Dexter Fowler, OF, CHC
Fowler sprained his ankle in Monday's game against the Dodgers and is considered day to day. Fowler has been relevant in mixed leagues this year thanks to his power-speed potential, as he already has 8 homeruns and 11 steals this season. The problem is that he hasn't done much over the last month as his last SB came on May 23 and he only has 5 XBH's in June. Since he hasn't been hitting for average, he needs to keep producing the counting stats to be worth owning, and it's very questionable whether he can do that consistently.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, LAD
Gonzalez has been going through a bit of a cold spell recently as despite getting 4 hits in the last two games, he is still only hitting .164 and slugging .230 over his last 16 games. While Gonzalez is a lot better than what we have seen in the last couple weeks, he is also not as good as the hitter who hit 5 HR's in the first 3 games of the season, and batted .383 in April. In fact, Gonzalez has the same K% in June as he did during his torrid April which means that some of the streakiness could just be the ups and downs of a season. Realistically, his current numbers - .297 AVG, 12 HR's, 45 RBI - are probably a good projection of what to expect going forward, which would leave him outside of the top-tier of 1st baseman but not that far behind.
Jason Motte, RP, CHC
Motte picked up his second save of the season on Monday, although he did allow a HR and another hit in the 9th inning against the Dodgers. Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon pitched the 7th and 8th innings respectively which would indicate that the Cubs intended to use Motte in the save situation. What is not as clear is who the Cubs plan on using as the closer going forward. Motte has collected both of his saves this month, while Rondon has three saves and Strop has one save in the month of June. Statistically speaking however, Motte has been the least effective of the three, as his 5.81 K/9 and 3.08 BB/9 are subpar, and his 5.13 xFIP indicates that his 3.42 ERA could be in for some more regression. It is unclear what the Cubs plan on doing, but if performance is the primary factor, don't count on Motte holding the closer's role in the long term.
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI
Manager Ryne Sandberg has indicated that he would like infielder Cesar Hernandez to be getting more playing time, which could come at the expense of Utley. It's been a disastrous season for Utley so far as he's hitting .179 with a measly OPS of .532 and it's not clear how much more time he'll have to try to turn it around. He seemed to have turned the corner when from May 15 to June 2, he slashed .389/.459/.574 over 16 games. Since then though, he has gone 5-54 with one double and now his playing time is in question. His K% is still excellent at 12.9% and it is his .186 BABIP which is to blame for his struggles. But while part of this is just bad luck, he also has a career low 22.8 % Hard% which is understandably stopping him from getting hits. It is getting harder and harder to justify owning Utley in regular mixed leagues.
Maikel Franco, 3B, PHI
Franco had a huge game for the Phillies on Monday, going 4-5 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI, and raising his season slash line to .312/.353/.574. There's no reason to think he can't continue his success tomorrow against the Yankees when he face LHP CC Sabathia. While Sabathia has actually dominated left-handed hitters this season, he can't say the same against righties who are hitting .327 with a .925 OPS against him this year. The right-handed Franco still comes cheap in daily leagues, but that might be the case for much longer. Value Play FanDuel Salary: $2,900.
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