A small sampling of today's player notes...
David Peralta (OF-ARI) - Peralta made his big league debut this year after spending most of his previous pro career in the Cardinals organization...as a pitcher. He played the outfield in independent ball the previous two years before joining Arizona and having his contract purchased on June 1. Peralta had been batting .297/.359/.480 with six homers and an excellent 0.86 EYE for Double-A Mobile. He's been getting plenty of playing time lately, and after going 2-for-3 Thursday, Peralta is batting .357/.357/.500 in 42 at-bats. He's yet to draw a walk, but Peralta is clearly seeing the ball well. With Cody Ross not playing well and Mark Trumbo and A.J. Pollock both hurt, Peralta should get enough playing time to have some NL-only value for a while.
Jeurys Familia (RP-NYM) - Mejia, the most recent Mets' closer, left Thursday's game with back stiffness after getting two outs. We don't yet know (as of this writing Thursday evening) the status of Mejia's availability going forward, but should Mejia need some time off, who would close? Most likely, it's Jeurys Familia. Familia retired all four hitters he faced on Thursday, lowering his ERA to 2.67. The 24 year-old's 30:14 K:BB in 33.2 innings represents a 3.7 BB/9, which could be better for a closer, but in his last 5.1 innings, Familia has not walked a single hitter, and in his last 12.2 innings, Familia has a closer-like 15:2 K:BB. This could be just a minor injury, but either way, Familia is a guy to target in deeper formats as a possible closer.
Edinson Volquez (SP-PIT) - In a game delayed by rain, Volquez was on the top of his game, tossing seven innings of seven-hit shutout ball with two walks and five strikeouts. The strong outing lowered Volquez's ERA to a surprising (for him) 3.89. Perhaps he is the Pirates' latest reclamation project after all. Volquez is spending a lot more time in the strike zone this year, and it's paying off, as though his K/9 is down from 7.5 to 6.1, the BB/9 is down as well (2.9 vs. 4.1 last year). If Volquez can continue to throw strikes and cut down on the 1.2 HR/9, it's possible he can maintain an ERA in the 4.00 range, which would make him a nice buy in your NL-only leagues.
Jhoulys Chacin (SP-COL) - Since returning from a shoulder on May 4, Chacin had been 0-4 with 5.35 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in seven starts. He also entered Thursday's start with poor ratios, including a 5.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9. Thursday however, Chacin managed to hold the Braves to just two hits over seven scoreless innings. I watched a little of this, and his command and control were excellent (two walks) and he got good defense behind him and looked sharp in general, improving to 1-4 with a 4.53 ERA. Chacin isn't a guy you want to have to rely on in mixed leagues, but he could very well be out there in NL-only formats, and as long as he's healthy, he's probably usable from time to time. Chacin is averaging just 88.2 mph with his fastball, but that may be due to this year's delayed start. If he can get back in the low-90s with any sort of consistency, he's a guy worth looking at.
Blake Treinen (SP-WAS) - The 25 year-old Treinen made start #4 on Thursday against the Giants and fared relatively well, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings to drop to 0-3 in eight games (four in the pen). Treinen, who averages 95 mph with his fastball, has a surprising 2.08 ERA in 30.1 innings, though the underlying metrics point towards a coming regression: 17:10 K:BB and 1.45 WHIP. Treinen posted just a 6.6 K/9 in Double-A last year, so the lack of strikeouts aren't exactly a huge surprise. He'll obviously need to improve his secondary stuff and start missing more bats to stick as a starter, as it seems likely that his profile points to a relief role long-term.
