Michael Brantley-Indians-OF
Michael Brantley went 2-4 against the Royals. He is hitting a cool .310 with 10 HR and 43 RBI. The 10 HR matches a career high for Brantley, which he set last year. The increased power has been a welcomed surprised to many who drafted Brantley as a third OF, expecting a decent average with occasionally pop. No one expected Brantley to be on pace for 24 HR, 110 RBI, 100 R, and 20 SB. Brantley has managed a 17.2% HR/FB rate, which is double his career average by hitting less FB and more GB, which makes his power surge unlikely to continue over the course of the season. At this point, it might be wise to sell high on Brantley, because all of his peripheral numbers are in line with his career averages, meaning that he is likely to regress back to the .280/10/60 guy we have seen over the past couple of seasons.
Marcus Stroman-Blue Jays-SP
Marcus Stroman gave up 3 ER in 6 innings against the Twins lineup. He gave up 9 hits while striking out 3. This was Stroman's third start in the big leagues. Stroman is small in stature, but has a mid 90's fastball with a wipeout slider. So far as a starter Stroman has shown the ability to strike batters out, but has struggled with his command, which has hurt him. His small stature tends to flatten out his FB and make it very hittable. Stroman will continue to be a good source of K's because of his electric stuff, but the rest of his counting stats are going to suffer, until he commands his FB down in the zone consistently.
Josh Willingham-Twins-OF
Josh Willingham went 2-5 with his 5th HR of the year off of Marcus Stroman. Willingham has hit .333 with 3 HR, 11 RBI, and a .489 OBP in June. Willingham does play half his games at Target Field, which is not the best hitters park, but Willingham has shown the ability to mash anywhere. He is underrated in the fantasy world because he is not one of the flashiest players, but he does have above average power. When healthy he has the potential to be a 25+ HR guy. Pick him up or deal for him, now that he has shown to be healthy.
Chris Davis-Orioles-1B
Chris Davis hit a two-run homerun off of Ruby De La Rosa in the first inning. It was Davis's 10th HR and it brought his season RBI total to 31. Davis has not been the same player as 2013, but many did not expect him to repeat his career year. Davis is prone to the strikeout, which has led to his lack of success in 2014 compared to a year ago. Davis is striking out almost 30% of the time he comes to the plate. The rise in homeruns last year was a result of hitting more balls in the air (45% FB rate). Davis has returned to his career average (37%) FB rate in 2014. To hit the ball out of the yard it has to be in the air and if he is doing that less, it is logical that he will not hit as many homeruns. The good news for Davis owners, is that he is hitting more balls in the air (45%) in June, which has led to 3 HR in 10 games. Expect Davis to go on a HR streak sooner rather than later.
Jose Reyes-Blue Jays-SS
Jose Reyes went 1-5 against the Twins on Wednesday. Reyes has picked it up in the month of June. He's hitting .342 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, and 3 SB (10 games). Reyes continues to leadoff for the potent Jays lineup. The only concerning part about Reyes 2014 season has been a career high 42% FB rate. For a speedster whose value comes from his average, runs, and stolen bases, this is not a good sign. The good news is that his FB rate in June has been 35%, which is falls along his career norm. It looks like we are finally seeing the Reyes most of us have come to know, until he gets hurt of course.
