MLB has upheld the full 5 game suspension for Machado

— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) June 30, 2014

The Orioles do have seven games this week, so Machado should return for the weekend against the Red Sox (expected starters are John Lackey & Jake Peavy).  That’s a hard sell for those in weekly formats, so moving him to your bench makes a lot of sense.

Here are a few names to consider as replacements:

Nick Castellanos – Detroit Tigers
The former top prospect hasn’t been great overall this season, but is hitting .333 with 2 HR in June.  He has significant upside and has a seven-game week, all of which come at home (.317 average there this season). Read more

Source: Mookie Betts has been summoned from Pawtucket and is en route to NYC. No word on corresponding roster move, but it’s Mookie time!

— John Tomase (@jtomase) June 28, 2014

Betts is currently hitting .345 with 8 HR, 48 RBI, 70 R and 29 SB between Double and Triple-A.

In our last Prospect Power Rankings Betts was ranked #1 and we said: Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Let’s take a quick look at the most added players (according to CBS Sports as of Tuesday, with all stats through Monday) to try and determine if they are worth adding or if fantasy owners should pass:

Danny Santana – Minnesota Twins – Shortstop/Outfielder
Add Percentage – 28%

Santana has been a great find, thus far, as he is hitting .340 with 2 HR, 15 RBI, 12 R and 5 SB in 103 AB.  He has been making good contact, with a 29.7% line drive rate, but does anyone really believe his current .423 BABIP?  Since 2011 he owns an 18.0% strikeout rate and 13.8% line drive rate in the minors, leading to a .279 average.

Yes, he has some speed (30 SB at Double-A in ’13), but he has little power and the average is nearly destined to implode.  He’s the type of free agent that you ride while he’s hot, but are prepared to move on from when the time comes.  To help put it in context, I still prefer the upside of Jonathan Villar over Santana.

I’d consider Santana over Stephen Drew, Brandon Crawford

Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

There were come impressive pitching performances from some familiar names, like Cole Hamels (11 K over 8.0 shutout innings), Johnny Cueto (12 K over 6.0 shutout innings) and Yu Darvish (complete game shutout with 10 K).  You also had Logan Morrison coming off the DL, promptly going 0-4 with 2 K (though, there’s still some upside so don’t completely write him off).  What else happened on the field that fantasy owners need to know about?  Let’s take a look:

1) Marcus Stroman decent, though unspectacular…
It’s not that he was bad, but he was clearly outpitched by Phil Hughes (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 9 K, W).  Stroman allowed 3 ER on 9 H and 0 BB, striking out 4, over 6.0 IP.  It was the worst of his three starts, as he’s now allowed a total of 5 ER on 21 H over 18.0 IP.  However, with 13 K vs. 2 BB over that span as well as 29 groundballs, it’s really hard to complain.  Stroman has electric stuff and has proven that he can get the job done at the Major League level.  Consider him a must own at this point.

Read more

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies
Since coming off the DL Cole Hamels has made three starts, leaving him with an uninspiring 7.02 ERA and 1.86 WHIP. It would be very easy to push the panic button, as strikeouts are down and walks are up, but that would be extremely premature.

Strikeouts
He does still own a 7.56 K/9 in his three starts, his velocity isn’t off by much (90.7 mph) and his SwStr% is 11.7%. There’s no reason to think that the Ks won’t be there in time.

Walks
Sure he owns a 3.78 BB/9, but that’s because of one bad start (5 BB in 4.2 IP). He has 2 walks in 12.0 IP in his other two outings.

Luck
The line drive rate is up (24.1%), but he is still the owner of a .415 BABIP and 65.1% strand rate. Does anyone really believe that those two numbers won’t improve? Read more