Alex Rodriguez finally hit his 600th career homerun yesterday against the Blue Jays, and it really helped to illustrate how much of a down year it has been for A-Rod compared to his own norm. While the RBI have been phenomenal (87), he has 17 homeruns, which has him on pace for 25 this year. He is also hitting just .264, and has only 2 stolen bases as well. Where will he be ranked next season? I'm not sold he's a top 25 player as of right now.
Carlos Gonzalez continues to hit homeruns, hitting 2 last night against the Giants to raise his season total to 23. I'm wondering if he could vault into the top 10 overall for drafts next season.
Paul Konerko hit his 27th homerun yesterday, and drove in 2 in the White Sox' victory over the Tigers. He's cooled down somewhat since before the All-Star break, but he's still on pace for 42 homeruns this season, and is also hitting .302.
Kris Medlen left his start yesterday after 4 1/3 innings due to elbow tightness. This can't be good news, and I'm wondering if he could end up on the disabled list. He has pitched well to this point, posting a 3.68 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 107 innings so far this year.
Geovany Soto went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored, a homerun, and 5 runs batted in versus the Brewers yesterday. Very quietly, he's been having a pretty decent year: .286, 15 HR, 45 RBI. Not amazing numbers, but for a catcher that isn't going to kill you in a couple of categories, he's still very solid.
Peter Bourjos started in centerfield for the Angels last night for the second straight game, with Torii Hunter moving to right field for both games. Bourjos is someone to target in all keeper leagues, and could provide some good value in deeper leagues as well. In 102 games at AAA Salt Lake City, Bourjos hit .314 with 13 homeruns, 52 runs batted in, and 27 steals. I doubt that they would have called him up to not play him, but stranger things have happened in Anaheim.
Both Andrew McCutchen and Mark Reynolds returned to the lineup a day after each was hit in the head by a pitch. McCutchen was the better performer yesterday though, hitting a 1st inning homerun off of Johnny Cueto. Looks like both are seeing no ill effects from the HBPs, and should be fine going forward.
J.A. Happ didn't fare too well in his second start for the Astros: 1 inning pitched, 7 earned runs, 1 strikeout, 3 walks, and 6 hits allowed. Sorry to anyone who started him.
Adam Dunn hit 2 more homeruns yesterday, raising his total to 28 on the season. It's been reported that he's already been placed on waivers, so we'll know in the next day or two whether or not he will be going anywhere this season, or if he will be staying in Washington.
Vicente Padilla took a no-hitter into the 7th inning yesterday against the Padres and struck out 9 in the shutout victory. Padilla very quietly has been having a pretty good year, with a 3.09 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 81 innings pitched. He is someone worth looking into if he's still available in your league.