Yesterday, I identified and discussed the hitters who have seen their fly ball rates surge most over the last 30 days. Fly ball rate spikes are great news for power hitters who post above league average HR/FB rates, though it won’t necessarily result in better overall performance by wOBA, as it will likely hamper BABIP. Today, let’s look at hitters on the opposite end of the spectrum, those whose FB% marks have declined most. For speedy, non-power threats, a decline is probably a good thing, but for a hitter who relies on his power, not so much.

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I often talk about a hitter’s batted ball type distribution, which simply refers to his rates of grounders, fly balls, line drives, and pop-ups. While these rates do fluctuate like any other metric, they generally remain stable and don’t vary significantly from year to year. A fly ball hitter is typically always one, as is a ground ball hitter. So when we do observe dramatic swings in batted ball type rates, we should take notice, as it’s more likely a conscious change in approach then randomness, assuming the sample size is reasonable. So let’s take a look at the hitters whose fly ball rates have spiked most over the last 30 days compared to the rest of the season. An increased fly ball rate will result in more homers, assuming all else remains equal.

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As we often say, pitchers seemingly change much more quickly than hitters, so you need to be paying attention to any trends in velocity, pitch mix, spin rate, movement, etc. It’s therefore always a good idea to take a look at changes in the last month versus the rest of the season to potentially spot pitchers rising (or falling) to new levels of performance. With that in mind, let’s identify and discuss the starting pitchers whose four-seam fastball velocity has increased most over the last 31 days versus the rest of the season prior.

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I love this time of the baseball season, as seemingly every day, another hitter is given an opportunity for full-time at-bats. It makes life in mono leagues more interesting as the free agent pool is typically so sadly thin that any injection of new talent is quite welcome. This week we have two new regulars to discuss.

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This is an updated version of an article originally posted in 2013 and then reposted in 2015, 2017, and 2018. It’s a vitally important exercise to perform, so I think it’s worthwhile to continue to resurface it each season around this time.

Heading into the final two months of the season, the effect any individual player will have on our place in the standings has continued to diminish, which means that this time of year represents one of the final chances to dramatically improve our teams. It probably doesn’t need to be stated, but it’s important to reiterate for those still clinging to preseason values (I usually cling to them far longer than most, but even I know to give them up at this point!) — right now, you need to essentially throw player values out the window and trade for needs based on your position in the various statistical categories. Don’t worry about overpaying if you still expect the trade to net you positive points. Obviously, you want to make a trade that brings back the greatest value in return and gain you the most standings points. However, if the best return offered to you is a player our auction calculator projects to earn $7 the rest of the way for your projected $13 player, it’s still absolutely worth accepting if you determine that accepting the trade would gain you total points.

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In a series of tweets, it was shared yesterday that the Marlins are calling up prospects Isan Díaz and Lewis Brinson from Triple-A.

Sources indicate the Miami Marlins are calling up Isan Diaz from New Orleans.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 4, 2019

Sources indicate the Miami Marlins are calling up Lewis Brinson from New Orleans.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 4, 2019

For the team with the worst record in the National League, you would have to imagine these two are going to be locked into starting jobs the rest of the season. It would be silly if even a several week slump pushes them to the bench. So let’s assume the playing time will be there and focus on their potential fantasy contributions.

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Every season as we head towards the July 31 trade deadline, we have a list of players we expect to be traded. Many of them end up staying put, but Nicholas Castellanos was one that was actually sent packing like we thought. Castellanos heads to the North side of Chicago to man right field for the Cubs, pushing Jason Heyward to center field, and the combination of Ian Happ and Albert Almora Jr. to the bench. So will the switch in parks boost his offensive output? Let’s check the park factors.

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It’s hard to publish a deep league waiver wire post right before the trade deadline, because so much can change in mere hours. But here we go anyway. The theme here is new opportunities for hitters on bad teams.

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Looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer until the real exciting blockbuster trades are made. In the meantime, a pair of lower impact moves were completed involving starting pitchers Jordan Lyles and Jason Vargas. Unfortunately, the park factors suggest both are going to be hurt by their new home digs. Let’s get to the comparisons.

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In our first big trade of the non-waiver trade deadline season, Marcus Stroman joins the New York Mets, at which point Mets fans know all too well that he’ll turn into a pumpkin and never be effective again until he’s traded away. In all seriousness the knee-jerk reaction is that this move is fantastic for his fantasy value, given a more pitcher friendly venue and a switch to the National League. Let’s dive into the park factors to get more clarity on the change in home parks.

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