Xander Bogaerts- BOS- Stats- During the Break, Scott Boras was quoted as saying he still had confidence in clients Bogaerts and Stephen Drew. With Bogaerts, Boras has reason to think that he will break out of his slump before too long. Through May 31, Bogaerts was hitting .304 but with a .394 BABIP. Then regression to the mean hit hard and fast. For the rest of the first half he hit .134 with his BABIP at .161. This has left his BABIP for the season at .302, which means that the regression should be mostly wrung out. Bogaerts' Batting EYE of .34 is down a little from his .38 mark in his brief regular season appearance with Boston last year. So he will probably bounce back some, although with an overall .235 average he might not provide as big a fantasy boost as he will later in his career.
J. P. Arencibia- TEX- Rise Value- Arencibia went 1-for-3 with a homer in his return to the majors since being called up over the break and also to Toronto as an opponent. I saw Arencibia play for AAA Round Rock last weekend when he hit his 14th homer of the season for the Express. Arencibia looks like he rediscovered his power stroke. With a .152 BABIP with Texas, his .133 average heading into last night is likely to increase. He is also probably going to get most of his playing time at 1B adding an extra position to his eligibility before too long.
Curt Casali- TB- Rookie- Casali was called up and went 1-for-4 in his major league debut. He was hitting .237 with 3 homers in 183 PAs at AAA Durham after starting the year hitting .314 with 1 homer in 96 PAs at AA Montgomery. Casali hit 10 homers in 329 PAs last year between High A and AA, so he does have some power potential. He has a .68 Batting EYE in the minors this year and can develop into at least a decent backup catcher. He is the most advanced of the Tampa catching prospects so might get a chance to audition for a longer term spot while Ryan Hanigan is on the DL.
Geovany Soto- TEX- FYI- Soto went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his 2014 debut. He missed the first half with a knee injury. Soto went hitless in 5 games of AAA rehab after hitting .368 (but with a .538 BABIP) in 6 games at AA rehab. He hasn't shown the same power level as he had in 2010 and 2011 when he hit 17 homers each year for the Cubs. Soto also has to deal with the aftermath of a misdemeanor marijuana arrest last week. He likely won't be suspended, although it is a possibility since he tested positive for marijuana at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Soto is not a prime target to bolster your roster in the second half.
Huston Street- LAA- Trade- Street was dealt to the Angels. He had saved 24 of the Padres 41 wins. Moving to the team with the second best record in baseball increases his value. Street has had an outstanding season so far, with a 1.09 ERA and K/9 of 9.27. He has had some favorable luck as his FIP is 2.90, but that is still solid even if he experiences some regression. Expect Street to finish with a good deal more than the 33 he had last season.
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