Given a save chance in a 2-0 game against the Mariners, Josh Hader turned in a third straight successful appearance on Tuesday, striking out three of the four batters he faced for just his third save with San Diego. The lone batter to reach was Julio Rodríguez on a groundball single. It seems safe to again consider him the Padres’ closer, at least for the moment.
As for whether Hader is back, that’s still up in the air. He didn’t seem to have any real faith in his slider Tuesday. The three he threw were harder than his typical sliders and didn’t offer as much movement. He actually turned to his changeup to get the final strike three against Ty France. It was just the third time he’d thrown that pitch in 12 appearances for the Padres. Velocity hasn’t been an issue for Hader. His fastball is fine. Still, he’s going to remain vulnerable until the slider comes back. He should be active in fantasy leagues while he’s closing, but I don’t think he’s out of the woods just yet.
National League notes
- In a thoroughly disastrous year for Marlins position players, the front office has quite a bit riding on infielder Jordan Groshans, who got a late callup on Tuesday. Groshans, 22, was the longtime prospect the club picked up from Toronto in exchange for relievers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop at the trade deadline, and while that doesn’t seem like a ton to part with, both Bass and Pop had trade value and Groshans was slugging .296 in Triple-A at the time. Groshans has made it look like a rather smart move thus far, hitting .301/.398/.416 with a 19/19 K/BB ratio in his 133 plate appearances for the Marlins’ Triple-A club. Still, if he flops in his brief audition here, it could add to the pressure GM Kim Ng is facing after just two years on the job, even if it doesn’t mean much of anything for Groshans’ long-term future.
Groshans presumably will finish out the year as the Marlins’ primary third baseman, putting Brian Anderson back in the outfield. He probably won’t offer any fantasy value this year or next, but if he develops average power to go along with his plate discipline, he could become a solid regular in time.
- The Mets also called up a 22-year-old third baseman, promoting Mark Vientos after he hit .280/.358/.519 with 24 homers in 427 plate appearances in Triple-A. They won’t be asking him to play regularly, though. Vientos just isn’t very good at third base, and he’s rather strikeout prone. What he does bring is excellent power, and he could run into a few against lefties here.
- I still don’t get the Pirates’ handling of Diego Castillo. Recalled Sunday after six weeks in the minors, he homered and walked in his first game back in the majors. His reward? He was the team’s lone position player not to start either game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Reds. Castillo was playing better during the five weeks before he was sent down than he did at any point previously. He’s not a quality major league regular right now, but as a 24-year-old with legitimate pop and versatility, he’s more interesting than many of the guys the Pirates are playing.
- That still might be better than what the Cubs have been doing. They have two 23-year-olds on their roster taking a backseat to Rafael Ortega, a 31-year-old no one showed any interest in at the trade deadline. That came to an end Tuesday, as Ortega, unfortunately, suffered a broken finger on a bunt attempt. Nelson Velazquez, who hasn’t been in the starting lineup in any of the team’s last five games, should get more of an opportunity here in these final three weeks. Velázquez slowed after a fine start and probably should have been sent down weeks ago to play regularly, but he’s shown impressive power and he actually had a lower strikeout rate in the majors (30%) than he did in the minors (36%). He still seems like someone who is going to need a stint in Triple-A to begin next year.
The other 23-year-old, Christopher Morel, has been on the bench two of the last three days. Morel’s production has also dropped off over the course of the year, but he still has a nice 106 OPS+ overall. He should have a much better chance than Velázquez of being part of next year’s Opening Day lineup, though it’s hardly a given. I still suspect the Cubs entrenched him at the bottom of the lineup and reduced his role somewhat in order to ensure that he wouldn’t get a top-two Rookie of the Year placement and earn himself a full year of service time. That’s well off the table at this point, though, as Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider would seem to be locks for those spots.
American League notes
- The Twins might have let Joe Ryan go for the no-hitter if he had been at 106 pitches after eight innings Tuesday, but at 106 after seven, taking him out seemed like the right move. He was already just four pitches away from matching his career high, and he’s also now at a career-high innings total of 129 2/3. Ryan has pitched right at my projections for him this year, and I still like him a fair amount going forward. It should be noted, though, that he’s taken great advantage of pitching in the AL Central. In seven starts against the Tigers and Royals, he’s gone 7-0 with a 1.08 ERA and a 51/9 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings. He’s 4-8 with a 5.13 ERA and an 82/32 K/BB ratio in 87 2/3 innings against everyone else.
- Jeremy Pena was one of the AL’s most pleasant surprises during the first couple of month, posting an .820 OPS with eight homers through the end of June. Since then, though, he’s come in at .235/.262/.364 with an 85/9 K/BB in 75 games. The Astros still have him batting second anyway, and one wonders if that will cause some issues in the postseason. Peña seems like anything except an ideal No. 2 hitter right now. He swings at 54.2% of pitches, the seventh-highest mark among the 139 batting-title qualifiers. He chases often and misses often, boasting the eighth-highest swinging strike rate in the league. He is a rookie, of course, and I assume things will get better in the long run. He seems like a bottom-of-the-order guy right now, however, and even though he’s in a great situation in Houston, I don’t think I’ll be recommending him next year.
- The Rays gave Jonathan Aranda just one start in his first 10 days back in the majors this month, but he’s now started four games in three days and he picked up his first major league homer in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. It’s odd that it’s taken this long for the 24-year-old to receive a chance, given that he has hit .330/.418/.543 and .318/.394/.521 in the minors the last two years. His defense at second base is a real issue, but he’ll probably keep getting time there with Brandon Lowe out, and he’s certainly earned a chance to start over the struggling Ji-Man Choi at first base. If the Rays stick with him, he should have some mixed-league value.
- The A’s added to their outfield mix by claiming Connor Capel off waivers from the Cardinals last week, though they chose to send him down to Triple-A initially. Capel, 25, has an interesting game; he possesses great plate discipline, above average speed and decent enough pop from the left side of the plate. He’s just never put up very good BABIPs, leaving him with mediocre overall lines that have kept him from getting taken very seriously as a prospect. He was at .258/.361/.425 with 10 homers and 19 steals in Triple-A this year. I still think he’s a guy who could surprise and turn in a few solid years as a platoon bat. It’s probably not going to amount to a whole lot for fantasy purposes, though, especially since the situation in Oakland is among the game’s toughest for hitters.
