Alexei Ramirez
The White Sox had a double-header, and Ramirez made the most of it, going 5-for-8 with a pair of home runs, four RBI, and three runs. The Cuban Missile has had a slow start to the 2015 campaign, so Saturday was a welcome sight for his owners. Even after the big day, Ramirez is slashing just .237/.269/.381. One of the biggest things holding Ramirez back is an incredibly high 27.3 percent infield pop up rate. That rate is almost certain to come down, and when it does, Ramirez's .259 BABIP should go up. What is more disturbing though, is the seeming depression in power for the 33-year old. Those two home runs on Saturday were his first two of the season, and his groundball rate is currently the highest of his career. We're past the point of small sample size for batted ball numbers, and that is a disturbing trend. Owners who still have Ramirez on their team may want to make the most of his big day to try to offload Ramirez sooner than later.
Glen Perkins
Perkins continued his hot start to 2015 with yet another save on Saturday, his eleventh of the season. Only Andrew Miller has more saves in the American League, and considering the surprisingly strong record of the Minnesota Twins right now, it's not too surprising. Perkins did, however, give up a pair of hits while locking down the save once again, something he has now done in three of his last five outings. That being said, his ERA on the season is 1.26, his FIP is 1.34 and his WHIP is well below 1.000; nitpicking a few hits here and there seems silly. The biggest downside to Perkins may well be the fact that the Twins are unlikely to keep winning at this rate; but when they do win it will likely be close, and closer are far less dependent on team win totals, than how close the games the team platys in are. Consider Perkins a top tier closer.
Jason Kipnis
Kipnis went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a pair of steals on Saturday, continuing his streak of recent good play. The Indians' second baseman started off the season incredibly slowly, which was a very troubling sign for owners who were counting on a return to 2013 form from Kipnis. Jason has raised his average all the way up to .281 during this recnt hit binge, and now has three home runs and four steals on the season. Kipnis has six multi-hit games in the past two weeks, and is a red-hot bat for DFS, or a candidate to be picked up if some crazy impatient owner dropped him. The peripherals check out, as Kipnis has the best line drive rate of his career, and there are no red flags to be found with his recent performance. If an owner in your league is trying to "sell high" because he/she doesn't trust this recent hot streak, make sure to be the one who buys on Kipnis.
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Jesse Chavez
Chavez gets the start for the A's against Seattle and Sunday, and is a highly recommended pick up. Chavez has a 1.80 ERA on the season (2.75 FIP), and is striking out a batter an inning (25 Ks in 25 IPs). Chavez gets to pitch in the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field, and faces a below average Mariner offense (95 wRC+ as a team). Sure, Nelson Cruz is scary, but he's just one hitter in the lineup. Chavez has made two out of three solid starts since taking over Kendall Graveman's spot in the rotation, and the biggest thing against him may be that he has to face King Felix. In DraftKings scoring, however, wins are not that important, and the Mariners strike out at a top-ten rate against right-handed pitchers. Chavez should be a lock for at least a quality start on Sunday, plus he's cheap.
DraftKings: $6,700
Russell Martin:
The red-hot Martin goes up against the piñata formerly known as the Boston Red Sox pitching staff on Sunday, and will look to continue his hot hitting. Martin has four home runs in his last seven games, and has four home runs in 16 career at bats against Sunday's probably Clay Buchholz. It's hard to get better odds than that. The Blue Jay lineup is stacked, and even if Martin doesn't leave the yard, he is very likely to either score a couple runs or knock in a few. The Red Sox have an ERA of 4.95 this season, second worst in the majors, and Buchholz himself is sitting at 6.03. His FIP is far superior (2.99), but he's pitching in the Rogers Centre, and Martin seems to have his number in their match ups so far. Martin is the second most expensive catcher, but at a position as shallow as catcher, the elite players are much more valuable because of how much more they contribute in comparison to the cheaper options.
DraftKings: $4,800
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