Starling Marte (OF-PIT) - Marte was 2-for-4 with a walk and his third stolen base Thursday against the Cubs. He's continuing to leadoff, batting .297/.409/.405 through the team's first nine games. Marte was in a mini 3-for-16 slump, so Thursday's effort was good to see. He's het to homer, but I still expect an upward trend on last year's 12 home runs, though it may be more in the 15 range this year before threatening 20 in 2015. He's already drawn six walks in nine games after drawing one every 5.4 games last year, so that should certainly help his case of continuing to lead off in future years should that continue. Right now his biggest threat to that slot in the lineup sits in Triple- (Gregory Polanco). It would be good to see Marte more in the 80% SB success rate (3-for-4 in 2014) after entering the year with a 72.6% career mark.
Jason Grilli (RP-PIT) - Grilli has already blown one save this year, and he can alarmingly close to No. 2 on Thursday, loading the bases full of Cubs before inducing an Emilio Bonafacio ground ball to end the 5-4 Pirates win. Grilli has allowed just one run in five innings this year, but he's also walked four, so let's just hope he's not turning into the Pittsburgh Carlos Marmol. Grilli has had some control issues in his career, but after last year's 2.3 BB/9, we thought they may be behind him. Mark Melancon is there in the wings as a closer-in-waiting, and if you see more walks in his stat line over his next couple appearances, Melancon might be worth a grab.
Stephen Strasburg (SP-WAS) - We'd like to see him go a bit deeper into games, but Strasburg's Thursday outing against Miami will do just fine - 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 strikeouts. Strasburg had a 6.10 ERA entering this one, but he had fanned 16 in his 10.1 innings of work, so we had to figure an outing like this was coming. After seeing his K/9 dip from 11.1 to 9.4 last year, Strasburg sits at a nice 14.5 so far in three starts this year. If Strasburg can stay healthy, a run at 250 strikeouts is very possible.
Eric Young (OF-NYM) - Young broke out in a big way against the Braves Thursday, going 3-for-5 with a triple, four runs scored, and three stolen bases. He's batting just .236/.286/.323 on the young season, but this was a nice and needed step forward if Young is going to see regular playing time. He now has five steals in his last three games, and after swiping 46 last year, Young is well on his way to another 40+ SB season. The big question of course if whether he can hit enough to play every day. Young last year hit a mediocre .249/.310/.336, and for a guy with little power, the .310 OBP is unacceptable. He'll play enough to be a valuable fantasy commodity in deeper formats, but he'll need to carry Thursday's performance forward.
Marco Estrada (SP-MIL) - Estrada outdueled Cliff Lee Thursday, tossing six innings of two-run ball to notch his first win of 2014. Estrada scattered five hits and posted a 6:2 K:BB. His ERA now sits at 2.31 over 11.2 innings to go with 12 strikeouts. Estrada possesses a bit of breakout potential, as despite a fastball that only his 90 mph on occasion, he's managed an 8.8 K/9 for his career to go with excellent control - 2.4 BB/9. Estrada is a bit of a flyball pitcher however, resulting in a high 1.3 HR/9 for his career, but if he can do a better job keeping the ball down, he'll have plenty of success.
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