You can debate whether the Angels did the right thing or not by swapping first basemen with the Atlanta Braves (plus a pitching prospect), but as negligible as that difference is to the Angels winning the West, the Angels brought in a game-changing player. He is currently on fire, hitting .346 since the break and is a lifetime .296 hitter after the break (20 points higher than before the break). Look for big things from Teixeira in the middle of a potent Angels’ lineup. He has cut back on strikeouts, while walking more, sustained a good line-drive rate of 20 percent, but is showing a slight decrease in home runs per flyball. Yet, because he has a lifetime second-half slugging percentage of .564, (53 points higher than before break), we should expect that his power will rebound to normal levels. After writing this, he hit a grand slam Sunday against the Yankees.

• Adam Jones, OF—BAL (DOWN) Don’t buy into the hype. Jones has created some positive vibes over the past month with his increasing batting average and skill set, but underneath of this is a player still struggling. After a torrid June and into early July, Jones has slowed a bit with a .300 OBP since the break, with zero walks and 12 strikeouts. This is what continues to plague him. For the season, Jones has a 92:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Couple this with a general lack of power, just 6.2 percent home runs per flyball, and we can see why he is just a .266 hitter with 10 home runs in a season’s worth of at-bats in his career. Late word also has Jones going for a CT scan of his foot today to see if there are any breaks.

• Paul Konerko, 1B—CHW (DOWN) You can yell at me. Just as I projected Konerko to rebound in the second half of the season as a buy-low target, the White Sox go and make a trade for Ken Griffey Jr. This move basically sits Konerko on the bench against right-handers, completely killing what fantasy value he may have had left. You can officially release the veteran slugger.

• David Murphy, OF—TEX (DOWN) In what seems like forever ago, Murphy was the leading candidate for AL Rookie-of-the-Year. That was before Evan Longoria broke out to take a stranglehold on the award, and before Murphy’s extended slump. Since June 12, Murphy has hit just .219 with four home runs. This has brought his bating average down to a still respectable .268 with 14 home runs. This should be about where he levels off. Murphy has an 83 percent contact rate with a .296 BABIP. His 10 percent HR/FB is likely to dip a bit more, but a .270 average with 18-20 home runs is possible.

Pitchers

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