One of the best and at the same time quietest stories of the year has been the play of the Royals MJ Melendez. He's now up to 38 homers between Double and Triple-A. The real interesting story is the major improvement in strike zone judgement. In 2019 at High-A he struck out 165 times with 44 walks in 363 at-bats.This season he has struck out 105 times with 71 walks in 410 at-bats. Since the promotion to Triple-A the K/BB ratio is 29/28 in 112 at-bats. The 22-year-old backstop is having one amazing season. Can we get him called up from the depths, Alex? 

Almost everything has worked out and for the first four months of the season everything did. The high-water mark was 92 points. Then the bullpen collapsed and now the team is limping to the finish.

But no complaints! It's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose.

Josh Jung, 3B, Triple-A Round Rock (Rangers) – The Rangers promoted Jung to Triple-A in mid-August, and the bump in competition hasn’t slowed the third baseman down at all. Jung went 4 for 5 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs in Round Rock’s 10-1 win over Oklahoma City. He now has multiple hits in seven of his last eight games and has reached base in 10 straight. Overall Jung has hit .333/.416/.544 while showing advanced instincts defensively at third base, cementing his place as the Rangers’ best position player prospect since Joey Gallo.

Michael Stefanic, 2B, Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels) – The minor league batting title is Stefanic’s to lose at this point, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be losing it anytime soon. The Angels prospect went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .349 on the year. He is now 11 points ahead of second-place Jose Miranda (.338), so as long as Stefanic avoids a major slump, the batting crown will be his.

Anthony Gose, 31, former outfielder converted to reliever, flashes 100 mph heat for Cleveland Indians, fans Salvador Perez

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32245461/anthony-gose-31-formerly-outfielder-converted-reliever-called-minors-cleveland-indians

Rotowire:

Yesterday's Top Performers

Pitchers:

Tyler Anderson* (SEA): 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 71 GmSc

John Means* (BAL): 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 71 GmSc

Framber Valdez (HOU): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 68 GmSc

Brady Singer (KCR): 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 63 GmSc

Shane Baz (TBR): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 60 GmSc

View All of Yesterday's Pitchers at Baseball-Reference.com

* - pictured above

Yesterday's Top Performers

Batters:

Joey Votto* (CIN): 3-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

Jazz Chisholm* (MIA): 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB

Yandy Díaz* (TBR): 3-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

Marwin Gonzalez (HOU): 2-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R

Nolan Arenado (STL): 2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Austin Riley (ATL): 3-5, 3 RBI, 1 R

Carlos Correa (HOU): 4-5, 1 RBI, 2 R

Hunter Dozier (KCR): 2-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R

Eddie Rosario (ATL): 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R

Salvador Perez (KCR): 3-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

View All of Yesterday's Batters at Baseball-Reference.com

* - pictured above

Gets him two points behind Soto for the batting crown.

Nick Castellanos (OF) CIN - Sep. 20
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=808012

Castellanos went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and two runs in the win over the Pirates on Monday.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The right fielder hit a two-RBI double in the third inning, opening the scoring for the Reds. He later singled in Jonathan India in the eighth inning. After getting only one multi-hit game in his previous 13 contests, Castellanos has notched two straight while going 5-for-8 with four RBI.

Rotoworld:

09.21: Eugenio Suarez went 2-for-5 and hit his 27th homer Monday againstthe Pirates. (It's pretty amazing that Suarez has 27 homers after spending the first half as arguably the NL's least valuable player and then fading into a platoon role last month. He's made the most of limited opportunities this month, going 10-for-32 with four homers, two doubles and six walks. The Reds have to be thinking about going back to him as their primary third baseman, particularly since Mike Moustakas is mired in a six-week slump.)

Rotoworld:

09.21: Dillon Peters was pulled after giving up four runs in three inningsagainst the Reds on Monday. (Peters came into this one with a surprising 2.66 ERA in five starts for the Pirates, so he was about due for a bad one. He was able to get through the first and second scoreless before giving up four in the third. The Pirates had seen enough at that point and lifted him for a pinch-hitter in the fourth, even though he had thrown just 64 pitches.)

He couldn't be bid on in the ADL yesterday because he wasn't up yet. Someone (not me) will be counting on him to be a fantasy ace next week, even with the matchup.

Rotoworld:

09.20: Shane Baz gave up two runs in five innings to pick a win in his MLB debut on Monday in a 6-4 victory for the Rays over the Blue Jays. (Baz
allowed just two hits -- both of them solo homers -- and struck out
five while striking out five and not issuing a walk. The right-hander is
considered one of the best prospects in baseball, and it was easy to
understand why watching him throw his arsenal and command it beyond his
years/experience. Pirates' fans should probably look away. Baz has a
chance to be a fantasy ace in the coming years, and he'll get a chance
to build on this solid outing against the Astros next week. )

Yes, but the pay's better, even for a day.

Rotoworld:

09.20: Royals recalled OF Edward Olivares from Triple-A Omaha.  (Olivares will serve as the 29th man for Monday's doubleheader against the Indians. We doubt he's unpacked his bags. )

I figured I'd get a W out of this game...

Rotoworld:

Basebal IQ on Hundred: It was believed Yuli Gurriel left 3rd base early on a Sac Fly for the Astros, Kyle Tucker intentionally got picked off and in a rundown. The result was them D-Backs no longer being able to appeal to 3rd base because of the rundown.

Never seen this before ... hmmm ...

Rotoworld:

09.20: Dietrich Enns got the final out on Monday to pick up a save against the Blue Jays.  (David Robertson started the ninth with the Rays leading 6-2, but he allowed a
two-run homer to Marcus Semien, and Jt Chargois loaded the bases. Inns
was tasked with the cleaning up the mess, and he struck out Breyvic
Valera to end the contest. It's the second save of the year for Inns,
and it's possibly (probably) the last. )

You gonna try to chase/buy them next year?  Asking for a friend ...

Hmmm. That's a pretty good 2 years worth of earnings there.

Alex's audacious bid on Garcia shocked the league, and Garcia's performance on the season shocked us, too. But while Alex has basically lapped the rest of us in the ADL a few times, Garcia is not the margin of victory.

Minus 30 HR = 1 point. Minus 82 RBI = 3 points. Minus 11 SB = 2 points. 529 AB of .244 BA = No change.

Minus 6 points and the Moose still win by way more than any of us want to think about. These are the standings as of this minute:



What really worked for him was Cedric Mullins for $5 and a $10 keeper on Yordan Alvarez on offense. And Kyle Gibson for $1, Lance Lynn $3 keeper, and a $12 flyer (4x4) on Matt Barnes that worked out.

Plus Vladdy Jr, Jose Ramirez and Joey Gallo all worked out just fine.