Now that August has rolled around, with just over two months of regular-season play remaining, a good number of MLB teams still find themselves in playoff contention. A few of them have improved by trading for a big-name player, while others have elected to stand idle, preferring to roll with their current roster. This is the time of year when the contenders begin to stand apart from the teams that are already looking forward to 2017.
Here are the players who provided the most significant contributions (for better or worse) over the past month.
Streaking
4. Ryan Schrimf
The 28-year-old finally got his call to the big leagues in June after showing some strong hitting for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate. But his entrance into the majors didn’t start out so splendidly — compiling just three hits, no home runs, and one RBI in 29 June at-bats. The change to July, however, subsequently saw him change into more-than-capable hitter: nine homers, 17 RBIs and a .371 average. As Matt Kemp departs for Atlanta, the Padres need all the power they can get.
3. Aaron Sanchez
Contrary to spring predictions, Sanchez has been Toronto’s ace — posting a 11-1 record and a 2.60 ERA. And despite surpassing 120 innings (over 30 more than he had in ’15), the 24-year-old has gotten better as the year has progressed — not having lost since April 22. His July record was 3-0, compiling a 1.33 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, and he’s never allowed more than two earned runs in any start. He was en route to a fourth win (and a very crucial one) against Baltimore on Sunday, only to let a slim lead get away in the seventh. The O’s would win in extra innings and regain first place from Toronto.
2. Joey Votto/Jay Bruce
Just as the trade rumors heat up for this pair of Reds veterans, each has heated up at the plate. Votto has hit safely in each of his last 15 games to post a .417 July average — the best of anyone in the league. Bruce had a nine-game hit streak of his own. However, that was overshadowed by a home run barrage. From July 23-27 (a string of five straight contests), Bruce went deep six times. He would finish the month with eight, along with 21 RBIs. If one, the other, or both depart Cincinnati, neither will be doing so quietly.
1. Trevor Story
If you thought he was just a player that would fade away after April, you’ve soundly been proven wrong. With eight homers for July, Story now holds the NL lead in that category (just ahead of teammate Nolan Arenado). As for his RBI total, his 22 during the month now puts him among the league’s top five. Story’s great run has coincided with a Rockies’ resurgence. Since the All-Star break, Colorado is 12-5 and has closed the gap to within five games of the second Wild Card spot — much in part to the shortstop who could be on his way to the Rookie of the Year.
Slumping
4. Matt Wisler
Pitching for one of the worst team’s in baseball, he doesn’t get much in the way of run support. But even some offense on the part of the Braves wouldn’t do much to cure Wisler’s struggles. And after a brutal outing against the Phillies last Thursday, in which he allowing six earned runs (including three home runs) in five innings, the organization had seen enough. His 8.44 ERA and 1.73 over four July appearances earned him a demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett.
3. Daniel Mengden
The first four big league starts (all in June) for Mengden left him with a more-than-respectable ERA of 2.81. But things have completely unraveled since then. Mengden’s July 3 outing against Pittsburgh saw him allow seven hits and four runs in 5.1 innings. It got worse. Five days later, the Astros tagged him for six runs on six hits in 4.2 innings. And then, one week later, it took just 3.1 innings for the Blue Jays to plate six runs on the beleaguered Mengden. Although the final two starts in July were better, he finished with an ERA of 9.00 and WHIP of 2.14 for the month.
2. Matt Wieters
The Orioles catcher is wondering if he can time-travel back to the first half of this season. Not that his offensive numbers were spectacular, but they certainly weren’t as atrocious as they’ve been since July began. His batting average during the month was .121, and his slugging percentage at .138. Over 60 at-bats, he managed just seven hits (one double), no home runs and two runs driven in. A foot injury, which caused Wieters to miss six games, didn’t help matters, either.
1. Tim Lincecum
When is it time to say the Angels’ experiment isn’t working? The two-time Cy Young Award winner signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with Los Angeles on May 20 and made his Halos debut less than a month later. A six-inning, four-hit, one-run performance gave hope that Lincecum could revive his career once more. But it’s been all downhill since. The low point came on July 24, when he was unable to get out of the second inning after allowing eight Astros runs. That was the biggest contributor to Lincecum’s staggering 9.55 ERA over his previous five starts.
