Jose Altuve (2B - HOU): Houston isn't exactly a baseball team budding with fantasy value, but Jose Altuve's first full season in the big leagues deserves some attention. Altuve went 2-5 with 2 more RBI's on Thursday improving his 2012 line to .304/.356/.420 while scoring 68 Runs and swiping 25 bases. The HR's (5) and RBI's (33) are certainly underwhelming but Altuve's strong contribution in the batting average category coupled with above average speed is enough to earn him a Top 5 standing at the 2B position on ESPN's player rater. Altuve has shown really strong improvements in his first full season as he's cut his chase rate from 43.7% to 29.5% and cut his swinging strike rate from 6.7% to 4%. The strength in Altuve's approach has allowed him to maintain a high 19.5% LD Rate and suggests as Altuve continues to develop (just 22 years old) there is some additional upside in the power rates as well. His size will limit him from ever becoming a 25 HR threat, but I don't think we're particularly far away from some 15 HR seasons. Given Altuve posted very impressive power rates at the minor league level (.481 slugging %), I think Altuve's career arc could be very similar to the player he's most often compared to due to his size: Dustin Pedroia.
Ike Davis (1B - NYM): Paul touched on Davis' strong EYE here in August suggesting it may lead to a strong finish and I wanted to follow up on that thought by stretching out Davis' performance from June 1st on where he's hit .254/.326/.525 with a .271 BABIP during that stretch. Davis has a career BABIP of .297, which is right about league average, and if we simply add that 26 points onto his average, obp, and slugging we end up with a pretty impressive .280/.354/.551 triple slash line that is pretty close to the .302/.383/.543 line Davis posted last season in limited action before losing the year to an ankle injury. While Davis was dreadful the first two months of the season (.170/.228/.296), he's really started to look more like himself since the beginning of June. He's likely an undervalued commodity in keeper formats where owners are too fixated on the poor season long totals and not recognizing some of the similarities in his performance with his 2011 season.
Chase Utley (2B - PHI): The results haven't really revealed it so far, but Chase Utley's ~200 PA sample is looking a lot like some of his peak year performances. Utley's "chase" rates have tightened back up to just 23% and his swinging strike rate has remained fantastic at just 5.1%. The improved approach has helped his BB Rate rebound, but of particular notice is the strong rebound in Utley's ISO. In 2010 and 2011 Utley's ISO dipped well below .200 (.169 & .166 respectively) which coupled with a drop-off in stolen base attempts transformed Utley from a 5-category fantasy star to a 3-category injury risk. This year the ISO has been back to his 2009 levels (.216), but a lousy .244 BABIP (despite a 21% LD Rate) is suppressing the fantasy value. At 33, going on 34 in December, it's hard to imagine Utley has too much left in the tank in terms of elite production, but if he can get the health concerns squared away it appears his skills have returned.
Tommy Hanson (SP - ATL): Hanson's 2nd start back from the disabled list wasn't quite as clean as his first. Hanson allowed 4 ER's on 7 hits and 3 BB's in just 4 1/3 innings of work. He did strike out 4 while inducing 9 swinging strikes on hi 94 pitches, but his command (55% Strike %) was shaky all night. Unfortunately this isn't a particularly "new" concern for Hanson. His BB Rate has spiked this year to a career high 9.9% (average 8.3%) as he's walking nearly 4 batters per 9 innings. Hanson's swinging strike rate has dropped a bit from last year (8.8% now, 10% last year, 9.1% career) as his average fastball velocity has dipped below 90 mph for the first time in his career. The loss in velocity is clearly leaking over into Hanson's confidence as he's throwing a career low 41% of pitches in the strike zone. With Hanson having shoulder issues in consecutive seasons there are some legitimate concerns as to whether he's forever changed. I've long-owned Hanson in a keeper league with a very cheap tag and even coming into this season I was desperately trying to move him for another elite keeper. I wasn't able to and now I'm left with a deteriorating asset that I hope an expansion owner will be willing to take off my hands. With a 1.47 WHIP and 4.40 ERA, I'm not trusting Hanson as a key cog in my rotation. I even dropped him in a 10-team league a few weeks back. If you're a Hanson owner be careful deploying him going forward as good offenses will eat up the poor command.
Brandon Belt (1B/OF - SF): Loyal subscribers will remember my 2011 love affair with Brandon Belt, which had Belt played every day would have been a strong precursor to my obsession with Mike Trout. Belt's finally getting some consistent playing time and the results are really shining through. In August Belt has hit .361/.443/.475 with a stellar 0.89 EYE and 10% XBH Rate. His bat skills are tremendous as evidenced by a 24.7% LD Rate and he's now posted 7 weeks of a 30+% LD Rate, suggesting even with the high K Rate a .275 batting average isn't out of the question. Contact is the biggest concern for Belt as his 13% swinging strike rate is very high and he's already posted 3 months with K%'s above 25%. When the contact is right though (June - 18.8% K Rate, .963 OPS and August - 12.9% K Rate, .918 OPS), he can be an elite offensive player. His home park and high LD Rates will limit some of the HR production, but Belt does his best to make up for it with contributions in other areas, such as his 10 SB's. His season long numbers aren't much to write home about, but Belt has been swinging an extremely hot bat and has shown strong levels of success in short bursts. When given full playing time and left to his own devices, Belt is a guy that can contribute across all fantasy formats. I've been looking to add him in 10 team leagues during the strong August.
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