Happy Fourth of July everyone! I thought it would be fun to take a look at Yankee alumni who were born on this date. There are a total of four former Yankees who were born on this day.

The most successful Yankee ever born on the Fourth also happens to be the oldest of the group. Well, if he was still alive. Jack Warhop, born 1884, debuted with the team in 1908, when they were known as the Highlanders. He spent his entire career with the Yankees, totaling eight years, 221 games, and 1412.2 innings. He finished his career with a 69-92 record, with a 3.12 ERA, 97 ERA+, 18.0 rWAR. He had some very good seasons (6.5 rWAR in 1912, 4.6 in1909, and 3.8 in 1914), but he lacked consistency. Those were the only three years he had ERA+ above league-average, and he produced 82.8% of his career rWAR in those three seasons. He is also remembered as the pitcher who Babe Ruth took deep for the first two home runs of his career.

Hal Lanier spent 10 years in the big leagues, debuting with the San Francisco Giants in 1964. He was a terrible offensive middle infielder during the height of the second dead ball era, posting a career OPS+ of 50. However, he was a strong defender, which allowed him to be a starter in the majors for the first seven years of his career. At age 29, he joined the Yankees as a utility infielder. He spent 1972 and 1973 wearing the pinstripes, playing 95 games and collecting 197 plate appearances, posting a horrendous 43 OPS+ and -0.5 rWAR. He was the son of Max Lanier, an unknown but successful pitcher of the 1940s, with a career 30.1 rWAR. Hal later spent three years (1986-1988) managing the Astros, putting up a respectable 254-232 record (.523 Winning %). Surprisingly, he hasn't managed in the big leagues since.

Jim Beattie was drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 1975 amateur draft out of Dartmouth College. He made his major league debut with the team in 1978 and played with the team through the 1979 season. Over his two seasons with the team, he had a 9-15 record, with a 4.28 ERA, 89 ERA+, 0.9 rWAR. In November 1979, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners, where he spent the remainder of his career. His last season was 1986 as a 31-year-old, finishing with a 52-87 record, and a 4.17 ERA, 98 ERA+, 15.2 rWAR. He was especially effective from 1982 to 1984, producing 13.4 rWAR, 88.2% of his career value. Beattie has stayed in the game since he retired as a player, serving as general manger of the Montreal Expos (1995-2001) and Baltimore Orioles (2003-2005), as well as a scout with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2010.

The most recent Yankee player born on July Fourth was Amauri Sanit, who debuted with the Yankees in 2011, pitched seven terrible innings, and hasn't been heard from since. Over those seven innings, he put up a 12.86 ERA, 35 ERA+ and -0.3 rWAR. The Cuban defector was signed by the Yankees and made his professional debut in the minors in 2008. He was okay as a reliever in 2009, but terrible in 2010 and 2011. I remember being confused when they decided to bring him up to the team and he did nothing to quell that confusion. He was released by the team after the 2011 season and has spent the past two years playing in Mexico. He's actually turned into a surprisingly solid starter down there in 2013, so maybe he will make a return to the big leagues one day.

So there you have it - the four players who have donned the pinstripes and were born on the Fourth of July. Happy Independence Day everyone, and happy birthday to Misters Warhop, Lanier, Beattie, and Sanit!

Here are your MLB scores and highlights from Independence Day, or as the Blue Jays called it, Thursday:

Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4: These two teams did their best to extend their 1:10 p.m. ET game long enough so fans could be treated to night-time fireworks, but after Cliff Pennington's RBI single in the top of the 15th inning, the Mets failed to match the D-Backs as they had done in the previous two frames.

Anthony Recker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis both hit game-tying home runs in extra innings, with Recker going deep in the 13th and Nieuwenhuis homering in the 14th. The last time a team hit two game-tying homers in extra innings was in 1998, when Ray Lankford and Eli Marrero did it for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Arizona has now won all seven of its getaway day extra-inning games this season. The game, which lasted 5:46, was the second-longest in D-Backs history.

Royals 10, Indians 7: Kansas City overcame a 5-0 deficit, thanks in large part to Lorenzo Cain's sixth-inning grand slam off of Ubaldo Jimenez, to defeat Cleveland and win the three-game series. The Royals scored 10 runs despite only having the benefit of six hits. They drew eight walks against Indians pitchers. Despite the loss, Jason Kipnis did this after the game:

Happy 4th to everyone out there! Special thanks to all the heroes that serve! #Oooooohhhpic.twitter.com/3NF1IVYFmf

— Jason Kipnis (@TheJK_Kid) July 4, 2013

Nationals 8, Brewers 5: In lieu of typical Fourth of July events, fans in D.C. were treated to a live performance from Neil Diamond after the third inning. Most of the offensive fireworks took place after that, as the Nats and Brewers combined to score nine of the game's 13 total runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Wilson Ramos launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie. The Nationals' backstop drove in five runs overall as part of his 3-for-4 day at the plate. Carlos Gomez had two hits, including a two-run homer in the top half of the seventh, to lead the Brewers in the loss.

Yankees 9, Twins 5:Justin Morneau hit a pair of home runs for Minnesota, but New York jumped out to an eight-run lead and held on to cap off a road sweep. Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner had three hits apiece to pace the Yankees' offense, which scored 29 runs in four games at Target Field.

Red Sox 8, Padres 2: Of course, since the Yankees earned a sweep, the rival Red Sox had to do the same. Boston easily dispatched of scuffling San Diego by putting up 18 hits, three of which came off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, who hit his second home run of the year.

White Sox 3, Orioles 2:Adam Dunn hit a walk-off home run, his 23rd deep fly of the year, to give Chicago a series victory over Baltimore. Jose Quintana struck out 11 batters in seven scoreless innings. He walked one and allowed just two hits but was robbed of the win after Nate Jones allowed a pair of runs -- one earned -- in the eighth inning.

Phillies 6, Pirates 4:Cole Hamels won for just the second time since April by striking out eight batters in seven innings of two-run ball. Ben Revere had three hits out of the lead-off spot to spark the Phillies, who took two out of three from the surging Pirates.

Tigers 11, Blue Jays 1: Detroit roughed up Toronto starter Esmil Rogers to the tune of seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. Justin Verlander turned in his best start in a few weeks, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. Tigers' leadoff hitter Austin Jackson went 4-for-5 with a home run and Don Kelly had three hits out of the ninth spot in the lineup.

Athletics 1, Cubs 0:Dan Straily and a pair of relievers combined for a two-hit shutout as Oakland completed a series victory over Chicago. The A's scored the lone run of the game on a passed ball by Cubs catcher Welington Castillo in the seventh inning.

The first-place A's are in a lot better shape now than they were at this point in 2012.

Rays 7, Astros 5:Brett Wallace homered twice and finished 3-for-5 at the plate, but Yunel Escobar's 11th-inning double put Tampa Bay ahead for good after Joel Peralta gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth to allow Houston to tie the game. Escobar had three hits and drove in three runs for the Rays, who took three out of four from the Astros.

Marlins 4, Braves 3:Donovan Solano's two-out RBI single off of Craig Kimbrel in the top of the ninth inning pushed Miami past Atlanta for the second consecutive day. Pablo Ozuna had three hits and a homer for the Marlins. Julio Teheran struck out seven batters in five innings for the Braves, who racked up 15 total strike outs despite the loss.

Giancarlo Stanton made this catch in the ninth inning, robbing Dan Uggla of a potential game-tying extra-base hit.

Rangers 5, Mariners 4:Adrian Beltre hit a pair of home runs off of Hisashi Iwakuma as Texas avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the M's. Raul Ibanez homered for the second time in three games and now has 21 long balls in his age 41 season.

Rockies 9, Dodgers 5: Michael Cuddyer homered, doubled and drove in three runs to help Colorado avoid the sweep against Los Angeles. Jhoulys Chacin won his fifth consecutive start by tossing 5 ⅔ innings of four-run ball. Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez homered for the third straight game in the loss.

Angels 6, Cardinals 5: Josh Hamilton hit a game-tying home run off of Edward Mujica in the bottom of the ninth inning to spoil agood outing from Adam Wainwright, who pitched into the ninth inning but departed after Albert Pujols' leadoff single.Erick Aybar produced the game-winning hit a few batters later, driving in Howie Kendrick with a two-out opposite-field single.

Pujols' and Hamilton's ninth-inning hits snapped a combined 2-for-18 slump for the duo against Cardinals pitching.

St. Louis first baseman Allen Craig hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off of Joe Blanton and finished 2-for-4 at the plate.

Giants vs. Reds: Postponed. It rained all day in Cincinnati, so the Reds did not get a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the struggling Giants. This one may not be rescheduled though, as the two teams only share one off-day the rest of the season (Aug. 29) and it is the only break for both teams for over a month. They may decide to play this one only if necessary at the end of the season.

Do you have some trade offers you are consider, but need to bounce them off of someone? Are you pondering a roster move and want a second opinion? Feel free to post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions thread.

Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 14: Super Duper American

Andrew and Zack hosted their twice weekly Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, and discussed Matt Adams, Brad Miller, Bartolo Colon and much more. You can listen to the podcast via MP3 or ITunes:

MP3

ITunes

Cole Hamels: Back on track?

Phillies ace Cole Hamels has not been the Cole Hamels we drafted early in drafts thus far this season. He has been hit around a bit, but he seems to be getting back on track after a couple rough outings recently. Yesterday, Hamels limited the hot Pirates lineup to one earned run on 5 hits, no walks and 8 strikeouts in 7 innings in the Phillies 6-4 win. Hamels moved his record to 3-11 with a 4.38 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.27 WHIP and a 107-33 strikeout to walk rate in 113 innings. His FIP indicates that he he pitched better than his ERA indicates. He will need to put a few of these types of performances together to get back into the good graces of his fantasy owners.

For more on Hamels and the Phillies, please check out The Good Phight, SB Nation's Phillies fan site.

Justin Verlander shuts down the Blue Jays

Tigers ace Justin Verlander mentioned recently that he found a flaw in his mechanics and with his performance last night, it appears he has corrected the flaw. Verlander shut out the Blue Jays on 3 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts in 7 innings of work in the Tigers 11-1 win. Verlander, like Hamels, has not been his old dominant self on the mound this season, and has disappointed his fantasy owners. He moved his record to 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA, 3.02 FIP, a 1.36 WHIP and a 119-41 strikeout to walk rate in 112 innings.

His strikeout rate is up a bit this season, but his walk rate is up more than a walk per nine innings, and he is far more hittable this season, as his H/9 indicates.

For more on Verlander and the Tigers, check out Bless You Boys, SB Nation's Tigers fan site.

Round'em Up

Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson has been on fire since returning from the DL and last night he went 4-5 with a walk, a HR, 4 runs and 3 RBI in the Tigers 11-1 win over the Blue Jays. Jackson is now hitting .296-.376-.420 with 5 HRs, 51 runs, 21 RBI and 6 stolen bases.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp seems to have found his power stroke as he homered for the second straight game on Thursday night, going 2-5 with a HR and 2 RBI. Kemp raised his triple slash line to .254-.306-.357 with 4 HRs, 29 runs, 24 RBI and 9 stolen bases in 9 attempts. Kemp is one of the biggest disappointments for fantasy owners thus far, but if his shoulder is healthy, he could get back to being the old Matt Kemp in the second half of the season.

Brett Wallace was once one of the top hitting prospects in the game, but minor league pitchers found his weaknesses and he has yet to overcome them. Yet, sometimes he has a big game at the plate like he did last night, making fantasy owners left to wonder if he has turned things around. Wallace went 3-5 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 4 RBI, but is now hitting a low .173-.204-.404. He has been playing regularly of late, but I wouldn't go out and pick him up unless you really need a corner or utility guy.

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer has been another in a long line of disappointing hitters this season, but he appears to be back on track and is starting to hit for power. Last night, he went 2-4 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI and is now hitting .281-.334-.430 with 9 HRs, 14 doubles, 44 runs, 36 RBI, and 7 stolen bases in 10 attempts. He has hit 6 HRs, with 11 runs and 9 RBI over his last 9 games. He is set to have a solid second half if he can continue to hit for power like he has over the last week and a half.

Twins pitching prospect Kyle Gibson was roughed up in his first major league start yesterday, giving up 8 runs on 11 hits, a walk and 2 strikeouts in the Twins 9-5 loss to the Yankees. Gibson lasted into the sixth inning, and was efficient, throwing just 79 pitches, 52 for strikes. I imagine the Twins will allow him to stay in the rotation, as he is part of their future. I would be hesitant to add him in anything but a keeper league at this point.

A's starter Dan Straily came off the DL to completely shut down the Cubs lineup last night. Straily shut out the Cubs on just one hit, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts over 7 innings to win his 5th game of the season. Straily is now 5-2 with a 4.52 ERA, 3.62 FIP and 1.15 WHIP. He should stay in the rotation after this performance and is more of a streaming play in mixed leagues.

Closer Roundup

Cardinals closer Edward Mujica is showing signs that he is human. Mujica blew his first save of the season last night, giving up two runs on four hits in 0.2 innings to earn the loss. Mujica came on to preserve a one run lead, and promptly gave up a game-tying two run home run to Josh Hamilton and two more hits for the game winning run. He has now given up runs in four of his last six appearances, raising his ERA by a full run in the process. A few more blown saves like this one could start the chants to give the closer job to Trevor Rosenthal.

More from Fake Teams

2013 Prospect Rankings: The Midseason Top-100

The 2013 Futures Game: Team USA

Waiting in the Wings: Gregory Polanco

Around the League - AL

Around the League - N.L.

Minor League Level Review (Low-A and Below): Appel to Debut Friday, Kepler Makes Full-Season Debut

Three (Possibly) True Outcomes: Carlos Correa

Don't Stop Believing: Nick Swisher and Adam LaRoche

Coming Soon to A Stadium Near You: Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets

The Mets treated their fans to yet another extra innings game yesterday, losing to the Diamondbacks in 15 innings. Dillon Gee continued his recent run of good performances, throwing 7 solid innings and allowing just a pair of runs in the 5th. The full boxscore can be fond here.

The team made a move after the game, designating Brandon Lyon for assignment and calling up Greg Burke to take his spot in the bullpen. Adam Rubin reported that another move is probably coming, with the Mets intending to have Ike Davis meet them in Milwaukee on Friday. There is no word yet on who would be demoted to make room for Davis on the roster.

Today is the day that we'll find out if David Wright will deservingly start the All-Star game at Citifield, as the rosters will be announced at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Around Baseball

The Mets will be facing the Brewers on Friday, and the crew will be looking to rebound from an 8-5 loss to the Washington Nationals.

Like the Nats, the Phillies managed to win on independence day. They knocked off the Pirates by a 6-4 score after Cole Hamels"got his shit together".

The Marlins played the Braves in front of actual fans in Atlanta, and managed to win to pull themselves within four games of the Mets for the bottom spot in the division. Seriously guys, the Marlins are only four games behind the Mets.

The Tigers have their own Matt Harvey, but unlike the Mets, they provided plenty run support for Justin Verlander. That resulted in an 11-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

As we saw a flurry of July 2 signings this week, with both the Cubs and Rangers being extremely active on those markets, let's take a look at a prospect that the Blue Jays signed out of Mexico two years ago, and who has been jumping up on prospect radars with his performance so far stateside.

Osuna pitched in the Mexican League in 2011 as a 16 year old, and promptly had his rights sold to Toronto for $1.5 million. Now, as with all players from the Mexican League, Osuna did not see a substantial portion of that bonus, with his team, the Mexico City Red Devils, receiving the bulk of it. The team sent Osuna to their Appy League affiliate to start his stateside career, where he struck out 24 and walked 6 in 24 innings pitched with a 1.50 ERA. After just a month there, the Jays moved Osuna to the Northwest League, where in 19+ innings pitched he struck out 25, walked 9, and allowed just 14 hits.

The organization gave him a full season assignment to start his 2013 campaign, sending him to Lansing in the Midwest League. His season so far has been up and down, as he pitched well in April, but then missed the month of May as it was determined that he had torn a part of his ulnar collateral ligament. Never the news you want to hear, given that so many of these injuries end up in Tommy John surgery. However, the Jays rested Osuna, and he returned on June 9th to the rotation. His overall line for the season is a mixed bag: 51 strikeouts, 11 walks, and 39 hits allowed in 42+ innings pitched. However, the 5.53 ERA is inflated by his last three starts, where he has allowed 17 earned runs, 18 hits, and 6 walks in 9 innings pitched total.

One of the keys with Osuna seems to be the fact that he doesn't really have a ton of projection left. He is already listed at 6'2, 230 lbs as an 18 year old, which has led to concerns that he will continue to grow beyond the 230 lbs range. That said, his approach and repertoire are considered very mature for his age, as he features a mid 90s fastball with solid movement and life, an excellent curveball, and a plus changeup which some reports have listed as a splitter as well. All three pitches are anticipated to be at least average to above average, which bodes well for his long-term prospects as a starting pitcher.

The ceiling on Osuna isn't as high as some of the other starting pitchers we've profiled before, but he is pretty widely anticipated to have a #3 starter ceiling, which will definitely make him useful to fantasy owners. We could be looking at a starting pitcher who provides solid but not stunning ratios, a solid number of strikeouts, and should generally be a solid provider of innings for fantasy owners. The key to his timeline starts and ends with whether or not he really is healthy and just struggling, or if he is still hurt and still potentially in need of Tommy John surgery. Either way we are looking at a player who is probably at least 3 full seasons from contributing to your fantasy team, but one worth watching all the same.

Sources

Baseball America
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Reference
Fangraphs

The 2013 season could be summed up as "Father Time" for the Bronx Bombers. Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, and Derek Jeter's injury problems have put the Yankees offense in quite a bind. So much so that they currently sit at nineteenth in total offense, according to ESPN's MLB team stats. The issues the Yankees offense are currently going through had to come to fruition at some point and that time has finally come. The Yankees sit in third place in the AL East and without their stellar pitching this team would be far worse.

The All-Star break is quickly approaching and the Yankees are just five games up on the last place Blue Jays. Yes, this is the New York Yankees, but even they have to be sellers at some point and 2013 has been one of those seasons where they must swallow their pride and admit they're probably not seriously contending this year or for the next few either.

Vernon Wells' hot start seems like forever ago now that he's hitting .228/.266/.368 with a .275 wOBA. Yikes. Wells has certainly returned to the player Angels fans loathed, but with the lineup missing lots of pieces he's going to keep finding his way into the lineup.

One of the biggest surprises this season has been how the Yankees have been able to survive with their infield being in the constant state of flux that it has been in all season. Obviously, Cano has been stellar with his 137 WRC+, but the rest of the infield has been a mess.

So, if the Yankees do decide to sell in order to start getting younger, who can they move that could bring in a relatively nice return?

Four players that make the most sense moving at the deadline are Hiroki Kuroda, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Curtis Granderson.

Kuroda has been the best pitcher for the Yankees this season. His value is at the highest it will ever be and, even though it'd sting to move a pitcher as good as Kuroda, a contender would probably be willing to pay a steep price for him. If Cashman is serious about selling, Kuroda has to be priority numero uno.

The Yankees bullpen has been solid, for the most part, this season thanks to Boone Logan, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera, but Joba seems to be the odd man out. As we know, contending teams are always looking to add late inning bullpen help to prepare for a deep playoff run.

The Yankees will probably soon have to decide who they'd rather commit a rotation spot to long term; Hughes or David Phelps. Phelps has been the better pitcher in 2013 and, with Hughes being 27, what he is right now is probably what he's going to be for the next couple of seasons. It'd be best for both parties to move on.

Granderson has been injured this season and, even though his glove has taken a step back, he still has a lot of value as a player, offensively. That said, Granderson is a free agent after this season and it's likely the Yankees focus will be on Robinson Cano rather then re-upping Granderson to a new deal. Moving him also frees up Zoilo Almonte an outfield spot for the rest of the season, along with Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner.

Don't be the White Sox, Brian Cashman. Just sell.

More From Pinstriped Bible

Yankees trade target: Kendrys Morales

Francisco Cervelli shut down

Robinson Cano Contract: Yankees might not have to fear Dodgers

Coming into the 2013 season, it was predicted by many analysts that the Blue Jays were weak at second base, despite having both Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio fighting for the position. Now that we're half way through the season, it seems that it was one of the few predictions about the club that came true. Both Izturis and Bonifacio started off horribly both at the plate and in the field, but while has turned his bat and glove around, Bonifacio has not shown the same improvements. And the Blue Jays still have had the least offensive impact from second basemen in the league, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

This morning, in an Insider Only article over at ESPN.com, Buster Onley wrote that Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays are "said to be considering possible upgrades at second base and with their starting pitching." One possible target, Onley writes, is the Philadelphia Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley. who sports a .282/.349/.521 line so far in an injury-shortened season; however, since his return from the DL on June 21 (strained right oblique), Utley been hot, batting .309/.377/.655. He also is fantastic with his glove. Despite missing over 30 games this season, he is still leading the Phillies at 2.3 fWAR. The Phillies, who are in third place and 8.5 games behind the Braves with a 41-45 record, are possibly looking to sell at the deadline.

Utley is 34 and in his last year of a seven-year $85-million contract that is paying him $15 million this season. Injuries have derailed what could've been a great career--Utley has only played more than 150 games three times in his career, and 2010 was the last time he got 500 plate appearances. Utley will be the second best free agent on the market this offseason (or the best if Robinson Cano signs an extension with the Yankees).

It is hard for me to see why the Blue Jays, who themselves are in last place with a 41-44 record, would try to acquire an expiring contract in the middle of this season, especially since they won't be compensated with a draft pick should Utley walk at the end of the season. Even though Utley would be a huge upgrade at second base, he won't be much help if the Blue Jays' continue to roll out their current starting rotation. With the Dodgersrumoured to be in the Utley sweepstakes (and Amaro Jr. saying that he wants Utley to remain a Phillie for the rest of his career), it is hard for me to see him wearing a Blue Jays uniform this season (or in 2014 for that matter). The Blue Jays have better places to spend their resources than an upgrade to an oft-injured second baseman, even if he is Chase Utley.

After a poor April, the Jays batters started doing better in May and June they pretty much carried on the same way. In April we scored 3.85 runs per game, in May 5.0 runs per game and June saw us score 4.96.

J.P. Arencibia: .188/.241/.325, with 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 5 walks, 25 strikeouts and 1 caught stealing. He played in 21 games, starting 20, of 26. JP would like us to focus on the positive so we'll continue just go on to the next player.

Edwin Encarnacion: .277/.365/.584, with 8 home runs, 20 RBI, 13 walks, 8 strikeouts, 1 stolen base. Edwin's been nicely consistent, putting up monthly slugging averages of .525, .504 and .584. Where would we be without him? Well, last.

Emilio Bonifacio: .172/.209/.219, with 2 RBI, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts, 6 steals, 1 caught. Played in 24 of 26 games. Half a season in and he isn't getting better. Who would have thought that we'd look back at the .250/.266/.368 line he put up in May as his high mark.

Munenori Kawasaki: .244/.358/.422 with 1 home runs, 2 triples, 3 RBI, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts. Played in 20 of 26 games. He stole 6 bases in May and none in June. He's just 1 for 11 since coming back, but small sample size and all.

Maicer Izturis: .261/.296/.380, with 2 home runs, 12 RBI, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts.He played in 25 of the 26 games. I guess it is worth noting that this was his best month so far, and it wasn't good.

Melky Cabrera: .273/.309/.330 with 1 home run, 9 RBI, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts. He played in 23 of 26 games. He only had 3 extra base hits all month. That's as empty a .273 as you can get.

Colby Rasmus: .224/.313/.459, with 5 home runs, 13 RBI, 11 walks and 29 strikeouts. He played in 24 of 26 games. Unfortunately, I think this is Colby.

Jose Bautista: .213/.280/.435, with 7 home runs, 21 RBI, 10 walks, 20 strikeouts and 3 stolen bases. He played in all 26 games. It amazes me that in a pretty crappy month, Jose was able to drive in 20 runs. He has a 1.067 OPS with RISP this year.

Adam Lind: .350/.362/.620 with 7 home runs, 22 RBI, 3 walks and 24 strikeouts. Played in all 26 games. Our player of the month, it is surprising that he could have such a good month with 3 walks and 24 strikeouts. His walks by month 12, 9 and 3. I guess he'll have a negative number of walks in July. I won't mention that he is 0 for 8 this month.

Rajai Davis: .378/.408/.400 with 4 RBI, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, 11 steals and 1 caught. He played in 22 games, starting 10. It is going to be hard to take him out of the lineup to put Melky back in, if he keeps this up.

Mark DeRosa: .216/.310/.324 with 1 home runs, 3 RBI, 5 walks and 12 strikeouts. Played in 16 games, starting 9.

Josh Thole: .091/.167/.091 with 1 RBI, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. He played in 8 games, starting 5. JP is lucky he's gotten off to such a slow start.

Jose Reyes: .220/.261/.350 with 1 home run, 3 RBI, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. He played in 5 games. He didn't exactly hit the ground running, coming back from the injury, but he's picking it up now.

Twins 0 Blue Jays 4

That was a lot more fun.

I'm not sure that it was because we were facing the Twins, or maybe Mark Buehrle could have pitched a good game against the Tigers, but good starting pitching makes the games much better to watch. Mark went 7 innings, allowed just 6 hits, only 1 of them an extra base hit, a double by Brian Dozier, no walks with 5 strikeouts. Back on May 6, Mark's ERA was 7.02, now it is 4.50. He's fun to watch when he's going good.

His first inning looked like it was building to be one of the horrible early innings that we've had to sit through over the past several game. Dozier beat Buehrle to first on a ground ball and I was grumbling under my breath 'Gold Glove fielder my ass'. Then, after a fly out, Ryan Doumit singled to right and went to second and Jose Bautista's throw to third. The throw as a bad idea, and it should have been cutoff. Runners on second and third with one out, I was worried we were going to be trailing early again. But Mark struck out Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe to get out of the inning. After that Buehrle dominated.

Brett Cecil allowed just a single in the 8th and Dustin McGowan threw a perfect 9th. Dustin looks so good out there, it is nice to see.

On offense, we were lucky to open with a pair of Joses. Reyes and Bautista each went 3 for 4 and drove in all 4 of our runs. Bautista hit his 20th home run of the season. The rest of the team managed 4 hits, one each for Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus, Maicer Izturis and J.P. Arencibia. JP also took his 10th walk of the season, evening his walks and passed balls. Munenori Kawasaki went 0 for 3 but did drop a very nice bunt.

Jays of the Day (how long has it been since we had a JoD?) are Buehrle (.321 WPA), Bautista (.203) and Reyes (.121).

No Suckage Jays, though Edwin came close to the number at -.092 for an 0 for 3 with a walk.

Our GameThread numbers were down a bit (a week of bad baseball will do that), 27 of us totaled 435 comments. I led the way, that hasn't happened much this year. Yay me.

Mark Buehrle was his usual dominating self against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night, pitching seven shutout innings as Toronto blanked the Twins, 4-0. It was Minnesota's sixth loss in a row, and puts them a season low 12 games under .500.

Buehrle, who did the same thing to Minnesota about 1000 times (approximation) when he was with Chicago, kept the Twins at bay while the Blue Jays offense got to the Kevin Correia in the third on a Jose Bautista solo dong, then followed it up with three more runs in the fourth. It was more than enough against a Twins team that is frustrated and looking for answers, as LaVelle's post-game report notes. Gardenhire actually used the "working their tails off" line, which tells you all you need to know.

Get 'em tomorrow, I guess? Oy.

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8. jere.johnson.37
9. MNWildcat

CHARTS & GRAPHS

Source: FanGraphs

Enjoy your weekend, everybody.

Do you have some trade offers you are consider, but need to bounce them off of someone? Are you pondering a roster move and want a second opinion? Feel free to post your questions in the Fantasy Baseball Questions thread.

Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 14: Super Duper American

Andrew and Zack hosted their twice weekly Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, and discussed Matt Adams, Brad Miller, Bartolo Colon and much more. You can listen to the podcast via MP3 or ITunes:

MP3

ITunes

Francisco Liriano: Pirates ace?

The Pirates signed Francisco Liriano this past offseason, and I figured he was a risky pick on draft day based on his performance over the last few seasons. The Pirates signed him to a one year $1 million contract, with a $8 million club option for 2014. The way he is pitching right now, they will probably pick up that option.

Last night, Liriano threw a complete game four hitter, giving up two runs, walking four and striking out seven to win his eight game of the season. Liriano is now 8-3 with a 2.20 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 1.23 WHIP and a 74-27 strikeout to walk rate in 69.2 innings on the mound. He has given up two runs or less in eight of his eleven starts this season.

For more on Liriano and the streaking Pirates, make sure you check out Buc's Dugout, SB Nation's Pirates fan site.

Juan Uribe goes wild vs former team

Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe must have been hearing whispers that the Dodgers might be looking to upgrade at third base via the trade market, because I am not sure if he had a bigger game at the plate than last night. Last night, Uribe went 3-4 with a HR, double, triple, 2 runs and 7 RBI in the Dodgers romp over the Giants. Yes, 7 RBI.

Uribe is now hitting .282-.357-.448 with 5 HRs, 23 runs, 27 RBI and a solid 33-20 strikeout to walk rate in 163 at bats. Uribe is unowned in many leagues, but is serviceable in NL only leagues and leagues where OBP is used as a category.

For more on Uribe and the Dodgers, make sure you check out True Blue LA, SB Nation's Dodgers fan site.

Round'em Up

Yankees starter Ivan Nova had probably his best start of his big league career last night vs a solid Orioles lineup. Nova threw a complete game three hitter, giving up just two runs, a walk and striking out 11 in the Yankees 3-2 win. Nova is now 3-2 with a 4.09 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 48-14 strikeout to walk rate in 44 innings thus far. He is owned in under 3% of ESPN leagues, and is probably a decent streaming option going forward.

Tigers young starter Rick Porcello turned in another nice outing last night, shutting out the Indians for 7 innings. He gave up just 5 hits, walked 2 and struck out 6 to win his fifth game of the season. He is now 5-6 with a 4.82 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.26 WHIP and a solid 74-19 strikeout to walk rate in 93.1 innings. Porcello has given up 3 runs or less in 11 of his 16 starts this season, but when he is bad, he is BAD, thus the 4.82 ERA.

Diamondbacks pitching prospect Tyler Skaggs dominated the Rockies on Friday night, shutting them out on 3 hits, a walk, and strikeouts in 8 innings. Skaggs, making his fourth start of the season, moved his record to 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 22-7 K-BB rate in 24.2 innings. So much for him being available in the trade market. Skaggs will be a very popular waiver wire pick up this week, and I think he will remain in the Diamondbacks rotation after this excellent outing. He is owned in just 1.2% of ESPN leagues, but that will surely increase come Monday.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp appeared to aggravate his left shoulder injury on a swing last night, and left the game before his next at bat. Kemp grabbed his shoulder and grimaced after taking a big swing. He eventually worked out a walk, but left the game before his next at bat. Carl Crawford took his place in the outfield, with Andre Ethier moving to center field. Kemp was seen in the dugout afterward, so maybe he will be fine. We should learn more later today. It's certainly been a lost year for the Dodger outfielder.

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista had a big night at the plate, going 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, and is now hitting .267-.364-.518 with 20 HRs, 59 runs, 52 RBI and 6 stolen bases. He is currently on pace to hit 38 home runs this season, but lost in that number is that his overall power as calculated by IS0, is down for the third straight season.

Mets outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis had his best game as a major leaguer last night, going 4-4 with 2 walks, a double, a triple, 4 runs scored, 5 RBI and a stolen base in the Mets 12-5 win over the Brewers. Nieuwenhuis is more of a part time player in the Mets outfield right now but could see regular time if he can show he can hit and get on base on a regular basis. He is unowned in ESPN leagues at the moment, but I wouldn't rush out to grab him unless in a deep NL only or mixed league.

The Mets called up first baseman Ike Davis from AAA prior to last night's game and he responded with a three hit game. Davis went 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI in the Mets win over the Brewers. Davis struggled to start the season, similar to his 2012 season, and it remains to be seen whether he can put together a few big power months like he did last night. I could see him hitting 15-20 bombs in the second half if he has finally figured things out.

More from Fake Teams

The 2013 Futures Game: Team USA

Five impact prospects still in the minors

Three (Possibly) True Outcomes: Carlos Correa

I Traded Chris Davis

Streamer Report: Weekend Pitching Streamers

Low Level Prospect Review: Roberto Osuna, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

Waiting in the Wings: Gregory Polanco

Around the League - AL

Waiting in the Wings: Gregory Polanco

Minor League Level Review (Low-A and Below): Appel to Debut Friday, Kepler Makes Full-Season Debut

Good morning prospect watchers. Let's get down to business.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread.

***Projects in Progress include articles of Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Ross Stripling, recently-promoted Chicago White Sox catcher Josh Phegley, and a Prospect Retrospective for Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond. After that my main focus will be the Top 150 Prospects List update. Given the work involved this may end up being a Top 50 or 75 list.

***Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Green went 4-for-6 with two doubles yesterday for Triple-A Sacramento, moving his season line to .319/.375/.503 with 11 homers, 25 doubles, 27 walks, 66 strikeouts in 348 at-bats. Reports indicate that he's settled in at second base without much trouble, not a gold glove of course but sufficient glovework to hold the position if he hits sufficiently. With a year and a half in Triple-A, he doesn't have much left to prove at that level.

***Another critical Oakland prospect, Michael Ynoa, got rocked in his debut for High-A Stockton last night, giving up four hits, seven runs, and three walks in four innings against Modesto. He had a 2.14 ERA in 15 starts for Low-A Beloit before his promotion, with a 48/15 K/BB in 55 innings. Reports from the Midwest League indicated that his velocity is just fine and he appears fully recovered from the injuries that slowed his career, but that his command is still a work in progress, exactly as you'd expect.

***The Chicago Cubs promoted infielder Javier Baez to Double-A Tennessee. He was hitting .274/.338/.535 with 17 homers, 21 walks, and 78 strikeouts in 299 at-bats for Daytona. There is lots of discussion on Cubs boards and forums about the decision to move Baez up. Is he being rushed? For all the power he showed in the Florida State League, his tendency to swing-and-miss and lose track of the strike zone is quite strong.

I think that's the point really. Baez IS very aggressive and swings at just about anything, but he has enough natural talent and pure bat speed to get away with this and remain productive against A-ball pitching. The Cubs have concluded that he needs to be challenged by pitchers who can change speeds more effectively. The adaptation process should be illuminating.

***Twins outfield prospect Max Kepler went 4-for-5 yesterday and is now hitting .333/.412/.617 in 15 games since replacing Byron Buxton as the "must see" player on the in the loaded Cedar Rapids Kernels lineup.

***Houston Astros first-rounder Mark Appel made his professional debut yesterday with two innings for Tri-City in the New York-Penn League, giving up three hits and two runs, fanning one. Getting him tuned up is much more important than performance numbers at this point.

***Today's minor league schedule of contests.

***Jason Hunt looks at Toronto Blue Jays prospect Roberto Osuna.

***Ray Guilfoyle looks at Five Fantasy Impact Prospects still in the minor leagues:Christian Yelich of the Marlins, Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Erasmo Ramirez of the Mariners, George Springer of the Astros, and Nick Castellanos of the Tigers.

***Someone needs to sign this pitcher:

Mike Pelfrey goes for the Twins today trying to turn around an awful season for him so far. He's coming off the 15-day DL with back problems to make the start this afternoon. In 14 starts he has a 6.11 ERA and a 4.22 FIP. His K/9 is only 4.84 while his BB/9 is 2.67 continuing his contact pitching ways. Pelfrey is a free agent after this season, so he'll be hoping to change his fortunes in the second half of the season or he won't get a very big contract at year's end.

Pelfrey throws the 5 main pitches, with the fastball and sinker making up 72% of his repertoire this year with the speed averaging about 92 MPH. None of Pelfrey's off-speed offerings this year have been very good, which may be why he's struggling so much.

His sinker is often thrown on the inside against right handers trying to jam them in on the hands:

via www.fangraphs.com

In fact most of Pelfrey's pitches have had that location this season, which makes him a little bit predictable for hitters:

Here's the hopeful lineup for today:

1. Reyes SS
2. Bautista RF
3. Lind DH
4. Encarnacion 1B
5. Rasmus CF
6. Davis LF
7. Izturis 3B
8. Thole C
9. Kawasaki 2B

Enjoy the game, hopefully the Blue Jays play well because Pelfrey is not the most interesting pitcher.

The 2013 MLB All-Star teams will be unveiled on Saturday after several months of fan voting. The rosters will be announced live on a made-for-TV selection show.

Voting totals were last announced earlier in the week, and Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera led all of baseball with slightly fewer than 6 million votes. St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was the National League's leading vote-getter at the time, being selected on more than 5 million ballots.

Papelbon's "joke"-free All-Star game denies reality

The history of the exhibition is littered with a fair number of jokers.

A lot of the positions had large gaps between the first and second-place candidates, but the outfield spots in each league are still a mystery. In the American League, Toronto Blue Jays' slugger Jose Bautista was third in the voting when the totals were last announced, but only led Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles by approximately 150,000 votes.

The story was the same in the NL, where fewer than 27,000 votes separated the trio of Colorado Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves slugger Justin Upton and Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper.

Backups, pitchers and Final Vote candidates will also be announced during the show.

Start time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

More from SB Nation:

• When 39-year-old surprises weren't suspicious

• Manny Ramirez joins (desperate?) Rangers

• Joey Chestnut eats ungodly amount of hot dogs

• A night at the beer pong "Brodeo"

• MLB trade rumors | MLB Daily Dish

Two Yankees will be representing the team in Queens for the 2013 All-Star Game on July 16 at Citi Field. With so many backups being forced into the lineup on a daily basis due to injury, it's not surprising that the Yankees don't have more players on this list, even though there are certainly a couple more players who you could argue were deserving.

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has been voted as the American League starter at second base, edging out the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia. Unlike in recent years when the Yankees seemed to have half the starters for the AL, Cano will be the only Yankee to start the game. In 86 games this season, Cano has batted .292/.371/.529 with 20 home runs and a 137 wRC+. He is unquestionably the Yankees best every day player and arguably the best second baseman in baseball. This will be Cano's fifth All-Star game and his fourth start. Cano has now matched Willie Randolph as the Yankee leader in ASG appearances at second base.

Mariano Rivera will also represent the Yankees and the American League as part of Jim Leyland's pitching staff. Rivera is riding off into retirement on a high note having converted 29 of 30 saves so far this year in 32.1 innings. The American League hasn't had a ton of success in All-Star games recently, but it would be nice to see Rivera closing out the game to give the AL the win just in case the Yankees can make it to the World Series, ensuring that they'd have home field advantage. This will be Mo's 13th time as an All-Star.

Setup man David Robertson is up for the Final Vote spot on the team. Yankee fans sent Nick Swisher to the All-Star Game two years ago by winning the final vote and they'll have another chance to do that again with D-Rob. Joaquin Benoit of the Tigers, Steve Delabar of the Blue Jays, Tanner Scheppers of the Rangers, and Koji Uehara of the Red Sox are also candidates for the final American League spot. You can vote for D-Rob here.

The starting nine for the American League include Joe Mauer, Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Miguel Cabrera, Adam Jones, Mike Trout, Jose Bautista, David Ortiz, and Cano. American League Pitching All-Stars are Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Brett Cecil, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson, Chris Sale, Bartolo Colon, Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Jesse Crain, Joe Nathan, and Glen Perkins.

Major League Baseball's All-Star announcement came a few hours after another disappointing loss for the Blue Jays, giving their fans something to be happy about. Three Blue Jays will be represented at Citi Field in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game: Jose Bautista, Brett Cecil, and Edwin Encarnacion.

Jose Bautista was successfully voted as a starting outfielder for the American League club, and will be appearing in his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, and his third straight as a starter.

Blue Jays fans had a big "#VoteEdwing" online campaign to get Edwin Encarnacion onto the starting lineup, but unfortunately he felt short of that, with David Ortiz being elected to be the designated hitter. Encarnacion made it onto the team as a reserve anyway, and will be going to the All-Star game for the first time in his career.

Another first timer is reliever Brett Cecil, who had planned to spend the All-Star Break at home with his family in Maryland. While most people thought that both Bautista and Encarnacion would get in, few believed that Cecil would have gotten the call despite his great performance this season. Not many middle-relievers on a last-place team (and one from Canada too boot) get selected, but Cecil's phenomenal performance, and John Gibbons' personal influence, made it hard for Jim Leyland to not pick him. In 2013 he has held opposing batters to a .153/.220/.240 line. And on top of all that he is coming back from perhaps one of the worst years of his life, being cut at the end of spring training and being sent to work in AA for two months and AAA for another.

That might not be all from the Blue Jays: Cecil's bullpen mate Steve Delabar has made it onto the ballot for the last spot on the American League roster. Like Cecil, Delabar has a great comeback story--back in 2010 he was a high school substitute teacher who, at age 27, worked his way onto the Mariners' roster. Then, in a great trade, Alex Anthopoulos acquired him from Seattle for Eric Thames. Be sure to vote for Delabar in the online Final Vote here to send four Blue Jays to the All-Star Game!

The Full Rosters

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Starters

C: Joe Mauer, Twins

1B: Chris Davis, Orioles

2B: Robinson Cano, Yankees

SS: J.J. Hardy, Orioles

3B: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers

OF: Mike Trout, Angels

OF: Adam Jones, Orioles

OF: Jose Bautista, Blue Jays

DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox

Pitchers

RHP: Clay Buchholz @, Red Sox

LHP: Brett Cecil, Blue Jays

RHP: Bartolo Colon *, A's

RHP: Jesse Crain @, White Sox

RHP: Yu Darvish, Rangers

RHP: Felix Hernandez, Mariners

RHP: Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners

RHP: Justin Masterson, Indians

RHP: Joe Nathan, Rangers

LHP: Glen Perkins *, Twins

RHP: Mariano Rivera, Yankees

LHP: Chris Sale, White Sox

RHP: Max Scherzer, Tigers

RHP: Justin Verlander, Tigers

Reserves

C: Jason Castro, Astros

C: Salvador Perez, Royals

1B: Prince Fielder, Tigers

2B: Jason Kipnis, Indians

2B: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

2B: Ben Zobrist, Rays

SS: Jhonny Peralta: Tigers

3B: Manny Machado, Orioles

OF: Nelson Cruz, Rangers

OF: Alex Gordon, Royals

OF: Torii Hunter, Tigers

DH: Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters

C: Yadier Molina, Cardinals

1B: Joey Votto, Reds

2B: Brandon Phillips, Reds

SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies

3B: David Wright, Mets

OF: Carlos Beltran, Cardinals

OF: Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies

OF: Bryce Harper, Nationals

Pitchers

LHP: Madison Bumgarner, Giants

LHP: Aroldis Chapman, Reds

LHP: Patrick Corbin, D-backs

RHP: Jose Fernandez, Marlins

RHP: Jason Grilli, Pirates

RHP: Matt Harvey, Mets

LHP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

RHP: Craig Kimbrel, Braves

LHP: Cliff Lee, Phillies

LHP: Jeff Locke, Pirates

RHP: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals

LHP: Travis Wood, Cubs

RHP: Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals

Reserves

C: Buster Posey, Giants

1B: Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs

1B: Allen Craig, Cardinals

2B: Matt Carpenter, Cardinals

2B: Marco Scutaro, Giants

SS: Everth Cabrera, Padres

SS: Jean Segura, Brewers

3B: Pedro Alvarez, Pirates

OF: Domonic Brown, Phillies

OF: Michael Cuddyer, Rockies

OF: Carlos Gomez, Brewers

OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

Rosters from MLB.com.

As you probably know by now, I was at the Boise Hawks game tonight. I need to thank the Hawks, communications director Courtney Garner and broadcaster Mike Safford who hooked me up with press access. I got interviews with Hawks manager Gary Van Tol and Cubs legend Bill Buckner. I'll have those up sometime next week.

If you want to ask me any questions about what I saw at the Hawks game, I'd be glad to answer them.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs dropped a doubleheader to the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers), 10-3 in a completion of yesterday's game and 1-0.

Jake Arrieta made his Cubs debut yesterday, it only lasted one inning plus the first three batters of the second inning. He loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman in the second, but I'm guessing the rain had something to do with that. His final line on the game was 1+ innings, allowing one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out two.

Esmailin Caridad started today and took the loss. He pitched three innings and allowed two runs on three hits. One of those runs was unearned. Caridad walked one and struck out two.

Second baseman Logan Watkins was 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI single.

In game two, starter Barret Loux pitched a six inning complete game defeat. He gave up one run on four hits. He did show some wildness as he walked four, hit a batter and had a wild pitch. Loux struck out six.

To add insult to injury, the only run of the game was scored by Ian Stewart.

The Cubs had five hits, all singles. Second baseman Tim Torres was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were outshone by the Huntsville Stars (Brewers), 8-2.

Rough start for Austin Kirk, who didn't make it out of the third inning. Kirk's final line was six runs on seven hits over 2+ innings. He walked three and struck out two.

Third baseman Christian Villanueva hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his 11th of the season. Villanueva was 1 for 4.

Rubi Silva was 2 for 4.

Shortstop Javier Baez played his first game in Double-A. You probably heard he hit a home run in his first at-bat. You can see it here. He was 1 for 4. Ball went far.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs had a 6-0 lead going to the bottom of the eighth and held on for an 6-5 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.

There were no problems from starter Pierce Johnson, who got his first Daytona win with five shutout innings. He surrendered five hits. He walked one and struck out five.

After Austin Reed threw two innings of scoreless relief, Jeffrey Lorick got into major trouble in the eighth. He pitched one inning and allowed five runs on four hits, including a three-run home run. He walked one and struck out two.

Dayan Diaz got his first save with the Cubs, but it was an ugly save. Diaz gave up two singles put runners on first and third with no outs. He got the next batter to hit a ground ball to shortstop Elliot Soto, who threw out the runner at third trying to score. Then Diaz allowed his third single to load the bases with one out, but he got a shallow fly ball and a ground out to end the game.

Right fielder Bijan Rademacher had two doubles in a 2 for 4 game. He scored one run and had one batted in. Center fielder Zeke DeVoss was 3 for 5 with three RBI and one run scored. Third baseman Ben Carhart was 3 for 5 with two RBI and one run scored.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars were shut out by the Quad City River Bandits (Astros), 5-0.

Starter Jose Rosario allowed runs in four of the five innings he pitched. He allowed two runs in the third inning, just to make up for that scoreless first inning. Rosario allowed five runs on six hits over five innings. He walked four and struck out one.

The Cougars managed three hits, all singles, One of those hits was by center fielder Albert Almora, who was 1 for 2 before leaving in the sixth inning. According to this report, Almora was suffering from trying to be like George Brett too much.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawkswere dusted by the Tri-City Dust Devils (Rockies), 5-3.

James Pugliese took his first loss of the season after he allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings. Pugliese walked two and struck out six.

Zack Godley was successful in his Boise debut, throwing a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth inning. He struck out two.

First baseman Jacob Rogers accounted for all three runs with a moonshot home run in the third inning, his third of the season. Rogers was 2 for 4.

Second baseman Danny Lockhart was 2 for 4 and scored once. Also, he's an incredibly good bunter. With runners on first and second and no outs in the seventh inning, he laid a bunt down the third base line that hugged the line until about ten feet from third base when it rolled foul. So he then bunted towards third again on the next pitch and this one stayed fair for a hit, loading the bases with no outs. Naturally, Boise failed to score in the inning.

Center fielder Shawon Dunston was 0 for 3 with two walks. That's five walks (and only one hit) in the past three games. Are we sure he's not adopted?

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Rangers, 11-4.

In a matchup of struggling American League pitchers, the Twins' Mike Pelfrey was solid while former Twin R.A. Dickey had his issues continue as the Twins rocked him for 6 runs in a 6-0 victory at Rogers Centre.

The Twins got on the board in the third inning with three runs from the top of the order. Brian Dozier started off the scoring with an RBI groundout to second base. Next up was Jamey Carroll, who ripped an RBI double just inside the left field line. Joe Mauer capped the scoring that inning with a bloop single to center field that chased home Carroll.

On the pitching side, Pelfrey's control wasn't great as he allowed 3 walks, but he avoided damage by limiting the Jays to only 3 hits. He admitted that he tweaked his left groin back in the first inning, but it sounded like he wasn't concerned about the injury as he was able to complete 6 innings in today's game.

Dozier added some insurance in the 7th with a 3-run homer off Dickey, and the trio of Caleb Thielbar, Jared Burton, and Glen Perkins completed the shutout for the Twins.

WP: Mike Pelfrey (4-6)

LP: R.A. Dickey (8-9)

Player of the Game: Brian Dozier

Studs: Pelfrey, Dozier, Parmelee

Duds: Morneau, Plouffe

The Cubs are already in major sell mode as they continue to completely restructure their organization from the ground up. With Scott Feldman already shipped off to Baltimore and Carlos Marmol reworking his mechanics in Albequerque for the Dodgers, the Cubs are in the midst of rebuilding a long-broken franchise. While they have been expanding their farm system by attacking the amateur international market, they are looking to acquire talent that is a bit closer to the majors. With Matt Garza in their sleeve, they have an opportunity to cash in.

Player Analysis

Matt Garza is a very interesting case at this trade deadline. On one hand, he has had injury issues in the past calendar year that have forced him to miss significant time. In total, he's thrown just 161 innings since the beginning of the 2012 season. On the other hand, he's currently riding one of the best hot streaks in the majors:

Now, this recent hot streak brings up a legitimate question: is this performance just smoke, or is this what can be expected of Garza? Quite honestly it's tough to tell, but digging into the numbers might help out just a bit.

Firstly, it's important to take Garza's 2011 campaign with a massive grain of salt. It's possible the numbers point to a ceiling for Garza, but 2011 Matt Garza was 27 years old and playing in his first year in the National League. During that season, he got an O-Swing% of 34.3 and a SwStr% of 11.2. Those numbers are both light years ahead of his career norms, and he has fallen back in line with his career norms in the last 160 innings. This means that Garza is more likely to be a low-8 K/9 pitcher rather than fluttering near 9.0.

Using career numbers and recent numbers--so pretty much all the numbers--on Garza can lead one to a vast array of different conclusions on what exactly he can be. While 2011 exists and looks fantastic, it's also true that he took a step back in the first half of 2012 with a 4.17 FIP and 3.59 xFIP--and these numbers looked a lot worse before a ten-inning hot streak right before he got hurt.

So what do you get with Matt Garza? Well, his most stable skill is likely his control. Over the past 563 innings of his career, his walk rate has a range of 2.77 B/9 to 2.86 BB/9 going from year to year. During the last three years, he has attacked the strike zone early--with a F-Strike% of 63.2%--and is generating a SwStr% of 10.5. For some perspective, these numbers are very similar to Anibal Sanchez--who has a 64.7% F-Str% and a 10.7 SwStr% over the same span.

Garza is going to miss a lot of bats, and he's going to get himself ahead in the count. However, it's really important to not forget these injuries. While Garza has been on a nice streak, his fastball velocity isn't anywhere near what it was prior to his injury last year. Through 57.1 innings this season, he's dipped from 93.6 MPH to 92.7. With velocity issues after injuries, it's easy to point to a change or flaw in mechanics as a result of coming back. A quick peek at PitchF/X release point graphs suggests that isn't the case.

2013:

2012:

It appears that nothing has changed in Garza's mechanics due to his injury. Therefore, it is more likely that his velocity concerns are a product of regaining strength and stamina versus a change in mechanics. This also means, however, that the same potential mechanical issues that led to Garza's last two injuries are prevalent in his current mechanics. Whether the injuries are related to mechanics or general health, the same variables are in play--which in turn means that it has to be a big red flag.

Market Analysis

Before getting to the teams, it's important to understand where Garza stands among his fellow trade candidates. As voiced by NBC Sports' Craig Calcaterra, Garza enters a second consecutive year as the "belle of the ball"--but that tag might not be quite so true. The primary difference between 2012 and 2013 is a vital year of control. Trading for Garza last year would have meant him being under control for 2013. Trading for him this time around means acquiring a rental player that is due to test free agency for the first time in the off season.

There's also the issue of talent level. Different reports have different pitchers being available, and the names can include Cliff Lee and Yovani Gallardo depending on which sources are paid attention to--Ricky Nolasco was also in the mix until he was traded to Los Angeles. After the remaining three starters, the market for starting pitchers starts to get pretty bare--and with the amount of team control left on Lee and Gallardo, it's going to take a king's ransom to pry them away from Philadelphia and Milwaukee.

So let's compare Garza to Nolasco. Both players are due to hit free agency after the season, which means neither can be approached with a qualifying offer after a trade--so no compensation can be had by the receiving team. Both players have friendly contracts, with Garza agreeing to a $10.25 million figure before the season and Nolasco being signed to a $11.5 million figure. As far as age, Garza is 29 and Nolasco is 30, and both have over 1,000 innings of MLB experience.

MLB Trade Rumor Analysis: Ricky Nolasco

Andrew Ball takes a look at Ricky Nolasco, who was recently traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Knowing this, the difference comes down to health and projected performance. Faith in Nolasco requires incredible faith in DIPS theory. As Andrew Ball notes, Nolasco is one of the greatest offenders of not matching his ERA to his FIP. Recent events have swung things a bit more in Nolasco's favor, however. Both pitchers have a SwStr% around ten in a small sample this season, and both are getting swings on north of 28.5% of pitches outside of the zone.

While faith in Nolasco requires faith in DIPS, faith in Garza requires faith in Garza's body to remain healthy and strong. If the numbers are to be trusted, Garza is a slam dunk as the top arm available at the deadline. However, medical reports and a physical might reveal that things are not exactly alright.

Now to the teams that could be involved. After the Nolasco deal, the market becomes a bit more clear. It is nearly a given that Seattle, Houston, Milwaukee, Chicago (AL), Minnesota, New York (NL), and Miami are out of the equation. With recent happenings, it also appears that the San Diego Padres are going to fall out of the mix.

If Cliff Lee and Yovani Gallardo are not made available or are too pricey, then there may be several suitors for a very small number of arms.

Potential Matches

With the recent stretch run for Garza and no signs of physical ailments, the Cubs have every motivation to let the deals come to them. As far as they are concerned, they can expect Garza to turn down a qualifying offer--unless he were to get hurt again. This means that they will more than likely be compensated if Garza turns down the offer and elects to become a free agent. Lately, Twitter and the rest of the internet have been all out of sorts with different Matt Garza rumors. Teams listed as being interested include the Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indians. I'll spend a bit of time on each of these:

Boston Red Sox

This connection makes for an interesting story, but that's about all it comes out to be. The connection between the Cubs' front office and the Red Sox is obvious, but these teams simply don't match up. The Red Sox are stacked with quality arms and have plenty of organizational depth--including Allen Webster. With Clay Buchholz likely to return from injury soon and John Lackey returning to form, it doesn't appear the Sox have much incentive to give up big prospects--especially after last year's mega trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to Los Angeles.

San Diego Padres

On June 24th, the Padres got a game over .500 and were heavily rumored as being interested in making a big splash at the deadline. Since that date they have gone 1-10 and lost six consecutive games to the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox. While they are still technically in the race, it's hard to see a team that has fallen off this much turn itself into a buyer when it is reported that Garza wants to test free agency.

Texas Rangers

Texas always seems to need more pitching, but it may be hard for them to find reason to buy on starters. With Neftali Feliz, Colby Lewis, and Alexi Ogando all working to come back from injury and Martin Perez available as another starter, it's hard to see where Garza would fit.The deal would also likely require the Rangers to part with Mike Olt or Leonys Martin.

Toronto Blue Jays

After the Blue Jays gutted their farm system over the off season, it's hard to take them seriously as buyers. It becomes even harder when reports like this come out:

For those unaware, the players involved would be Jonathan Schoop (2B) and Eduardo Rodriguez (LHP). Both are top 100 prospects, and both create a price that is very hard for the Blue Jays to realistically match.

Cleveland Indians

Of all of the teams reportedly in on Matt Garza, Cleveland is the one that makes the most sense. In terms of need, let's just say they have some. Despite his shaky start in a big spot against Detroit this week, Justin Masterson has been a bright spot. After Masterson, things get a bit dicey due to sample size issues, performance issues, and health concerns--in the case of Zack McAllister. In short, the Indians need a starter.

The issue then becomes that of price. After the team's big spending spree in which they got Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher in the same off season, the Indians appear to be taking a veteran approach and will let the farm system suffer as a result--they lost a pair of draft selections due to their free agent signings.

In terms of prospects, it's nearly impossible to see Francisco Lindor or Clint Frazier being dealt in a trade for a rental starter like Garza. Due to this, there are some names that certainly become interesting--the first of which is Trevor Bauer. Bauer's issues in dealing with his mechanics and horrifying efforts in MLB this year do not have him in every scout's good graces, and he should be treated as a pretty huge gamble at this point. With the lack of pitching depth in the Cubs' organization, it would make sense that the Cubs pursue Bauer or Mitch Brown in a trade with the Indians--along with other pieces.

Trade Expectations

With the Nolasco deal in the books, it's possible to come up with an idea of what Garza could go for. In Nolasco's case, he was moved in a clear salary dump. The Marlins didn't receive any notable prospects and also gave up 170 thousand dollars in international bonus pool money. In the deal, the Dodgers pick up all $5.5 million of Nolasco's salary.

The Cubs have shown a willingness to eat salary in the deal, and it's clear through reports and recent actions that they are seeking out a prospect-heavy return. So what can the Cubs recently get? Well, the best example to use is last year's trade of Zack Greinke to the Angels. In the deal, the Brewers received rising shortstop Jean Segura and a pair of AA arms.

Garza isn't on Greinke's level as a pitcher, but both were of similar age and contract status. They were also the top arm available on the market alongside another Marlins starter--in Greinke's case, his Marlin was Anibal Sanchez. Without much comparable trade history due to the changes in the CBA and the addition of international bonus slots, it's tough to get an idea of what the Cubs could get. Regardless, it will probably a hefty haul of prospects and he should be moved rather quickly.

. . .

Big thanks to FanGraphs and MLB Trade Rumors for the data and information that went into the piece.

Ken Woolums is a writer for Beyond the Box Score and Off Topic. You can follow him on twitter @Wooly9109.

Left-hander CANADIAN Scott Diamond goes for the Twins today against Todd Redmond in what's sure to (not) be a pitcher's duel. Diamond has started 15 games this year pitching to a 5.18 ERA and a 4.61 FIP with both low strikeout (4.43) and walk (1.84) rates. Diamond went to school in Guelph so this is as close to a hometown game for him as he'll get.

Scott Diamond keeps it simple with his pitches throwing a fastball, curveball, and changeup. He's been a complete fastball-curveball pitcher against left handers and a fastball first with both off-speed pitches at about 20% this year for right handed batters.

Diamond's curveball is much more of the 12-6 variety than many pitchers throw as you can see it almost drops straight down from where his fastball is normally thrown. Overall there isn't much movement on any of his pitches:

Diamond generally stays away from right handers with his high 80's fastball relying on deception similar to Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle:

via www.fangraphs.com

Diamond has severe reverse splits and I was planning to say Lind should play, but the Blue Jays beat me to it:

Today's @BlueJays lineup: Reyes-SS Bautista-RF Encarnacion-1B Lind-DH DeRosa-3B Davis-LF Rasmus-CF Arencibia-C Izturis-2B Redmond-P

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) July 7, 2013

You would think the extra pitch would allow Diamond to be tougher on lefties, but as it turns out he is more successful with only two pitches against right handed hitters.

Baseball history is always pretty fascinating so today's "Find the Link" is from about a century ago:

Find the link between Scott Diamond and the man with the most sacrifice hits for the team that finished 3rd place in the American League back in 1906.

Enjoy the game. If the Blue Jays can't hit around Scott Diamond, then I think the white flag may need to be prepared.