Maikel Franco (3B-Phillies)
The long awaited 2015 debut of power hitting Phillies 3B rookie happened today as he batted 5th in the Phillies lineup. Franco was 0-4 in today's game. He was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to become the regular third baseman after the Phillies sent Cody Asche down earlier this week. The 22 year old slugger batted .355/.384/.539 with four homers and 24 RBI over 151 plate appearances for Lehigh Valley. He does not walk often and he has an aggressive batting style so there are holes in his game that he will have to address. Franco does have excellent power ( rated 60 out of a maximum of 80 by most scouts) and a good hit tool so the possibility that he succeeds at this level after the additional seasoning at Triple-A is real. It remains to be seen how ready Franco is to contribute right now but on power upside alone he makes for a good speculative add in all leagues.
Marlon Byrd (OF- Cinn) $3000
Marlon Byrd has been on fire at the plate with 3 multi-hit games and 3 HR's in the last 8 games he has played. This was a far cry from his April output where he struggled in all phases of the game and at 37 appeared to be on a steep slide. A move to the #2 spot in the Cincinnati Reds order has seemed to be the catalyst for this streak. He was 1-3 in today's game. Byrd has clubbed 6 of his 8 HR's in May and is walking at a very high rate. The power production has come later in Byrd's career as he had reached 20 HR only once in Texas in 2009 but exceeded that number in back to back seasons in 2013 and 2014. With a walk rate in excess of 10%, and an unlucky .247 BABIP, it looks like Byrd's BA will start to climb from its .229 mark. Once a fairly good contact hitter, Byrd has sacrificed BA for power production in recent years and he is hitting many more FB's than he had at any time in his early career. It is not realistic to expect him to maintain his current 22% HR/FB rate but another 25 HR season looks possible. While he is seeing the ball this well, his $3,000 price on FanDuel seems like a good value.
Josh Harrison (3B-Pirates) $2800
The seems to be some renewed life in Josh Harrison's bat as he has 11 hits in his last 5 games including a HR and 3 hits tonight and raised his average to .222. He burst onto the scene last year with a .315 BA and 17 HR's to go along with 18 steals. The .315 BA was based on a .353 BABIP so some regression was expected there, but until this mini streak things were very looking very grim. He has 4 HR's and only 1 SB on the year. The flaws in his game were overshadowed last season but are now more apparent as he walks at a paltry 3.1% rate. His .175 ISO last year was way above anything he had ever produced in the minors and has settled in at a more realistic .159. There is some hope for a rebound on the batting average side as he does have good contact skills but a return to mid to upper teens in HR's may not happen with his below average bat speed. While he is this hot, and he batted .345 against lefties last season, he makes a good play in FanDuel at $2800 against a good pitcher in Lester who has not yet regained his form.
Pedro Alvarez (3B- Pirates)
Pedro Alvarez smacked his 6th HR of the season in today's game and his 3 hits brought his average up to .224. Alvarez was one of the premier sluggers in the NL in 2012 and 2013 when he clubbed a total of 66 HR's and drove in 185 runs. Last season was a disappointment to owners as knee and foot injuries cost him almost 40 games and he finished with only 18 HR's. His .215 ISO this season is much more in line with his best years. His 72% contact rate this season is actually his career best, but he is not going to hit for average. Once his 56% GB rate starts to come down and his fly ball rate returns to his more normal levels you will see an uptick in HR frequency that will propel him back to his expected 30+ HR standards.
Brandon Philips (2B-Cinn)
Brandon Phillips was back in the Reds' lineup Friday after he missed the last two games with turf toe. This is usually a very troubling ailment but the club has evidently found an orthotic that will allow him to play through the injury. How effective he will be with this issue is unknown. He was 0-4 in today's game. Phillips has had an excellent May batting 385 so far this month but he still has only 1 HR. The loss in power seems to have continued from last season when he managed only 8 HR in 499 PA's. Part of the problem is that his IFFB% has risen steadily over the past two seasons and his HR/FB rate has plummeted. He is only 33, and there has been no change in his bat speed the last two seasons, so perhaps it was the torn ligament in his thumb last season that is the cause for the decline in power. He has already stolen 5 bases, so if he can recover from his current injury, I think there is something left in the tank and Philips' overall productivity will steadily improve.
@stevietheshu
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