Edwin Encarnacion:
I need a new 3B to post repeatedly about since you’ve all figured out Troy Glaus needs to be owned, and sure enough I’ve got one. Three flipping years I’ve been talking about Edwin Encarnacion and I promise you… this is finally the time! (I think). Encarnacion is showing massive improvements in his FB Rate, his BB Rate, and his Extra Base Hit Rates. Everything is moving in the right direction for the young 3B. He hits in a tremendous home ballpark and in fantasy we don’t care about defense, so this guy needs to be owned as he busts out with his first 30+ HR season. For those in dynasty or keeper formats, now is the time to go after him. He reminds me so much of Aramis Ramirez and while I’m not sure if he’ll develop the great contact skills Aramis has or the great defense Ramirez has developed, but I firmly believe he’ll be a .280-30-100 candidate year in and year out hitting in that ballpark.
Chris Iannetta:
Iannetta’s another guy I’ve been on all season long and I’m hoping Clint Hurdle is finally figuring this out… Iannetta homered for the 10th time this season in just 171 AB’s. When he’s played he’s been terrific and provided Top 10 catcher production in limited AB’s, if he gets everyday AB’s watch out, this guy is going to be terrific. Playing time is the only question and I have to think at some point the Rockies figure this out and stop splitting the AB’s. Until then enjoy the strong production despite the limited opportunities.
Chase Headley:
Headley’s first 100 AB’s or so at the major leagues has been quite the mixed bag. On one hand his plate patience, the tool he’s been most praised for, has been utterly atrocious as he’s posted a 29:2 K:BB Ratio for an EYE of 0.07 and a K Rate of 31.1%. Needless to say it’s hard to be productive when nearly 1/3 of your AB’s result in K’s. We expected the high K Rate initially but just 2 BB’s from a guy who walked in 15% of his minor league AB’s is a bit unusual. On the positive side, Headley’s shown good power early on with a 10.8% extra base hit rate and a .527 Slugging % helped in part by a FB% over 60%. While the peripherals don’t seem particularly exciting, especially the horrid plate patience, Headley’s minor league track record suggests that should improve and having already shown good power it looks as if Headley is well on his way to becoming a legitimate fantasy force down the road.
Troy Glaus:
Glaus was one of those guys it seemed like I was writing about every week in early June when the power numbers weren’t there but the peripherals suggested much more to come. And oh my have they come! Glaus knocked out 2 more HR’s on Thursday night (this time against Jake Peavy) and now has 17 on the year (14 since the beginning of June). Glaus has shown improvements in his EYE this year and with his usual high FB tendencies a run towards his typical 30+ HR season looks more than likely. He’s finally seen his ownership rate rise of late, but I still believe he’s a bit underrated, while a guy like Evan Longoria will get plenty of hype, Glaus will likely produce similar numbers at half the perceived value.
Clayton Kershaw:
Kershaw’s been tremendous since his return to AA, as would be expected. Last night he threw 5 shutout innings allowing just 1 H and 1 BB, while striking out 3. He’s now made 3 starts upon his return and he’s allowed 11 base-runners and 2 ER’s in 18 innings while striking out 12 and walking just 4. Ideally we’d like to see a bit more dominance in the K Rate for Kershaw, but the good command is a bit more important in Kershaw’s case. He’ll be back up at some point this year and he’ll have value again. Even in his shaky debut, Kershaw flashed the good K Rate (.85) and GB Rate (51%) that has fantasy owners drooling. He’ll be tremendous as soon as he figures out the command and much like Clay Buchholz I’ll be waiting with him on my roster.
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