Michael Taylor- Michael Taylor hit a game winning grand slam on Wednesday. Taylor was an interesting name towards the beginning of the season, but the luster has come off Taylor despite his most recent success. His higher than normal K Rate (34.2%) in conjunction with a .381 BABIP indicates that his .257 batting average is not long for this world. While Taylor may have some limited power potential, his batting average cost and his limited plate appearances make him an asset worth ignoring in most formats.
A.J. Pollock- A.J. Pollock is an interesting third outfielder in most mixed leagues. Pollock adds value to fantasy teams with his batting average and speed. Pollock generates an above league average BABIP thanks in part because of that speed so his .337 BABIP may not regress very aggressively. As such, his .296 batting average seems fairly realistic. I wouldn't expect too much power to go along with his average and speed though as his 52.5% ground ball rate is in line with his major league sample, which will depress his power output.
Vance Worley- Traditionally a player like Vance Worley wouldn't have much interest for me in daily fantasy play. He doesn't strike a lot of guys out (15% K Rate), and outside of limiting the long ball, he hasn't done anything particularly well in 2015. With that said, if you are looking to save money on the pitching slot, he could be worth the risk as he is throwing against a Phillies lineup that is the worst in baseball. This is clearly a match-up play and there may be better places to save a dollar on your lineups on Thursday, but if you can't find any, Worley may make sense at his salary. Fanduel Salary- $6,600.00
Freddie Freeman- I love what I'm seeing out of Freddie Freeman's contact rates to start the 2015 campaign. Freeeman is traditionally a line drive hitter, which isn't a bad thing, but in 2015, he has decreased his ground balls substantially and is putting the ball in the air 45.5% of the time while still carrying a line drive rate in excess of 25%. The high fly ball rate supports his increased ISO of .230. While this may revert back to career norms, it would not be out side the realistic outcomes that Freeman is entering his power prime at age 25. If Freeman can continue to hit fly balls at this rate, he could very well get back over 20 home runs while still hitting for a solid average.
Raisel Iglesias-Raisel Iglesias' second start was an 8 inning gem for the Reds on Wednesday. He managed to strike out 5 while allowing 3 walks, 2 hits and only 1 earned run over those 8 innings. While the outing was a solid quality start for Iglesias, his lack of strikeouts and limited ground ball rate in his first two starts makes me wonder as to whether or not this is a trend he can continue or an outlier. Sadly, his limited professional sample (28.0 minor league innings pitched) leaves us with no reasonable comparable moving forward. The best we can do is watch Iglesias as he goes and monitor his trends. Right now, I'm leaning towards him being a rotation player in mixed leagues, but not someone to gamble on consistently.
Today's NL Player Blog is brought to you by Nicholas Rossoletti. You can follow Nicholas on Twitter @NRoss56.
This is just a small sample our our daily analysis, join our member area for more premium content: http://www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
