Three Up:
1. New York Yankees Outfielder Aaron Judge — The 30-year-old is on a mission to not only get paid a lot of money this offseason but to win American League MVP. It appears both will happen, as Judge continues to hit home runs. Since returning from the All-Star break, the outfielder has hit four home runs to go along with 11 RBIs. For the season, Judge is batting .294 with 37 home runs and 81 RBIs. We’re officially on 60 home run watch for Judge during the final two months of the season.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder Mookie Betts — The Dodgers are rolling once again, and Betts is a major reason why. The outfielder has collected six hits (two of which have been home runs) and four RBIs since the All-Star break. For the season, Betts is hitting .270 with 22 home runs, 51 RBIs, 67 runs scored and seven stolen bases to once again be a solid fantasy contributor across the board.
3. Houston Astros Starting Pitcher Justin Verlander — The 39-year-old has found the Fountain of Youth … or the new ligament he received by undergoing Tommy John surgery has turned back the clock and made him 10 years younger. The right-hander touched 99 mph in his last start, which was the hardest he has thrown in years. It’s not a coincidence that the results have followed. Verlander is pitching to a 1.86 ERA and 0.88 WHIP to go along with 13 wins. It’s going to be a great race down the stretch for American League Cy Young. Verlander is quickly becoming the favorite.
Three Down:
1. Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder Kyle Schwarber – The Phillies are a very frustrating team, as they should be better than they are. After sweeping the Miami Marlins entering the All-Star break, they got swept immediately by the Chicago Cubs after the break. Schwarber collected only one hit during the series while striking out four times. The slugger has been a home run machine this season (30), but the .205 batting average is killer.
2. New York Yankees First Baseman Anthony Rizzo — After hitting 10 home runs in the month of June, Rizzo has only cleared the fences once in July. The 32-year-old has just six RBIs in July as well, which is a huge disappointment in an offense like the Yankees. Overall, Rizzo is batting .221 with 22 home runs and 57 RBIs. There’s another power surge coming, but fantasy owners are hoping it happens sooner rather than later.
3. Boston Red Sox Starting Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi — It doesn’t matter how long of a season baseball can be, one bad outing can ruin everything. The 32-year-old was pitching to a respectable 3.34 ERA until his start on July 22. The right-hander allowed nine earned runs in only 2.2 innings pitched and now has a 4.30 ERA for the season. This is only a blip but very frustrating for fantasy owners who have relied on Eovaldi as a back-end rotation option.
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