Major League Baseball

Covered by Will Thompson

Kyle Tucker, RF CHC (MLB)

0-for-4, K

The Cubs freefall in the NL Central race has directly coincided with Tucker and PCA not hitting. Tucker has been bad for a while now and his power has not been showing up consistently. Since July 1, he is hitting .195/.333/.246 with just one home run in 34 games. His K to walk ratio has remained elite in this stretch as always, but he’s not making the same quality of contact which is concerning. The Cubs really need Tucker to turn it around and fast. 

‼️Max Scherzer, RHP TOR (MLB)

7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR allowed

A nice start for Scherzer to beat the Cubs yesterday, but honestly after watching most of this start, he was extremely fortunate to have this line. The Cubs must have had four or five warning track flyouts against Scherzer and I still don’t think his stuff looked all that great. You’ll absolutely take a 3.83 ERA from Scherzer, but I don’t think he makes Toronto’s playoff rotation, especially when Shane Bieber gets thrown into the mix. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., DH TOR (MLB)

1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI

The Cubs had their chances to capitalize in this one and couldn’t, while the Blue Jays had one chance in seventh and Vladdy made Matthew Boyd pay. Guerrero Jr. has had a terrific season once again after getting the entire brinks truck and is on an absolute tear recently. Over his last eight games, he’s gone 15-for-34 (.441 AVG) with 4 HR and five doubles. For a team that doesn’t have a ton of power, the Jays need Vladdy to continue to play like a superstar.  

Edward Cabrera, RHP MIA (MLB)

5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Cabrera finally had a bad start after dominating over his previous four outings. He’s still had a terrific season and his sinker emphasis over his four-seamer this season has done wonders. 

Brad Lord, RHP WAS (MLB)

6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

The Nats have found something in Brad Lord and that’s a bright spot in what has been a brutal year in DC. Lord is a backend starter who doesn’t miss many bats, but he pounds the zone and his 51% GB rate will play. Moving Lord to the starting rotation is paying off for the Nats. 

Michael Harris, CF ATL (MLB)

3-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, K, SB

New stance Michael Harris might be a stud. Over the last 29 games, Harris is hitting an absurd .379/.395/.690 with 7 HR and 19 total XBH. I need more of a sample to truly believe again and he still swings at everything, but this run he’s on is remarkable. 

Francisco Lindor, SS NYM (MLB)

3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI

Lindor definitely hasn’t had the best season, but he’s far from being the problem with this Mets team right now. He still could get to 30 HR and with the defense he plays at shortstop, that’s more than enough to provide a ton of value. Unfortunately for the Mets, Lindor cannot pitch so he isn’t helping their biggest issue at the moment. 

Tarik Skubal, LHP DET (MLB)

7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR allowed

Skubal has been pretty mediocre in his first three starts of August so far, but he’s still going deep into games. The whiffs he generates and strikeout totals will be interesting to keep an eye on though. Is there some fatigue starting to set in in the dog days of the season? Skubal is still the best pitcher on the planet regardless though. 

Triple-A

Covered by Rhys White

Alex Cobb, RHP DET (Triple-A)

2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K 

He is close to being back, and I feel it when he says his hips hurt. I am just waiting for when some Detroit beat reporter says that Cobb is the team’s deadline addition.

Spencer Jones, LF NYY (Triple-A)

1-for-5, R

The Yankees are a handful of games back, and honestly, maybe they need to pull the lever and call up Spencer Jones. Triple-A is causing him no problem; the only problem is their outfield is not easy to break into right now with Trent Grisham performing well and the designated hitter slot being taken by Judge because he can’t play the outfield. It is a tricky situation, especially because Stanton is being forced to play right field.

Justin Crawford, CF PHI (Triple-A)

1-for-4, 2 R, BB

Crawford’s groundball rate is above sixty percent, and that is alarming. The four homers on the season have been encouraging. He could come up and be an interesting impact baserunner this postseason for the Phillies and be a good defensive replacement. He can’t be worse than Castellanos right now, right?

Trey Yesavage, RHP TOR (Triple-A)

1.2 IP, H, 2 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 3 K 

The fastball topped at 94 and the splitter was nasty, and that was about it. The command wasn’t there in this game, and that happens when you are throwing a new ball. I think it isn't mentioned enough that we don’t have a standardized ball. Yesavage will be fine; these sorts of outings happen when you are being introduced to a new ball.