Ian Desmond-Nationals-SS
Ian Desmond was 1-3 with walk and a RBI in the win against the Phillies. Desmond is slashing .246/4/13 with 1 SB. Desmond has gone 20/20 the past three seasons and is in a contract year. Desmond was miserable in the field to start the season and this affected his hitting. Recently, Desmond has started to pick it up and has hit .364 with 2 HR and 6 RBI over his last 7 games. Everything looks pretty much normal for Desmond compared to his career numbers, minus the increase in groundballs from 50% to 58%. That is going to affect his power numbers and for whatever reason, Desmond is not running in 2015. If Desmond takes a hit in the power category and isn't running, he is not going to return much value to his owners. If you have Desmond, you obviously have to hold on, but it has been hard to handle.
Jung-ho Kang-Pirates-SS
Jung-ho Kang was 1-4 with a RBI and run scored in the win against the Mets. Kang is slashing .310/.378/.450 in limited playing time. Kang's playing time has increased lately as he has been swinging a hot bat. With Jordy Mercer struggling at the plate, if Kang continues to hit, he could find himself as the starter. Kang is not going to hit anywhere close to the 40 HR's he hit in Korea, but Kang has good power and could approach 15 HR if he gets the at-bats. Kang is going to see regression in his batting average because of his .371 BABIP and his dead pull swing (55%). If Kang is available and you have the roster spot, now might be the time to make a speculative play on Kang for the rest of the season.
Henderson Alvarez-Marlins-SP
Henderson Alvarez went 5 IP and gave up 4 ER on 6 H, 4 BB, and 2 K in the loss to the Orioles. Alvarez put up an impressive 2.65 ERA over 187 IP in 2014. Alvarez has been a shell of himself this year and this could be because of the shoulder and elbow problems experienced by Alvarez in 2015. Alvarez has a 6.45 ERA over his first 22 IP. Alvarez does not strike out batters, but you knew that when you drafted him. You drafted him for his low ERA and potential to go deep in games. Alvarez has been getting 57% GB and has a 55% LOB, which could signal that he is getting unlucky. However, if you look at his velocity charts, you will notice that he has lost almost 3 mph on his FB, which is a sign of an injury. At this point it is probably best to move on from Alvarez and the injury risk.
Alex Wood-Braves-SP
Alex Wood was scratched due to a stomach virus. Wood has a 3.83 ERA over his first 47 IP. Wood does not have overpowering stuff, but does have a funky delivery that creates deception. This has led to decent strikeout totals for the left-hander (8.91). Part of Wood's struggles this year has been a significant drop in his strikeout rate. He has seen his K/9 drop from 8.91 to 6.13, his SwStr% drop to 5.7%, and his contact rate shoot up to 87%. It is pretty simple with Wood, he just isn't missing very many bats. If you exam Wood's heatmap, he was pounding the zone low, and having great success. However in 2015, Wood is still throwing low, but seeing a larger percentage go out of the zone or called balls. So if Wood can command the low strike again, there is no reason to think he can't return to his 2014 version and begin striking out batters again.
DFS Play of the Day
Joc Pederson-Dodgers-OF
Joc Pederson makes for a great play anytime he is facing a right-handed pitcher and is leading off. Pederson crushes RHP to the tune of a .343 ISO and .416 wOBA so far in 2015. Pederson gets the matchup against Ian Kennedy who has been less than stellar this year. Kennedy is getting crushed by lefties this year and Pederson should be no different. DraftKings Value: $3,700
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