Cole Hamels (SP-PHI). All you Cole Hamels owners who were panicking because of Hamels' 5.00 ERA coming into Wednesday's game against the Marlins can now relax. Hamels went 6 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 5 hits and three walks while striking out 5. Of course since he pitches for the Phillies, he came away with a no-decision, which highlights the primary obstacle to Hamels' fantasy value this year (barring a trade to the Red Sox, of course) - he is going to struggle to get wins, given the lack of support from the AAA (at best) lineup the Phillies are running out there. When all is said and done, Hamels is almost a lock to wind up with an ERA in the low 3s with solid strikeout totals, but I will be shocked if he manages to crack the 10 win mark.
Archie Bradley (SP-ARI). Bradley went six solid innings against the Rangers and gave up onl one run on 2 hits, lowering his season ERA to 1.45. Some warts are starting to show for the youngster, however, as he registered only 2 Ks, while walking 5. The latter number is particularly disturbing given the control issues Bradley exhibited in the minors last year. If you can sell high on Bradley, now is the time to do it, because regression is coming. Bradley has been extremely fortunate, as he is benefiting from a .149 BABIP and an 84.2% strand rate. When some more of those balls in play start to fall in, Bradley's ERA is going to go up rapidly, especially in light of his underwhelming 12:11 K:BB ratio. Bradley's current FIP is 3.72, and I would be surprised if his season-ending ERA is less than that number. Given the hype that has resulted from Bradley's hot start, he should bring a good return in a trade if you can find an owner who doesn't recognize the risk inherent in Bradley's underlying peripherals.
Tim Lincecum (SP-SF). Tuesday night's solid outing against the Dodgers (6 IP 1 ER 5Ks) may have some of you wondering whether Lincecum may be making himself fantasy relevant again. The answer is: doubtful. While Lincecum's results to this point have been encouraging (2.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 14:7 K:BB ratio in 18 innings), his average FB velocity is down to a frightening 87.2 MPH. While it's not impossible for a pitcher to succeed at this velocity level (see, Weaver, Jered), Lincecum has not shown that ability to this point. Lincecum does seem to be attempting to change his style of pitching, as he is throwing more curveballs and changeups and fewer fastballs and sliders and maybe he can succeed in this endeavor. However, with his next start coming at Coors, I wouldn't recommend participating in this experiment, despite Lincecum's early-season success.
Mike Bolsinger (SP-LAN). Bolsinger is going to be called up to start Thursday against the Giants and could be a good streaming option for those of you playing in NL-only leagues. Bolsinger has gotten off to a red-hot start in AAA (having tossed 11 shutout innings, with a 17:3 K:BB ratio) and looks like a good play against the (to put it kindly) offensively-challenged Giants. A good outing could also lead to Bolsinger grabbing the Dodgers' fifth starter job for the duration of Hyun-Jin Ryu's stay on the DL, which could lead to some short-term value for Bolsinger. Although Bolsinger's career numbers in the majors are ugly (5.50 ERA, 1.59 WHIP), they are inflated by a .355 BABIP, 64.2% strand rate and 15.9% HR/FB rate. The HR rate, at least, should improve with the change of venue from Chase Field to Dodger Stadium, and if Bolsinger can get some better luck on balls in play, he could manage to stick as a back-end starter, given his decent 13.0% K-BB rate and with the Dodger offense providing outstanding win potential.
Zack Cozart (SS-CIN). What has gotten into Zack Cozart? Maybe he has been motivated by the Reds' acquisition of some competition for him in the form of Eugenio Suarez, the highly regarded SS prospect the Reds received in exchange for Alfredo Simon. In any event, Cozart has been scalding hot to start 2015 (4 HR through 14 games), which of course leads to the question, "can he keep it up?" The obvious answer is no, not to this extent, although Cozart should be better than he was in 2014, when his unappetizing .221/.268/.300 slash line was dragged down by a .255 BABIP that was 23 points below Cozart's career average. Cozart is obviously not going to continue his current 46 HR pace, but he could match his career high of 15, while hitting closer to .250 than .200, which does give him some value, at least in NL-only leagues. However, since he's already collected 4 of those HRs, if you can convince another owner to part with something of value in a trade for him based on this unsustainable hot start, you are highly encouraged to do so.
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