The madness of the trade deadline is finally over, but the fantasy ramifications are just setting in. Cole Hamels, David Price, Johnny Cueto and a handful of other big time fantasy contributors are in new places, with new situations to evaluate. Let's take a look at the stock for the three big aces who were moved at the deadline.
Cole Hamels: UP
Hamels would have seen a boost moving to any other team that wasn't Philly, for a few reasons. The first is Philadelphia's defense, which is last in the league in Defensive Runs Saved (-83!) according to FanGraphs, which is nearly double the 29th placed team. The Rangers aren't great (23rd with -9), but they're substantially better.
The other reason? Run support. The Phillies are 24th in runs scored and 26th in OPS. The Rangers are 6th in runs scored and 12th in OPS. Simply put, with a better defense and more run support, Hamels should be in line for more wins.
Johnny Cueto: UP
We discussed this a bit last Sunday, but Cueto should benefit greatly moving from a hitter's park in Cincinnati to a pitcher's park in Kansas City, and the Royals' elite defense should help out quite a bit as well. The NL to AL move may take a few starts to adjust to (both Hamels and Cueto picked up no decisions in their debuts), but the presence of the DH doesn't automatically mean their stats will plummet, especially given the extreme defensive changes for both.
David Price: PUSH
Although many would disagree based solely on the fact that Toronto has the league's best offense by a wide margin and only improved at the deadline, Price may not see as much as a lift as you'd think. The Tigers were 5th in runs and 4th in OPS, and they ranked 7th in Defensive Runs Saved. Point being, Price already had great support, but now he's moving to one of baseball's best hitter's parks in Toronto. The Blue Jays have just been average defensively (16th in DRS) but should improve on that. This is mostly a wash.
We'll take a look at some of the best hitters and their stock next Sunday.
In other news...
Remember how Zack Greinke had his scoreless streak end last week at 45 2/3 innings? His Dodgers teammate is working on one of his own now. Clayton Kershaw extended his personal streak to 37 IP. Last season, Kershaw had a 41 IP streak, and he's a good bet to break that in his next start.
Giancarlo Stanton is still feeling pain when taking swings off a tee, which isn't exactly what his owners want to hear. Stanton has been out since June 28th, and the original diagnosis was for him to miss 4-6 weeks. There's no longer a timetable set for his return, and he sounds pretty far away. Hang on to him, of course, and hope for the best.
Let's look at both sides of the trade deadline coin. Ben Zobrist hit two homers on Saturday to introduce himself to the Royals faithful. Carlos Gomez, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 with a strikeout in his debut for the Astros. Don't get too excited either way, as these things tend to average out over the life of a season.
You had to feel good for Wilmer Flores, who went from crying on the field after he thought he was traded to homering in the 12th inning to give the Mets a win on Friday night.
John Halpin will be back with more Quick Hits on Monday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
