Another week is wrapping up in Diamond Dynasty as we move into the "winning time" portion of the MLB season. Everybody who swapped teams during the trade deadline has settled in a bit at this point, and the July Topps 50 pack was released over the weekend as well. All that being said, it's time to look ahead once again and try to predict who might be getting a ratings boost on Monday morning.
I'll be breaking the predictions into tiers based on my own confidence level:
Ratings Boost Probability: High
-Jake Arrieta - There are not many pitchers who have done more for their careers this year than Arrieta. I think he's more or less confirmed his status as a top-flight pitcher, and his last update was on 5/4. In the last month, he's got 38 strikeouts over 35 innings pitched to go with a .86 WHIP. He's primed for an update.
-Danny Salazar - I had Salazar in the "medium" category last week, but I feel he's jumped into the "high" category now. He's striking out a batter an inning, and all his peripherals look so much more in line with where they should be now that his home run totals have come down.
-Carlos Correa - I've said enough about Correa at this point. He's a rookie dynamo, and he shouldn't be a Bronze.
-Nelson Cruz - Another player I had in my predictions last week, Nelson Cruz has insane numbers on the year, and even more crazy ones over the last month. He's hitting .385 over the last month to go with 11 home runs. On the season he has a .992 OPS.
Ratings Boost Probability: Moderate
-Carlos Carrasco - Like Salazar, Carrasco's just putting up numbers more what you expect when taking into account the stuff. Nobody has been able to square him up over the last month, and he's had solid control as well, which is why he has a .74 WHIP over his last chunk of starts.
-Adam Eaton - Again, I'm sticking with lots of guys I felt should have gotten a boost last week. Eaton has turned into a very good leadoff man after a rough start to the season, and he's in line to now be treated more like one of the better leadoff hitters via an update.
-Randal Grichuk - When he hasn't been hurt, Grichuk has been going nuclear on the field. He has seven home runs and a .385 average over his last 80-plus at-bats, and he has a .992 OPS on the year.
-Kyle Schwarber - He's got a sample size issue and nowhere to play on defense, but Schwarber can hit. In his first 88 at-bats he has six home runs and a .352 average. Good on you, rook.
-Jung Ho Kang - Again, I talked about Kang last week. He's just criminally underrated I think at this point considering he's a rookie going through a transition to a new culture and league.
Ratings Boost Probability: Low
-David Price - I don't think Price will get a boost because the developers have been stingy (and with good reason) about changing Gold pitchers to Diamonds. Still, he's been awesome since the trade (and obviously before that as well), and in the last 36 innings pitched he has 41 strikeouts.
-Shawn Tolleson - This is another one where I don't think Tolleson changes, but he's been a really good reliever in the back of that Rangers bullpen.
-Lucas Duda - Holy crap, Duda has been showing some pop, especially the past couple weeks. His power is already rather high, but still he's got 11 home runs in the last month.
-Ian Kinsler - Kinsler was updated on 7/20 so I don't think he's going anywhere either, but you call it out if someone hits .421 over a month of the season.
-David Ortiz - He went down to Silver on 6/1, and I don't think Ortiz is going back to Gold. Regardless, the power is still legit, and he's bumped the average back up to .250.