I’ll be honest with you. My track record with Daniel Norris hasn’t been great. The last time I wrote about Norris was after he fanned seven Rays in a real good start on April 25. As you would correctly guess, I believed Norris was worth an add in just about every league but five days later, Norris got blasted by the Indians and received a ticket to triple-A Buffalo following the start.
We wouldn’t see him in the majors again until this past Sunday … as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
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Norris was excellent in his Tigers debut, holding the Baltimore Orioles to just one run – a Chris Davis solo homer — over 7.1 innings at Camden Yards while striking out five. Just as impressively, he allowed just the one walk. Norris struggled with control and command during his five starts with Toronto but that wasn’t his only issue. On the same day he was traded to Detroit, Norris told Prime Time Sports “When I was up there in April, I didn’t have my velocity. I was labouring with every outing. I feel 100 percent healthy now.”
Norris was dealing with ‘dead-arm’ for most of April and it even dated back to the Blue Jays’ exhibition series in Montreal. If what he says is true and he’s back to full health, he’s at least worth adding to your pitching staff to stream in favourable matchups. Norris has a solid fastball with movement and his slider and curveball are listed as above-average pitches. His curve needs work but Norris has a very attractive arsenal that should be able to strike out out MLB hitters at a nice rate.
Michael Bourn, OF (3 percent owned)
Yeah, I didn’t think I’d write about Michael Bourn here either but the speedster has found something since July 18 with a .367 average and .404 on-base percentage in 52 plate appearances with three doubles, six runs and six stolen bases. Make no mistake, he remains one of the worst hitters in all of baseball this season but grabbing Bourn off the waiver wire right now is a shot in the dark that the 32-year-old can be a solid source of steals down the stretch.
He has battled hamstring issues throughout his time in Cleveland, but it’s been encouraging to see him get on base of late and attempt seven steals since the middle of July. He’s still owned $14 million next season which leads me to believe that he will not be traded this month, as some have speculated. That’s OK, since being dealt to a contender would more than likely reduce his playing time.
Welington Castillo, C (11 percent owned)
Trivia time! With Buster Posey at #1 and Carlos Santana right behind him at #2, who’s been the third best catcher in all of fantasy baseball over the last 30 days? Correct, it’s Welington Castillo. Castillo went to Arizona in the Mark Trumbo trade earlier this year and got immediate playing time with Tuffy Gosewisch lost for the season with an injury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jordan Pacheco both non-factors.
Castillo has only appeared in 70 games this season but at 12 home runs, he’s one away from matching his career high. Looking at his batted ball profile, two things really stick out: a 43.3 percent fly ball rate and a 40.4 percent hard hit rate. We know Chase Field is an extreme hitters’ park, and that plays well for Castillo who packs quite the punch at the plate. Five of Castillo’s 12 homers have come over the last seven days and I’d be thinking real hard about dropping Wilson Ramos or Yan Gomes for him.
Jed Lowrie, SS (8 percent owned)
Lowrie just returned to the Astros’ lineup after a long layoff with a thumb injury. With shortstop now occupied with some guy named Carlos Correa, Houston manager A.J. Hinch has handed Lowrie four straight starts at third, which means in most leagues Lowrie will become third base eligible once he makes one more appearance at the position. That’s a nice bonus.
The Astros have said that in easing Lowrie back in the lineup, he probably won’t play more than three straight games at a time. Even so, his power potential and his knack for taking a walk makes him a very appealing bench add to your fantasy roster for the stretch drive. Hinch is batting Lowrie fifth and sixth in that lineup, which will give Lowrie plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. Look for Lowrie to give you a decent average with the possibility of knocking out 5-10 home runs the rest of the season.
