Jeremy Peña (HOU): 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB.

No Peña, No Gain

The Astros made some key additions on offense at the deadline, adding Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Correa, but arguably their most important acquisition in the past week is getting Jeremy Peña back and hitting at the top of the lineup. Peña has picked up right where he left off before missing the entire month of July with a rib injury, posting a line of 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB in Tuesday’s game against the Marlins.

This is exactly what Peña has done all season to help the Astros to pole position in the competitive AL West. Peña has excellent contact ability and rarely strikes out (15.7% K rate), putting the ball in play to all parts of the field and legging out infield singles with his 97th percentile sprint speed. While his power numbers aren’t overwhelming, Peña is on pace for about 20 homers in a full season, which is a nice cherry on top to go with excellent ratios and run-scoring ability.

Peña is the motor that makes this Astros offense go, and with an improved supporting cast around him, he should be a top-five shortstop the rest of the way as long as he stays healthy (he had a scare with a hamstring cramp in his first game back). Though he’s lost Isaac Paredes behind him, the additions of Sánchez and Correa and the development of Cam Smith mean he should be among the top run-scoring threats in all of baseball. He’s a buy-relatively-high asset in my eyes after the improvements he’s made in his game this season.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:

 

Bo Bichette (TOR): 3-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI.

Arguably the most scorching player at the plate right now, Bo Bichette took advantage of his first game in Coors this series by knocking two long balls and tallying 6 RBIs. Bichette has a hit in all but one of his past fifteen games, and he’s hitting .385 since the All-Star Break. There’s something special about Bichettes in Colorado, huh?

 

Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI.

Kyle Schwarber climbed into solo second place on the home runs leaderboard by hitting two tanks Monday night against the Orioles’ suspect pitching. Schwarber also leads baseball with 94 RBI and is having arguably the best season in his prolific career. If you have him, enjoy him–you’re not going to have a lot of luck trading for him right now.

 

Pete Alonso (NYM): 4-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.

While Pete Alonso went through a bit of a mid-summer slump, posting a .548 OPS in July, he’s turned things around in August, already belting three homers in four games this month. Let’s hope this trend continues and that the Polar Bear can get back to his prolific RBI production we saw earlier this season. Alonso’s 90 RBI are second only to Schwarber’s 94.

 

Ernie Clement (TOR): 5-6, 2B, 3B, 3 R, RBI.

Another Blue Jay who took advantage of the conditions in Colorado was Ernie Clement, who fell a homer shy of the cycle in an impressive five-hit performance. Clement’s multi-positional versatility makes him a decent streamer in good matchups if you have holes to fill in your lineup, so if you’re in daily leagues and needing to fill an infield spot, you might as well grab him while he’s still playing in Coors.

 

Josh Jung (TEX): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.

In his first game action since July 30, Josh Jung played the hero for the Rangers by hitting a three-run walkoff homer off of Jake Bird. Jung has played solid baseball as of late, posting a 1.094 OPS since the All-Star Break. He’s worth a look if you’re looking to fill a spot at 3B if you lost Isaac Paredes or Nolan Arenado.

 

Paul Goldschmidt (NYY): 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI.

While Paul Goldschmidt’s days as an everyday starter are behind him, Monday was a step in the right direction for the 37-year-old. Ben Rice has been getting more consistent playing time at first, and with Aaron Judge returning to the lineup soon, the squeeze for playing time might become too much to continue holding the veteran.

 

Giancarlo Stanton (NYY): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

Giancarlo Stanton has already hit 10 home runs in just 140 plate appearances since returning from the injured list. Of course, the big story surrounding Stanton right now is his impending return to the outfield on defense when Aaron Judge returns to the lineup as the DH on Tuesday. Keep an eye on Stanton’s playing time with Judge’s return–if he’s only playing a couple of games a week, he won’t be worth holding on to in most leagues.

 

Gabriel Arias (CLE): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Gabriel Arias is swinging the bat well since returning from the injured list last week, hitting .273/.306 with two homers in nine games. Arias, like Ernie Clement, has eligibility at many positions, making him a good plug-and-play addition if you need a short-term fill-in. I’d prioritize Clement over Arias at this point, but both are solid adds in deeper leagues or AL-only formats.

 

Isaac Collins (MIL): 1-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.

Isaac Collins drove in all three of Milwaukee’s runs with a three-run homer on Monday, which proved to be all of the offense the Brewers needed to secure a 3-1 victory. Collins is your prototypical Milwaukee player–a speedy outfielder who has come out of seemingly nowhere to be a productive asset for yet another contending Brewers team. He’s a solid add in leagues requiring more than three outfielders, especially if you need help with ratios or steals.