Chris Johnson, Atlanta Braves - Chris Johnson extended his hitting streak to seven games Tuesday and is now triple slashing .308/.321/.534 in '14. In 2013 Johnson was labeled as having great BABIP luck (.394) which was much higher than any other full season in the majors. The career .289 hitter has always had a high BABIP though leading to a .361 career mark. So is it luck or is Johnson just a good hitter? His 27% line drive rate in 2013 ranked 8th in the league, placing him between Joey Votto and Allen Craig. His teammate Freddie Freeman ranked three spots lower at 11 and is considered one of the better hitting first basemen in baseball, praised for having a line drive swing. There is a decent chance Johnson is available in your league, and he will have plenty of RBI opportunities hitting fourth in the Braves lineup behind Jason Heyward, BJ Upton, and Freddie Freeman.
Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds - Fresh off his $100 million dollar contract this offseason, Bailey has not lived up to his expectations through two starts as he has given up eight runs in nine innings. However, Bailey has slightly better than his ERA may indicate as his 7.71 ERA is worse than his 5.80 FIP. His xFIP is much lower at 3.27, but that is due to the fact that 100% of Bailey's fly balls are leaving the park. Bailey has also been nearly two more batters a game (4.82) this season while his strikeout rate is in line with previous seasons. Bailey has also only faced the Cardinals this season where the active players have hit .324 against him (Compared to his .256 career BAA), so it may just be the Cardinals have his number. His next start will come in an easier matchup against the Pirates so Bailey owners should wait until after that start before they start panicking.
Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds - Jonathan Broxton has been activated from the disabled list and will take over the closer role for the Reds in the absence of Aroldis Chapman. Broxton is a solid closer option and needs to be added in all leagues as he will be finishing games for one of the more talented (yet underachieving) teams in the league. Broxton had a down year in 2013 in the setup role for Cincinnati but closed out 27 games in 2012 with a 2.48 ERA. His K/9 numbers have dropped since his hey-day with the Dodgers from 2006-2010 (Over 10 K/9 each year), but he still overs around the 7.5 mark with is a solid amount for a reliever. In the midst of the early season closer shuffle, you can surely do worse than Broxton.
Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals - With Ryan Zimmerman's "breaking news" that there is something wrong with his shoulder and he will be taking reps at first base, Anthony Rendon will now have a spot to play every day between second base and third base. Rendon had been RBI-less since the second game of the season before driving in three Tuesday is Washington's win over the Marlins. He is slashing .407/.407/.630 through seven games and is already 1/5 of the way to the WAR he produced in 96 games last season (0.3, 1.5). 15 homers are not out of reach if he plays every day which is very good for the second base position and Fantistics projects him at .284, 14 and 74 and with his hot start he is well on his way to meeting and exceeding those expectations.
Tim Hudson, San Francisco Giants - After many years as the Braves "ace", he is leading the staff in San Francisco through his first two starts of the season. Hudson moves to 2-0 on the season and now has given up just two earned runs through 15.2 innings. He has 11 strikeouts against zero walks and has allowed just 10 hits. His xFIP is slightly worse than his ERA (2.90 xFIP, 1.15 ERA) so an ERA jump in the future won't be surprising, but he should still be an excellent pitcher this year. He is a great add for any league that he is available as he will face the Diamondbacks at home next Tuesday before he gets to face the Rockies for a second time in his start after that.
Josh Sperry - @jsperry1991
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