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Joey Votto, Jose Altuve Aren’t the Only MLB Hitters Enjoying a Huge Second Half
The MLB regular-season schedule is a grind, and there’s a reason why they call it the “dog days of August.” For some reason, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve aren’t paying much attention to that as they each chase history with torrid runs through the second half.
Basically, no opposing pitcher is safe, as they’re each looking to become the first hitters to hit over .400 after the All-Star game since some guy named Ichiro Suzuki did it in 2004.
While they’re grabbing all the headlines, they’re not the only ones tearing the cover off baseballs since the league’s brightest stars met up in San Diego. In fact, Votto and Altuve are just two of seven hitters with at least 30 second-half games played and a batting average higher than .350. Here’s a look at the list with some stats for perspective:
Daniel Murphy, Jose Altuve on Track to do Something we Haven’t Seen Since 2004
With about two months of play to go, the National League and American League playoff races are just starting to get interesting. However, the batting races appear to be all but finished thanks to the raking Daniel Murphy and Jose Altuve have done all season.
Entering action on Friday, each second baseman has a stranglehold on their respective league’s leaderboard when ranked by batting average. What’s so special about this? Well, I was looking through the box scores this week and kept thinking to myself, “God, these guys are still hitting close to .360? In August? When was the last time the batting champ in both leagues finished with an average over .350?”
As it turns out, this particular scenario isn’t as common as it used to be. Between 1990 and 2004, it happened eight different times.
A handful of batting champs have come close to reaching this benchmark since 2004, but haven’t quite gotten there. Is this .350 benchmark rather arbitrary? Probably, but oh well. This gets more interesting upon seeing the similarities between Murphy and Altuve, both with regard to the season they’re enjoying and the current situation they find themselves in. Here are four that stood out:
Ryan Dull’s record streak ended Saturday
On Saturday Oakland A’s reliever Ryan Dull saw his streak of not allowing an inherited runner to score end at a record setting 36 runners.
Starter Kendall Graveman had pitched eight beautiful innings but found himself in a bit of trouble in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, when he allowed back to back singles to the Houston Astros’ Jake Marisnick and Marwin Gonzalez. He was relieved by Dull, obviously a pitcher used to entering the game to help other pitchers out of their jams.
Jose Altuve then grounded out to Tyler Ladendorf who tossed the ball to second baseman Jed Lowrie getting Gonzalez out but allowing Marisnick to score from third, thus ending Dull’s streak. Dull offered up one more run when Luis Valbuena singled in Altuve but he struck out Carlos Gomez to get his very first big league save, and preserved the very deserved win for Graveman.
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Jose Altuve Taking a Page out of Bryce Harper’s Book During Monster Year
Just when it looked like Houston Astros second baseman (and now four-time All-Star) Jose Altuve couldn’t get much better at the plate, he proves us wrong.
Since debuting in 2011 as a 21-year-old, Altuve has displayed quite the ability to collect base hits. Not only does he already have a batting title under his belt, but also no American League player has collected more hits than him since 2014. As Houston continued building a powerful lineup around him, he was incredibly valuable to the club has a top-of-the-lineup table setter.
From 2014-15, he posted a .327/.365/.456 triple slash with 22 homers, 87 doubles, 125 RBI, 171 runs scored and 94 stolen bases. It can’t get much better than that, right? Since Altuve is in the midst of his sixth MLB season, we tend to forget that he’s still young and can actually improve.
That’s exactly what he’s done this year as a 26-year-old, and it seems like he’s taken a page straight out of Bryce Harper’s book in the process.
Chances are slim he actually chatted with Harper about it – and Harper isn’t the first young player to experience the kind of jump in production he did in 2015 – but it’s interesting to see two very different hitters experience similar results with regard to a similar shift in plate approach.
Houston Astros Already Running Out of Time to Turn Their Season Around
We can all pretty much agree on one thing when it comes to the Houston Astros – their complete teardown and rebuild was brutal. However, after watching them morph from a 100-loss team to an 86-win playoff bound one in the matter of a couple years, it was definitely worth it.
Equipped with a young core and reinforcing the pitching staff with hurlers like Doug Fister and Ken Giles, the expectations grew even more for 2016. They were not only expected to return to October, but also get past the ALDS and take that next step toward a championship.
Fast forward to the middle of May, and the Astros are easily baseball’s biggest disappointment throughout the season’s first month and a half. Entering action on Tuesday, they’re in last place with a 16-24 record and are seven games back of first in the AL West.
MLB Fantasy Daily (DFS) Picks For DraftKings – 5/17/16
Cabrera has absolutely destroyed Starter Phil Hughes in his career, – with 6 Bolts in just 43 AB. He and the Tigers take their road act to Target Field again tonight. Last evening they scored 10 runs for the 1st time all season. i would not be surprised to see them turn the feat again tonight. The Tigers are also not overpriced yet as they have struggled most of the year. They are the top stacking option lineup all night.
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15 Games – ALL Day Slate (DraftKings, Tuesday May 17, 2016)
Stacking Options tonight Rank
(1) Baltimore vs Wade Miley
(2) Detroit Tigers vs Phil Hughes
(3) Houston vs Carlos Rodon
(5) LA Dodgers vs Jered Weaver
(5) Chicago Cubs vs Chase Anderson
3 Pitchers to use.
(1) Clayton Kershaw, LAA @ LAD, $13, 700
(2) Wei-Yin Chen. MIA @ PHI, $8500
(3) Juan Nicasio, ATL @ PIT, $7300 Read the rest of this entry
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 5/10/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates.
P- Kevin Gausman (vs. Minnesota Twins): $8,200. Gausman has proven he is a great play in daily fantasy over his first few starts in 2016. He is currently averaging 18.8 points per game on DraftKings this season. He will be facing the 26th ranked offense on Tuesday, whom ranks as the 4th worst in the MLB when it comes to striking out. To top it all off, there is an 11 MPH wind blowing towards home plate, so the baseball should stay in the ballpark on Tuesday.
P- Derek Holland (vs. Chicago White Sox): $6,200. Holland hasn’t been spectacular in 2016, but Tuesday could be the day to turn it around. He is facing the Chicago White Sox, whom are ranked as the 18th overall offense in the MLB. When it comes to facing left-handed pitching, the White Sox are hitting a mediocre .237. There will also be some very favorable weather for Mr. Holland on Tuesday. In Texas, it is expected to see winds upwards of 20 MPH towards home plate, which means there is a very slim chance of any power production.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/9/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates.
P- Jose Fernandez (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $11,300
P- Jose Berrios (vs. Baltimore Orioles): $7,000
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/8/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates. For those of you who follow my lineups daily, you are used to my explanations on each player. I apologize, but I can’t do that today or tomorrow. My girlfriend is graduating college this weekend and I’m right in the middle of finals week, so it’s a pretty hectic time period. My Draft Kings lineups will be back to normal on Sunday!
P- Jose Quintana (vs. Minnesota Twins): $10,600
P- Justin Nicolino (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $5,300
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/7/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates. For those of you who follow my lineups daily, you are used to my explanations on each player. I apologize, but I can’t do that today or tomorrow. My girlfriend is graduating college this weekend and I’m right in the middle of finals week, so it’s a pretty hectic time period. My Draft Kings lineups will be back to normal on Sunday!
P- Chris Sale (vs. Minnesota Twins): $12,900
P- Jared Weaver (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $6,900
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
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