The Weekly Wood Chipper- Trade Deadline Edition

Will the Braves Add to the Starting Rotation?

LAB REPORTS

By: The Lab

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Will the Braves Add to the Starting Rotation?

As I write this edition, we are just a few short hours away from the trade deadline ending, and the Braves have done close to nothing to add to fix the state of the starting rotation. Tyler Mahle was signed just yesterday, and he has looked start-able in his last several starts, much better than his 5.13 ERA shows. I keep refreshing my X page, and getting nothing. Mahle is a great add for depth, but hopefully Alex Anthopolous still has a play in the mix for top of the rotation starter to pair with Sale for the postseason.

At the time of this writing, here are the starters that are potentially still left on the board:

Clay Holmes (7) *update: going to Wrigley*
Casey Mize (6)
Reid Detmers (4)
Hunter Greene (1)
Emerson Hancock (8)
George Kirby (2)
Shane Bieber (9)
Sandy Alcantara (3)
Trevor Rogers, maybe? (5)

So there are still some decent options for the Braves to pursue. In parentheses I have how I would rank the arms potentially available.

Who was "Hittin' Like Chipper?"

For the Braves, how about Matt Olson? I'm feeling a piece coming on about how he is still under-appreciated by Braves Country. Over his last 7 days, he has added 4 homers to push him over the 30-mark for the 5th time in his career. Such a consistent performer for this Atlanta team, and he takes no days off. I love me some Matty O.

Bats potentially on waivers that I like as add options: Guardians OF Chase DeLauter is still a favorite of mine if he is still somehow available in your league. Deep league adds for me would be Rangers DH Joc Pederson and Yankees young OF Spencer Jones. Bellinger is out for 4 to 6 weeks, so Jones should get some good run going forward, unless the Yanks get some more OF help at the deadline. He is hitting .286 in his last 7, with 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Joc Pederson will forever be a favorite Brave of mine after helping Atlanta win the '21 World Series. He has been on fire hitting at the top of the Texas lineup. He too has 3 homers and 6 RBIs in his last 7, and hitting .342 in his last 15. He still sits against lefties a good bit, but the way he mashes righties, he deserves a stream in your lineup if there are a lot of righties on tap for the week. This week, the Rangers are on track to face two in a 6-game week, so Joc may be better suited for daily leagues this week.

Bats "In the Chipper"

Rays 1B Jonathan Aranda sure is struggling a good bit since the break. He is 11 for 52 over the last 15 days, with a high K-rate to go with it. Vladdy Jr. is still a buy-low candidate for me, even though his bat is still in the chipper. He is 13 for 51 over the last 15. Still at just 6 homers on the year... please be better in August, Vlad!

Possible Pitching Adds- Cutting Down Bats

You see what I did there? Yeah you do. Possible pitching adds for me include Brewers SP Shane Drohan. He is now 6-4 on the year with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has staying power in the rotation, and is criminally under-owned in ESPN leagues (14.4%). He has gone 6+ in his last 5 starts with a 30 : 6 K-BB ratio during that time. Add him!

Cardinals SP Kyle Leahy (19.3%) is another great option possibly on waivers in your league. Three straight quality starts for him, and should have a two-start week in the near future with Dustin May going to Milwaukee.

Wrap-Up

Hopefully, you are on your way to a postseason berth in your league(s). Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions, or even if you just want to talk Braves or baseball. In it to help out in any way and I may need some myself. I overthink everything. Thankfully, that didn't include the writing of this week's edition.

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