Lucas Duda - Duda is certainly a changed hitter this year, combating the ever-present shift with a more level, spray-hitter sort of a swing than we've seen from him in the past. Unsurprisingly, due to the combination of a change in approach and a weak supporting cast, Duda is hitting .293 with a .383 OBP, yet his ISO has dropped to .164 from last year's .228. To this point, he's pulling the ball 10% less than last year while hitting more than 15% more line drives, mostly at the expense of flyballs...hence the 14 2B and 3 HR versus last year's 27 and 30, respectively. I wouldn't be surprised to this sort of thing continue at a slightly closer ratio to last year, meaning that Duda is going to be less of a .250/30/90 guy and more of a .280/20/75 player....unless of course the shift disappears. It's nice to see players actively trying to combat it instead of suffering through BABIP's of .200, but it does alter what we should expect from those that are changing their approach
J.T. Realmuto - Realmuto hit his first big league homer Monday, giving him a 7-game on-base streak while boosting his season line to 227/267/351. Realmuto has performed a bit better than the numbers indicate, posting a 26.3% LD rate and an 87% contact rate. An unfortunate BABIP is part of the issue, and since Realmuto runs rather well for a catcher, lack of speed is not the primary culprit there. He doesn't have a ton of power or speed, but he has a bit of both, and when combined with the solid contact rate gives him a fairly high floor. I expect that he should be owned in some of the 97% of the leagues in which he is a FA.
Rubby de la Rosa - de la Rosa was very solid Monday, tossing 9 innings and allowing 6 hits and 2 runs to Miami, striking out 5 without walking a man. Control is the major issue for de la Rosa, and it's very encouraging to see outings like Monday's. He averages 94 with his fastball, is posting a swinging strike% of nearly 11, and has an xFIP ERA of 3.49. The upside here is significant...he's probably just a streaming candidate for now, but you can see mid-rotation talent.
Curtis Granderson - Granderson has gone from looking to be about a step away from retirement to being criminally underrated in less than a month, as every indicator is pointing upward for the 34 year old. His chase rate and contact rate are well above his previous career bests, while the combination of his LD rate and BABIP would lead you to believe that the average (which is close to .280 for May) will continue to rise if he keeps hitting this way. Sure, the days of 40 homers with the short porch are over, but he definitely looks like he can be useful once again.....at least offensively. In OBP-oriented leagues he's a clear mid-level starting OF, and he merits a spot in just about all formats at this point even though he's unowned in nearly half.
Carlos Frias - Frias throws 96 mph, has a swinging strike% over 10, walks fewer than 2 men per 9 with a GB rate over 60%, has a FIP ERA under 3.00, and is facing the 25th ranked offense in MLB Tuesday at a price of just $5500 on DraftKings. This feels simply like a price that hasn't fully adjusted yet, although Frias really hasn't had much success during his previous 7 professional seasons. The control improvement has been huge for him I think, and with his ability to keep the ball down it's made him a very solid back-end option in most formats in addition to an excellent DFS choice.
