Dayan Viciedo could easily have his best season in the majors this year, and he already has a 25-bomb campaign on his resume. The 25-year old hit his fifth home run of the season Monday, giving him 20 RBIs and a slash line of .286/.342/.462.
Viciedo has power to all fields and has shown improvement in his LD% thus far this season. He is swinging at just 32.9 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, when last season he swung at 42.5 percent. Furthermore, Viciedo is swinging at fewer pitches overall than the past three seasons and his Contract% hasn't changed. What has changed is Viciedo's Z-Contact%, which means he is making contact with fewer pitches outside the strike zone and hitting more quality pitches.
Viciedo has plus power and his .177 ISO is sustainable. He is going to play everyday and is widely available in fantasy leagues. Fake-baseball owners looking for power potential should target Viciedo.
Entering yesterday's game, Robinson Cano was batting .358 in May. To add to his already beastly totals, Cano went good for three hits, two RBIs and a swipe. Sure, the power isn't there, but Cano is killing it. He has 18 RBIs and 13 runs this month and the traditional slow starter should only improve as the season goes on.
Cano has a career slash line of .300/.348/.482 in the first half of the season. In the second, those numbers jump to .321/.366/.526, so the fact that Cano is already at .332/.377/.429 and the historic numbers suggest there is room for improvement is scary.
Cano has suffered through similar power outages in the past, although the last time Cano hit more than four home runs in a month was May 2013. It is tough to get picky, but fantasy owners sure would like to see a few more baseballs clear the fence off of Cano's bat. His lack of home run production may make Cano an opportune buy-low candidate and one worth exploring.
Get out your calculators; you will need them to keep pace with George Springer's statistics. The Astros rookie has five home runs in his past four games, which goes to the tune of 11 RBIs and nine runs. Perennial all stars aim for those counting stats in a month.
Looking closer, Springer's breakthrough began with his promotion to the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Since May 13, Springer has hit in every game but one, scored in all but three, and drove in a run in all but two games. Springer debuted batting second, but only lasted two games before moving to cleanup. Not including last night's game, Springer's slash line batting second was .283/.411/.652, with a whopping 1.063 OPS and .370 ISO.
George Springer is mashing. Fantasy owners wouldn't mind an uptick in stolen bases, but his recent hip injury may slow him down on the base paths. That is nitpicking though, as currently those who invested early enough in the seasons have a fantasy star on their hands.
J.J. Hardy has averaged 26 home runs, 75 RBIs and 76 runs over the past three seasons, with a .256 batting average. Through 170 plate appearances this season, Hardy has yet to hit a bomb, is batting .304 and only has 14 runs and 13 RBIs. Hardy's .070 ISO is well-below half of his career mark.
There are no bizarre statistical outliers here. Hardy's LD% is up, but his GB% is down and not his FB%. He simply just hasn't launched a home run. He has five-20 home run seasons on his resume and is hitting to all fields, but just not clearing fences.
Obviously, 20 home runs will be a tough task at this point, but 15 are still within reach. Hardy's lack of punch in the counting stats may have landed him on your league's waiver wire, or in another owner's doghouse, making him an ideal middle infield or potential short stop option. See what the asking price is on Hardy, if there is one.
Tyler Skaggs didn't win the ball game, but his pitching line was useful for fantasy owners. Skaggs put away eight batters via strikeout and only allowed two earned runs. However, a second inning error from Angels short stop Erik Aybar lead to three unearned runs.
Skaggs is at his best when he is inducing ground balls, as he is winless in every game this season that he has failed to top 50 in GB%. The spike in strikeouts is welcomed, but the spike fake-baseball owners would love to see is in his LOB%. Skaggs strand rate after last night is only 61.4 percent, while the league average is 73.1 percent. There is plenty of wiggle room there for improvement.
Skaggs is a young pitcher whose offense is starting to get healthy. He'll continue to have ups and downs, but there is value here, as long as you're picky with who you start him against.
