Players On The Rise

Old guys still matter! Zorilla, Big Papi, Kinsler all got some love this week as veterans still showing out in their 30s. Andrew Miller is the highest overall player impacted on the positive side of things this week, moving up one point to 92.

The Phillies got some notice this week as Aaron Nola became the first Gold player on the Phils. Odubel Herrera was also boosted up to 83 overall and is now on the cusp of going Gold.

A bunch of other young, talented players got boosts as well. That list includes Trayce Thompson, Jackie Bradley Jr., Trevor Story and Nick Castellanos.

Tier Changes

(All thanks go to Daddy Leagues for these numbers!)

• Aaron Nola went from Silver to Gold

• Ben Zobrist went from Silver to Gold

• Howie Kendrick went from Bronze to Silver

• Trevor Story went from Bronze to Silver

• Chris Coghlan went from Bronze to Silver

• Rubby De La Rosa went from Bronze to Silver

• Trayce Thompson went from Bronze to Silver

• Joba Chamberlain went from Common to Bronze

• Christian Friedrich went from Common to Bronze

• Kirby Yates went from Common to Bronze

• Tony Cingrani went from Common to Bronze

• Mike Wright went from Common to Bronze

Full List Of Changes

Andrew Miller +1 boost in Overall rating (92 Overall)

Ben Zobrist +3 (87) -- +6 Con vs. R / +13 Pwr vs. R

Ian Kinsler +2 (87)

David Ortiz +2 (87) -- +2 Pwr vs. R / +3 Pwr vs. L

Aaron Nola +3 (86) -- +8 HR/9 / +7 K/9

Jaime Garcia +2 (84)

Odubel Herrera +3 (83)

Howie Kendrick +5 (82)

Nate Jones +2 (80)

Nick Castellanos +3 (81) -- +10 Pwr vs. R / +15 Pwr vs. L

Jackie Bradley Jr. +3 (81) -- +8 Con vs. R / +5 Con vs. L / +5 Pwr vs. R / +11 Pwr vs. L

Chris Coghlan +3 (80)

Mark Trumbo +2 (80) -- +10 Pwr vs. R

Trevor Story +2 (79) -- +11 Con vs. R

Rubby De La Rosa +4 (78)

Trayce Thompson +8 (78) -- +9 Con vs. L / +22 Pwr vs. L

Jeff Manship +5 (77)

Danny Duffy +6 (76)

Brad Brach +2 (75)

Chris Young +4 (75)

Jake Lamb +2 (72)

Joba Chamberlain +6 (71)

Christian Friedrich +7 (70)

Kirby Yates +3 (70)

Tony Cingrani +1 (69)

Mike Wright +8 (69)

Scott Carroll +5 (68)

A.J. Schugel +4 (67)

Matt McBridge +10 (63)

Pat Dean +5 (63)

Steven Moya +1 (62)

Players On The Decline

Joey Votto lost his Diamond status this week. It’s not a shocker to see this happen, it seemed more like a matter of “when” at this point. He has dipped to 90 overall. Bryce Harper is still firmly a Diamond, but his contact ratings were dinged a bit so he fell all the way to a 98 overall.

A bunch of other big names, including Carlos Gonzalez and Nelson Cruz, dropped this week but remain Golds. However, one player who is no longer a Gold is Justin Upton. He fell all the way to Bronze status. This is in part because of his decrease in ratings, but also because he was position swapped to CF.

Two Cardinals also fell from Gold status this week, Wainwright and Holliday. Matt Holliday lost his status entirely due to moving from 1B to LF, but Wainwright lost his based on a decrease in ratings.

Tier Changes

• Joey Votto went from Diamond to Gold

• Matt Holliday went from Gold to Silver

• Adam Wainwright went from Gold to Silver

• Justin Upton went from Gold to Bronze

• Jason Grilli went from Silver to Bronze

• Cory Rasmus went from Silver to Bronze

• Prince Fielder went from Silver to Bronze

• Jose Ramirez went from Bronze to Common

Full List Of Changes

Bryce Harper -1 (98) -- -8 Con vs. R / -9 Con vs. L

Joey Votto -4 (90) -- -3 Con vs. R / -8 Con vs. L / -4 Pwr vs. R / -6 Pwr vs. L

Nelson Cruz -2 (87) -- -7 Pwr vs. R

Carlos Gonzalez -2 (87) -- +6 Con vs. R / -12 Con vs. L / -5 Pwr vs. R / -8 Pwr vs. L

Matt Holliday -1 (84)

Adam Wainwright -2 (83) -- -5 H/9 / -5 BB/9

Pedro Baez -4 (79)

Francisco Liriano -3 (79)

Ender Inciarte -3 (79)

Michael Pineda -2 (78)

Yimi Garcia -4 (78)

Justin Upton -8 (77)

Jason Grilli -5 (76)

Prince Fielder -4 (76) -- -4 Con vs. R / -6 Con vs. L

Brandon Drury -2 (73)

Cory Rasmus -6 (72)

Cory Luebke -4 (69)

Daniel Norris -4 (69)

Gordon Beckham -2 (66)

Jose Ramirez -5 (66)

Michael Feliz -1 (63)

Luis Perdomo -6 (61)

Taylor Rogers -5 (61)

Chris Devenski -5 (58)

Market Changes

There is a “Surprise Performers” pack now on the Marketplace. It includes some new throwback cards, including Rookie Stephen Strasburg, Prime Steve Cishek, Prime Drew Smyly, Postseason Sergio Romo and Legend Mike Scott.  

Ratings Boost Prediction Results

Let's see how I did on my predictions this week (and as always come back next Thursday for next week's predictions):

-From the High Probability section I went: (1/4)

That stings. I was right about my “safest” prediction in Jackie Bradley Jr. but whiffed on the other three names. I shall strive to improve.

-From the Moderate Probability section I went: (3/4)

We’ll just say this was my “high probability” list. I missed on Travis Shaw, aka The Mayor of Ding Dong City(!), but hit on the other three names.

-From the Low Probability section I went: (0/5)

Hey, it’s low probability for a reason, I make no promises here.

-Notes from the Long-Term Projections list:

Trevor Story became a Silver this week, and that’s about the ceiling for him I would imagine in terms of tier. I don’t think he will reach Gold status this season. Odubel Herrera was boosted, but I still feel like he’ll eventually get to Gold status. Nick Castellanos was also boosted, but again, I feel he can reach Gold status. Aaron Nola also got some love, and he did make it to Gold status. I really like Nola, but I would imagine Gold tier is his peak for the season. Lastly, Jackie Bradley Jr. got some love, but he still feels like an obvious candidate to become a Gold at some point.

New Players

There are 12 new players in Diamond Dynasty this week that will impact Collections:

• Tony Kemp (Astros)

• Alen Hanson (Pirates)

• Taylor Motter (Rays)

• Matt W. Reynolds (Mets)

• Chad Green (Yankees)

• Colin Moran (Astros)

• Clayton Blackburn (Giants)

• Tommy Joseph (Phillies)

• Jarlin Garcia (Marlins)

• Tayron Guerrero (Padres)

• Matt Purke (White Sox)

• Dean Kiekhefer (Cardinals)