David Peralta - Through 8 August starts, Peralta has 5 multi-hit games to go along with 3 2Bs, a 3B, 2 HRs, and 2 SBs. He's also picked up 6 R and 10 RBI and has continued to show a contact rate that is improved from his first 100 ABs in the bigs. Lest we forget, this is a player that had 442 PAs as a hitter in the minors before his promotion, so: A) we don't know nearly as much about him as we know about most players, and B) it's safe to say that some latent growth is possible....even likely. He has some power, he has some speed, he's improved his LD rate to over 20%, and his contact rate has been greatly improved in his 2nd 100 ABs vs. his 1st 100. That's a lot of positives for a guy that's owned in a mere 8.2% of ESPN leagues. I believe him to be worthy of a roster spot in most formats, and a starting spot in leagues of average depth or greater.
Scooter Gennett - Gennett singled and doubled in four trips Monday, as he's hopefully nearing full health again after hamstring and finger injuries over the past few weeks. Gennett has been dropped in a number of formats as his playing time has decreased through platoon and injury of late, but in my mind he still warrants a starting role in almost all formats. The platoon is helping his rate stats at the expense of counting stats to be sure, but he has been so awful against lefties in his short time in the majors that I think it can only be viewed as a positive. He should continue to be positioned in the 9-13 range as a 2B.
Csrl Crawford - Crawford had three singles on Monday, giving him 4 multi-hit games in his last 8. Granted, they've all been singles, but the 33 year old is posting the best LD and contact rates of his entire career in 2014, which is no small feat. He's still showing solid speed and the power hasn't completely disappeared, plus he's playing in a lineup with 5 other very good hitters (when they're all healthy). I think that Crawford still has a bit to offer in most formats as a back-end OF for the remainder of the year....a BABIP that's a good 120 points lower than expected (at least) is making the decline phase of his career look much worse than it seems to be this year.
Russell Martin - Martin hit his 6th homer of the season Monday to extend his hitting streak to 9 games, and he's now hitting 290/413/401 for the year. By just about any measure, Martin has been a worthwhile starter in most formats this season, yet he is still owned in just under 15% of ESPN leagues. He is definitely benefitting from a career-best BABIP that is well above expectations, but particularly in OBP-based leagues he has much more value than it appears that he is perceived to have.
Jesse Hahn - Hahn had his second straight non-quality start, and given the fact that he's already well over his previous career-high in IP and about three starts away from the amount that he's pitched in the past three years COMBINED, it's safe to say that there are concerns. His control has been much more spotty the past 4-5 outings, and the K rate has dropped as well. As one of the first folks to even offer up a comment on the oft-injured Hahn (if you don't believe me, go back and search the Padres team comments), I feel like I've gone to the other side of the fence now. I'd be inclined to sell high in redraft leagues, although I'm perfectly willing to admit that I decided to accept the injury risk in one of my dynasty leagues.
