two RBIs this month. Anderson missed most of June with a groin strain, so he’s still trying to regain the form he had prior to the injury. Anderson has yet to hit a home run since returning and has struck out 14 times in 17 games. Anderson is way too talented, so once he gets back his timing, the shortstop will be back to what we’re accustomed to.
3. San Diego Padres Starting Pitcher MacKenzie Gore — Like for Greene and Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz, the major leagues are difficult and it’s not easy being a youngster. Gore caught the baseball world by storm earlier this year, as he didn’t allow more than three earned runs in his first nine starts. Since then, Gore has allowed at least six earned runs in three of his last five starts. Gore’s ERA went from 1.50 on June 6 to 4.08. The 23-year-old is super talented, but the league has adjusted to him and now it’s his turn to adjust back.