Evan Gattis - You can be sure that Gattis is going to be in the lineup almost every day during this hot streak, as with Freddie Freeman on the DL for at least another week Gattis will be slotted at 1B on the days that he isn't behind the dish. The 26 year old rookie swatted his 4th homer of the young season yesterday, this one coming off of Stephen Strasburg in a 3-1 victory. I think it's pretty clear that the AVG portion of this equation is a bit suspect, but the power isn't. Gattis played exactly 162 games in the minors in 2011 and 2012 combined, bashing 44 doubles, 6 triples, and 40 homers. Sure, he won't stay on pace to hit 80 homers or whatever he's at right now, but 25-30 is a real possibility.....one which the Braves clearly recognize by the fact that he has quickly become their cleanup hitter. Gattis should be owned and started in all formats.
Yovani Gallardo - There were a few chinks in Gallardo's armor last season if you look closely: the lowest swinging strike% of his career (full-season division), a fastball velocity that dropped by about 1 mph, and control that reverted to pre-2011 levels. With 16 wins, a fully intact K rate, and a mid-3.00's ERA however, no one paid it much mind. Through three starts this year, it's a completely different story. Gallardo's velocity has dropped again so far this year, this time by 1.5 mph, and the K rate has completely cratered down to under 5.0/9. Yes, it's three starts, and three fairly tough matchups as well, but I'm definitely concerned enough to be pleased that I don't own Gallardo in any format this season. That BABIP will normalize some, and he'll probably pick up a bit of velocity again once the weather warms up, but I'd be pretty surprised if he was able to post under a 4.00 ERA this season.
Bobby Parnell - Parnell finally picked up his first save opportunity yesterday, allowing a pair of doubles and a run but fanning two Twins to close out a 4-2 win for Matt Harvey. I am a big Parnell fan, and the longer that he can run with this while Frank Francisco is out, the better his chances of keeping the closer's gig permanently. He is their closer of the future to begin with, but with significantly improved control in 2012 to go along with a much better GB rate than Francisco, in my opinion the job shouldn't leave his hands if he performs adequately from here on out. I'd be happy with Parnell in my bullpen in all formats.
Michael Young - Young singled in a pinch-hit appearance last night to give him hits in 4 straight and 7 of 8, and he's hitting 368/442/553 in the early going for his new club. Young has clearly been in decline for a few years, but a bounceback in AVG this year is certainly to be expected, as despite a very solid LD rate of 22.9% he could only manage a BABIP of .299 last season, a figure that is very likely to normalize upward. With all of the injuries at the hot corner this year, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Young remain a top-15 player at the position despite the obvious deterioration of his power, and as such he remains a low-end starter for most formats.
A.J. Pollock - Pollock doubled in a run yesterday to bring his line up to 276/276/586 through 9 games, and with Jason Kubel heading to the DL with a strained quad it looks like he and Alfredo Marte will continue to get chances to prove that they should remain in the majors. Pollock is a 25 year old with good speed that has hit .303 in 302 minor league games since coming to Arizona out of Notre Dame in the 1st round of the 2009 draft, but the power has been rather slow to develop for him, leading many to believe that he is a 4th OF at best. I think he could have 10-15 HR power if all goes right, and with his speed and contact ability that could be enough to make him a lower-tier starting OF in most formats. The key here will be convincing Kirk Gibson that he continues to deserve playing time, as once Kubel returns (and later Adam Eaton) something is going to have to give, and Gerardo Parra is doing everything he can to hold onto one of the three spots. For the next few weeks Pollock is a high risk/high reward OF in deeper formats, but my hunch is that he will head back to AAA by Memorial Day once everybody is healthy.
