A.J. Pollock (OF-ARI): Pollock went 1 for 4 and stole his 14th base. His season line now sits at .307/.353/.512. He makes for an intriguing breakout pick for 2015, and depending on where the ADP's move, could end up being one of the best value plays of the spring. Sign me up for the .377 wOBA and .205 ISO. Add in his incredible 6.9% swinging strike percentage, not to mention his above average marks in the chase rate and contact rate departments, and you have a man on the cusp. A full season of AB's hitting in the 3-hole could lead to top 20 OF production.
Starling Marte (OF-PIT): Marte continued his strong development, going 2 for 4 with a 1 run, 1 BB, and 1 SB, his 28th of the season. After struggling mightily at times in the first half, Marte has made significant adjustments to his approach, leading to a .438 wOBA in the second half with a much improved .34 EYE and a .236 ISO. With his power/speed combo, Marte should take a significant step forward next season. The overall numbers, still below what owners paid for on draft day, could make him an incredible value play in the spring.
Billy Hamilton (OF-CIN): Hamilton has been diagnosed with a mild concussion after the speedster hit his face while robbing Ryan Braun of a homer. After catching fire during the middle of the season, Hamilton has seen his line plummet to .250/.292/.355. He is going to have to improve upon his 1.12 GB/FB rate; with rumors of his desire to work with Juan Pierre on this and bunting more effectively, I see it happening. Hamilton has improved his plate coverage. His .305 BABIP is quite low given his speed and above average LD rate, so I see him improving his average significantly next season. Another season to work on reading pitchers should also lead to improvements in his SB success rate (56 for 79 so far in 2014).
Julio Teheran (SP-ATL): Teheran picked up his 14th win despite allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks across 5 innings. Teheran has returned excellent value to those who drafted him in the spring, but I'm a bit concerned in moving forward. His 2.89/3.72 xFIP is interesting to consider. He lost 1 MPH off of his fastball, which led in part to a minor dip in his K-rate. His .267 BABIP, with further unraveling, shows some good fortunate helped him throughout the season. However, his occasional struggles against lefties and away from home can make him maddening to own in some formats, especially H2H ones. Some may draft him as their ace next season, but I'd be weary unless he fell to me as a #2.
Yasiel Puig (OF-LAD): Puig continued his late season resurgence, hitting his 16th homer of the season. While he may have been over-drafted in the spring, he received way too much criticism for his midseason struggles. Puig showed last year that he has all of the talent in the world, but that it was quite raw and required development. This season, even through the struggles, he has done just that, improving across the board with his plate coverage and contact rate. He has even gained velocity on average Speed off Bat reading and distance on his home runs, so the huge drop in his HR/FB rate looks fluky. He'll need to hit flyballs more frequently than 33% of the time, but all signs indicate he could go from being overrated as a 2nd rounder to being a huge value in the same spot in 2015.
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