Jonathan Singleton, Houston Astros: Jonathan Singleton launched a pair of homers in AAA Saturday and with the complete lack of production at first base this year, he could be the next Astros top prospect to get called up to the big leagues. With George Springer opening the minor league well it would not be surprising to see Singleton join him on the major league team by the end of the month. The powerful lefty is hitting over .340 with eight homeruns just 16 games into the season and it appears that there is not much else he can gain by staying in the minors any longer. Fantistics, projected him with just 72 at bats this year but with his hot start he'll easily beat the projections laid out for him off sheer amount of playing time. If you have a roster spot he is worth stashing with his call up probably not far away, and he could be a nice source of power upon his arrival to the majors.
Ivan Nova, New York Yankees: Ivan Nova was shelled by the Rays Saturday allowing four homers and eight runs in just 4.0 innings. He ERA now sits at an ugly 8.27 through 20.2 innings in 2014. Nova's strikeouts are down drastically from 2013 (7.49 to 4.32) thanks in part to a 97.2% Z-contact%. Basically, Nova is not missing any bats. His O-contact% sits at 75.0% so batters are even hitting pitches that are balls, which does not bode well for Nova over the course of the season. His O-contact% should drop, just due to the fact pitches outside of the zone are generally speaking tougher to hit than those in the zone. It is tough to rely on a guy who is getting hit this hard, and it results in only spot starts or even dropping him completely.
Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado had his first return to game action Saturday, playing in an extended spring training game and recording four at bats while playing five innings in the field. The 21 year old third baseman went 2-for-4 and will have an off day Sunday before returning back to the lineup Monday in his second game since knee surgery. There is a chance Machado could start on a rehab assignment as early as Wednesday meaning he would have 20 days until he would have to be activated. The Orioles are optimistic that he won't need the full 20 days, which is great news for the Orioles and fantasy owners. If someone in your league got tired of waiting for his return, now is the time to add him before his buzz begins to build again.
Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels: Howie Kendrick has had an excellent week for the Angels recording eight hits with two homeruns and five RBI. He currently owns a four game hit streak with two of those games being multi-hit efforts. With Kole Calhoun going down with an injury, the Angels were forced to reshuffle their lineup that resulted in Kendrick dropping down into the heart of the order (Both homeruns came while hitting cleanup). This gives Kendrick a nice boost in RBI chances with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, both are having good seasons, getting on base in front of him until Calhoun can return from injury (4-6 weeks).
Jose Reyes, Toronto Blue Jays: Jose Reyes returned from the 15-day DL Saturday and was immediately slotted into the leadoff spot, going 1-for-5 with an RBI single. This was Reyes' first action since opening day when he strained his hamstring in his first at bat of the season. Reyes is a game changer when in the lineup with a career .292 average and an average of 39 bases a season but most of that came before Reyes' unfortunate injuries started happening. If Reyes can stay healthy he has double digit homer potential with 30 or more stolen bases however he has only played 140+ games once since 2009.
Josh Sperry: Twitter - @jsperry1991
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