Corey Kluber, SP, CLE
In case you still weren't sure after last week's 18 strikeout performance, Kluber showed once again that he's still among the elite pitchers in baseball, striking out 12 White Sox in 9 IP, while allowing 1 ER on 5 hits and 1 BB. He now has a ridiculous 76:12 K:BB ratio in 61.2 IP this season and his ERA continues to regress closer to what his peripherals would suggest. His ERA/xFIP now stand at 3.79/2.51 but this discrepancy is a lot less than what it was 2 starts ago. However, it is important to remember that it is not just Kluber who is underperforming his peripherals; the Indians pitching staff as a whole has an xFIP of 3.41 (2nd best in MLB) and an ERA of 4.58 (5th worst). While part of this may be due to bad luck, it is very likely that part of it also has to do with the Indians shoddy defense. As long as the Klubot keeps striking out hitters at his current rate, the defense shouldn't hurt him that much, but there is reason to believe that his ERA will remain higher than his other indicators.
Rajai Davis, OF, DET
Davis went 1-4 on Monday with his 9th stolen base of the season. As expected Davis' primary contribution this season has come in the steals category. Many owners are scared away from Davis because of his inconsistent playing time, but the fact is that he has stolen at least 34 bases in each of the past 6 seasons despite only reaching 500 PA's once, and he's on pace to reach that steals total again this year. It can be frustrating having a player in your lineup who has days off so frequently, but he's not even the type of player that you want to platoon because he can provide value as a pinch runner even on days that he doesn't start. In the end of the day, if you're looking for steals, Davis should end up with more than 30 and that could be enough to make him a top-50 OF regardless of how many games he plays.
C.J. Wilson, SP, LAA
Wilson struggled on Monday allowing 4 ER's on 10 hits in 5 IP. He struck out 3 and walked two. Wilson had a 2.63 ERA coming into the game, leading some to believe that we were once again seeing the Wilson of old. However, Wilson's 6.19 K/9 is his lowest since 2005, his .243 BABIP and 3.5 HR/FB% were due to rise, and his xFIP was 4.25. Monday's regression seemed bound to happen at some point, and while his ERA still sits at a very good 3.06, more regression could be on the way.
Avisail Garcia, OF, CHI
Garcia left Monday's game with knee soreness and is expected to miss at least one game. Garcia is off to a scorching start this season, as he is hitting .338 with an .857 OPS through 34 games. After hitting .244 with 7 homeruns in 46 games last season, Garcia was probably expected to contribute more in the power department than with his average, but so far it has been just the opposite. However, while his 31.7% LD% does support a high BABIP, his current BABIP of .414 is highly unlikely to be sustainable. Meanwhile, his league leading 45.2% O-Swing% and his second in the league 17.1% Swinging Strike% indicate that his strikeouts aren't going away anytime soon. This leads me to believe that his BA is due for a large amount of regression. His power on the other hand is looking up, as 3 of his 4 homeruns have come in the last 9 games. All in all, there's a good chance Garcia ends up with something close to what we would have expected - a mediocre batting average with a decent amount of pop.
Josh Donaldson, 3B, TOR
There aren't many who can crush left-handed pitching like Donaldson has the past few years. Donaldson owns a .636 SLG against southpaws since the start of the 2013 season, which is the highest mark of any player over that span. He has continued to crush lefties in 2015, slashing .483/.516/.759 including 3 hits against Angels LHP C.J. Wilson on Monday. Donaldson has also found a lot of success in his new home, as he is now hitting a whopping .408 with a 1.151 OPS at the Rogers Centre this year. This makes Donaldson an excellent daily league play when the Blue Jays face a lefty, which they will on Tuesday when the Angels start LHP Hector Santiago, and especially when they are playing at home. Donaldson is one of the most expensive third basemen, but also perhaps the most likely to have a big day. Value Play DraftKings Salary: $4,700.
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