Jack Flaherty struggles again and other fantasy nuggets
Jack Flaherty was roughed up for four runs while allowing 11 baserunners over 4.2 innings Tuesday night when he struggled with noticeable drops in velocity at times. He’s now allowed four or more runs in four of his last five starts and owns an ugly 6.81 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP on the road this season. Flaherty should bounce back in a favorable matchup in San Francisco his next time out, but he sure seemed like a dark horse Cy Young candidate before the season to me, and he’s approaching the All-Star break with a 4.81 FIP.
Flaherty isn’t the only member of the Cardinals who’s disappointed of late, as Matt Carpenter was in a huge slump before recently joining Marcell Ozuna on the IL. Yadier Molina sports a lowly .668 OPS, while newcomer Paul Goldschmidt just hit .181/.274/.309 in June and has totaled nine extra-base hits over the last two months. Fantasy gamers rostering Goldy aren’t loving his production so far while playing in a pitcher’s park for the first time in his career.
After posting a 1.051 OPS over the first three weeks of the season, Kolten Wong has hit .217/.290/.304 since. Jordan Hicks recently underwent Tommy John surgery, and Alex Reyes has quickly gone from savvy stash to droppable yet again in fantasy leagues. The Cardinals remain in the thick of the wild card race, but they’ve been hurting fantasy gamers recently, with Flaherty’s shelling Tuesday night and an offense that sports an MLB-worst 65 wRC+ over the last 30 days. The next lowest over that span are the Tigers at 75, so it’s been a disastrous month in St. Louis.
QUICK HITS
Yasiel Puig, Cincinnati Reds
I absolutely loved Puig entering the year going from a pitcher’s park in LA to one in Cincinnati that’s been among the best at increasing homers for right-handed batters (and likely in a better spot in the Reds’ lineup), but he currently sports career-lows in batting average (.242) and OBP (.294) while playing for a new contract. Still, Puig went deep again Tuesday night, somehow putting him on pace for 35 homers and 25 steals despite the severely disappointing BA. His plate discipline has taken a step back, and while Puig’s BABIP (.259) is more than 50 points worse than his career mark despite normal exit velocity, it appears he’s making a conscious effort to sacrifice BA for power, as he’s hitting a bunch more fly balls this season. While better counting stats would be nice, fantasy gamers have to be loving Puig’s power/speed contributions.
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
He fired a gem Tuesday, tossing eight scoreless innings in a win in Atlanta against a Braves offense that’s been the NL’s best over the last month. After holding a 6.84 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP over his first five starts, Nola has a 2.96 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 79.0 innings since. He’s recorded 28 strikeouts over his last three outings, so he appears to be the pitcher gamers thought they were getting on draft day once again. It may be worth noting Nola’s exit velocity and Hard Hit% are both well below his career marks and in the bottom third percentile this season, although it helps that the Phillies employ a strong defense.
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Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers
After hitting five fewer homers than the previous season despite seeing a huge upgrade in home parks with the move from Kansas City to Milwaukee last year, Cain has once again lowered his launch angle as he did in 2018. During his last season in a Royals uniform, Cain posted a 1.35 GB/FB ratio. He’s recorded a 2.37 and a 2.46 ratio during his first two years with the Brewers, with this season’s ranking as the fourth highest ground ball rate in MLB. Cain, who’s battling a thumb injury, clearly hasn’t gotten the home run revolution memo, and his .665 OPS is a career worst. He’s been a bust for fantasy gamers.
Josh James, Houston Astros
He was tattooed for five runs (four earned) over 1.1 innings of relief Tuesday, and while that can be excused in Coors Field, his season ERA now sits at an ugly 5.27. The first place Astros have been just fine, but James joins a long list of disappointing young pitchers in Houston this season, whether through injury, performance, or both, including Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock, Corbin Martin, Framber Valdez, and Forrest Whitley.
Matt Strahm, San Diego Padres
He was pounded for seven runs during a start in Oracle Park against a Giants offense that owns the third-lowest wRC+ (78) this season. Strahm’s ERA sat at 3.21 entering June, but five starts later it sits at 5.42. The lefty has allowed a whopping 15 homers over his last seven starts, and he’s pitching half his games in Petco Park. Strahm has upside and good swing-and-miss stuff, but his fly ball tendencies have destroyed his fantasy value lately, with three more long balls allowed Tuesday night in San Francisco his low point.
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