Troy Tulowitzki (SS-COL) - The Colorado shortstop had a great day at the plate on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, and two runs scored. Through 18 games, he's now hitting an incredible .393/.493/.661 and despite a high .370 BABIP, his batted ball data suggests his BABIP should actually be a little higher considering his 27% line drive rate. He's also walked more than he's struck out with a batting EYE of 1.86. In short, Tulo is locked in and absolutely crushing opposing pitchers ride now. Ride the wave while he's hot and on the field. On average for his career, he's only played in 121 games per season. Despite the low game totals, he still manages to post close to 30 HR and 100 RBIs nearly every year when he's on the field for at least 120 games. If you take that production and combine it with a replacement level shortstop, you're still left with an elite player at a shallow position (even without the replacement level production, you still have an elite shortstop). With that said, Tulowitzki's injuries are a bigger issue in head-to-head than Rotisserie formats, since the latter just takes the cumulative stats and the former demands performance every week. For this reason, I like Tulowitzki a little more in Roto leagues (I'm talking top-5 overall) than in head-to-head leagues, but he's still my undisputed #1 shortstop in the majors. Just imagine the numbers he will put up if he can find a way to stay healthy for an entire season.
Carlos Gomez (OF-MIL) - The emerging star outfielder for the Brewers was ejected from the game in the third inning on Sunday for his part in a bench-clearing brawl. Gomez crushed a ball off Gerrit Cole, flipped his bat and proceeded to jog slowly towards first base. However, he quickly realized the ball hadn't left the park so he turned on the jets and ended up diving headfirst into third base ahead of the throw. It appeared Cole walked over said something to Gomez that caused him to get upset and the brouhaha began. The benches cleared and Gomez ended up breaking free from an umpire, threw at least one punch and pushed numerous other players. A suspension is almost certain at this point. Through 19 games, Gomez has tallied 11 XBH, including five homeruns and has knocked in 12 runs. While we'd like to see fewer strikeouts and more walks, there's little to complain about when a player has a wOBA exceeding .400.
Kyle Farnsworth (RP - NYM) - The veteran reliever has somehow found his way into the ninth inning yet again. Mets manager Terry Collins announced on Sunday that Kyle Farnsworth will be taking over the closing responsibilities from struggling Jose Valverde. Farnsworth isn't a particularly enticing option to close games, but the important thing is that he will be handed the ball in the ninth inning for the Mets. He has had success closing before, most notably with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, but the skill set is definitely declining. His fastball velocity is trending downwards (along with a middling 17% strikeout rate) and the amount of line drives he's giving up is increasing. Regardless, Farnsworth is the man in own in New York for now, but he'll not going to be a good option. In fact, he's likely near the bottom of any ranking list.
Kenley Jansen (RP - LAD) - The Dodgers closer bounced back from two shaky outings earlier in the week to lock down two saves on Saturday and Sunday. In Sunday's action, Jansen entered the game with a three run lead and struck out the side to notch his major league-leading seventh save. Jansen has suffered from bad luck this year with a BABIP against near .500 and a HR/FB ratio of 28%, which correlates with his DIPs suggesting that his ERA should be a run or two lower. His strikeout rate remains near 37% and his walk rate is near his career average. Jansen looks like he has worked through his early season problems and should be a great ninth inning option for all fantasy teams moving forward.
Josh Beckett (SP-BOS) - After Sunday's performance, Josh Beckett has now thrown ten consecutive scoreless innings and is sporting a 2.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings in 2014. Beckett missed the first part of the season due to ankle and thumb injuries, but he's proving that he feels fine now. Despite the great showing early in the year, he's walking over five batters per nine innings and has been rather fortunate considering his .250 BABIP and 20% line drive rate. His DIPs suggest his 2.57 ERA should be closer to 4.00, so some regression can be expected with his ratios. With Clayton Kershaw eyeing a return in May, Beckett will need to continue out-pitching Paul Maholm to keep his rotation spot.
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