Jose Altuve has been something else.
Batting .500 in the month of July and after Monday’s performance, he put up 10 multi-hit games in his last 14.
Goldy, Cano, Springer, Correa and Rendon all have seven games of 3 or more hits. Altuve has 8 in July alone.
Correa gets hurt, Springer gets hurt, Altuve is still producing. The Astros are still winning.
The Astros are something else, and Altuve is playing on another plane right now. It will be interesting to see how long he can keep this pace up.
It will be interesting to see what moves, if any, the ‘Stros make come the trade deadline and if they can get to and win the World Series.
They are my pick.
As for tonight, we have a 10-game slate to focus on. The early consists of just 4-5 games, so we aren’t going to tackle that one.
Pitching looks too easy on this slate, so I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me. There’s one stack that really stands out and will be mega chalk, and it may be the way to go tonight.
This is not a full slate, so no rankings today. But let’s get to it!
Anthony Rizzo – 1B – Chicago Cubs – $5,200
Analysis: Yep, you guessed it, the Cubs are going to be ultra chalky today because they draw James Shields. I don’t think I need to tell you how bad James Shields is against lefties, but in case you were wondering – .442 wOBA, 3.98 HR/9, .258 BABIP, 8.03 xFIP and a 30% hard contact rate. It’s not like he’s getting unlucky, he flat out sucks and is tossing BP to his opponents. Rizzo, Happ, Zobrist and Hayward are all in play, but it’s Rizzo who draws my attention. You have to pay up for him, but he’s worth the money in a matchup he already is 3-for-8 with 2 doubles and 2 walks against.
Jorge Bonifacio – OF – Kansas City Royals – $4,000
Analysis: The Royals take on Anibal Sanchez tonight, and while Anibal has some solid BvP numbers against most of the Royals, it’s Bonifacio that really stands out. Against RH pitching this season, Boni has hit 10 HRs to go along with a .342 wOBA and a .199 ISO. Sanchez is a reverse-splits pitcher and in 2017 against righties, he’s allowed a .394 wOBA, a 2.77 HR/9 and a 48% hard contact.
Jake Arrieta – SP – Chicago Cubs – $9,300
Analysis: Jake Arrieta hasn’t been Jake Arrieta this season. At some point, I think he turns it around and maybe today is one of those starts where we see some of that old form. The White Sox are one of the worst teams in baseball against RH pitching, striking out 22% of the time while being in the bottom 5 in team wOBA. I hope the wind isn’t blowing too much in Chicago, that would be my only worry here.
