Alex Rios - The White Sox Alex Rios was linked to the Yankees on Tuesday evening, but had not yet been traded as of late in the evening, although he did leave the game early after fouling a ball off his foot. The potential injury may take Rios off the trading block altogether. Additionally, the outfielder has a no-trade clause for New York, so he would have to approve any deal to wear the pinstripes. On Tuesday Rios ended up going 1-for-3 and now owns a .273/.324/.428 slash line this season. Rios is showing significantly less power than a season ago when he posted a .212 ISO and .516 SLG%. However, on the plus side, the outfielder has already swiped 22 bases after stealing 23 all of last season. He's hitting liners at about the same rate and has seen his BABIP fall by a few points, but otherwise, is basically the same hitter with much less pop. From a fantasy perspective, Rios is a third outfielder in deeper leagues and a bench bat in shallow formats.
Ervin Santana - Ervin Santana yielded 2 ER on four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk against the Twins on Tuesday. Santana has lowered his xFIP from 4.48 in 2012 to 3.50 this season, while also dropping his ERA from 5.16 to just 3.03. Santana has improved his GB% by 4%, cut his BB% by 3% and improved his K%. It hasn't hurt that Santana is enjoying more luck this season with a 77% strand rate (compared to 70% in 2012). As long as Santana can keep the ball in the yard, he should continue to post impressive ERA and WHIP marks, just like he did in 2010 and 2011.
Wei-Yi Chen - Wei-Yi Chen faced the Astros on Tuesday and allowed 3 ER on seven hits with nine strikeouts and one walk over 7 1/3 innings. Chen has lowered his ERA from 4.02 in 2012 to 2.87 this season, but his xFIP has actually increased from 4.34 to 4.46. Chen's strand rate is 80% while he's got just a 5% HR/FB% - both those metrics aren't sustainable. He's also striking out fewer than six batters per game and owns just a 14% K%. And despite a 22% LD%, Chen's BABIP is just .280. All told, Chen cannot keep this up and is a great sell-high candidate.
Derek Holland - Derek Holland faced the Angels and tossed six innings while allowing 4 ER and striking out six. Outside of Yu Darvish, Holland's held down the fort for the Rangers' rotation with a 3.06 ERA prior to Tuesday's outing. The lefty's done an incredible job limiting homers, lowering his HR/FB% from 15% in 2012 to just 6% this season. While some improvement is reasonable, cutting your HR/FB% by 9% doesn't seem sustainable. Additionally, the southpaw has seen his LD% jump by 8% to 24% this season. On the bright side, Holland has slightly improved his K% while slightly lowering his BB% - both good signs. With a 3.53 xFIP, Holland is likely to regress in the coming starts, but he should remain a solid SP in AL-only and deep mixed leagues.
Salvador Perez - The Royals' Salvador Perez finished 2-for-4 on Tuesday against the Twins. Perez got a lot of hype entering this season, but he's been just a so-so catcher option in most fantasy leagues. Most disappointing has been the lack of power as Perez's ISO has fallen from .170 in 2012 to just .107 this year. He does have 42 RBI, but only 4 HRs. Since Perez rarely walks (4% BB%), he relies solely on a high batting average to provide his value and he's hitting just .279 in 2013. His LD% has fallen by 3% but his BABIP remains around .300. All told, Perez is just 23-years old so there's plenty of upside here for those in keeper leagues, but Perez isn't a great play for those in one-year formats.
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