Henry Owens (SP-BOS). The Red Sox announced that they are calling up Owens, one of their top pitching prospects, to pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season. This news, while irrelevant to single-season players, should be noted by those of you in keeper leagues whose rules would permit the stashing of Owens as a potential keeper for next season. Owens is generally regarded as one of the Red Sox top two pitching prospects and is expected to receive a shot at winning a spot in the Boston rotation next spring. Owens, a rare hard-throwing lefty whose fastball tops out at 94-95, put up a solid season in the minors in 2014, as he went 14-4 wtih a 2.60 ERA and a 25.6% Krate in 121 innings at AA, and followed that up by going 3-1 with a 4.03 ERA and a 28.2% K rate in 38 innings at AAA. Owens has had some command issues in the minors, but assuming he can keep those under control, he profiles as a #2 or #3 starter in a major league rotation. WIth the AL East not being as fearsome as in years past, this makes Owens a recommended stash in those leagues that permit it.
Kole Calhoun (OF-LAA). Calhoun went 3 for 3 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and his 14th HR in a rout of the Indians on Monday afternoon. Calhoun's season slash line now sits at .284/.336/.461 and he has scored 77 runs and driven in 51 to go with his 14 HR. Despite an interruption of his season due to injury, Calhoun has provided solid returns for those who took a chance on him. Calhoun's BA and HR numbers should be sustainable, as neither his .326 BABIP (given his 25.0% LD rate) nor his 12.4% HR/FB are seriously out of whack with league averages. Two areas in which Calhoun could stand some improvement are SBs (a disappointing 5 this year after he put up double-digit totals in the minors) and plate discipline (18.9% K rate, which has led to a less-than-ideal-for-a-leadoff-man .328 OBP). If Calhoun can make even slight improvements in these areas, he could threaten top-20 OF status. He is definitely on my "acquire" list for 2015.
Howie Kendrick (2B-LAA). Kendrick went 3 for 5 against the Indians on Monday afternoon, with 2 runs, 2 RBI and his 7th HR. Kendrick is now slashing .288/.344/.394 on the season with 78 runs, 66 RBI and 13 SB to go with the 7 HR. Except for the slightly disappointing HR totals, Kendrick consistently continues to provide upper-tier 2B value, despite typically lasting until the later rounds of most fantasy drafts. Kendrick will turn 32 during the 2015 season, but should be able to maintain hsi current level of production for at least the next couple of years. Keep Kendrick in mind if you find yourself in need of a 2B in the mid to late rounds of next year's draft - he could even improve on the HR numbers, since his current 6.2% HR/FB rate is 3% below his career rate.
Nick Castellanos (3B-DET). Castellanos continued his solid second half, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI in a win over the Royals. Castellanos is now slashing .264/.310/.407 with 10 HR and 59 RBI for the season, respectable numbers for a 22 year old making his major league debut. Castellanos should make for a good lower tier option at 3B as, although he is unlikley to hit for much higher of an average (he's only hitting .264 even with a .330 BABIP), he should provide more power once his 7.7% HR/FB rate normalizes. Keep Castellanos in mind as a possible late-round 3B option.
Danny Salazar (SP-CLE). Salazar's string of solid starts (only 1 ER over his last 20 innings) came to a jarring halt against the Angels on Monday, as he was lit up for 6 ER on 8 hits over 4.2 innings. Salazar walked 2 and struck out 4 in the outing. Salazar is now 6-7 on the season with a 4.19 ERA. Salazar has to be classified as one of the biggest fantasy pitching disappointments in 2014, given the outsized expectations for him entering the season. The primary source of the disappointment has been a drastic drop in Salazar's strikeout rate. The high expectations were driven in large part by the fact that Salazar put up a 30.8% K rate in 2013 - when that dropped to 24.5% in 2014, owners were no longer willing to put up with the other flaws in Salazar's game. However, there is actually some promise in Salazar's 2014 numbers. Salazar is still striking batters out at an above-average 24.5% clip and his BB rate has remained fairly constant. Salazar's ERA is being negatively impacted by a .335 BABIP and 72.7% strand rate, so improvement in his ERA should be expected. Post-prospect hype backlash could provide a significant buying opportunity on Salazar next year, as I expect him to produce numbers more in line with the expectations for this year.
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