Noah Syndergaard (SP- Mets)
Noah Syndergaard pitched brilliantly today allowing only 1 run and 5 hits while striking out 5 for his 2nd win of the season. Syndergaard has rallied from a few rough outings to bring his ERA down to 3.59. With an xFIP of 3.13, the trending looks good going into the 2nd half of the season. Syndergaard combines an excellent 25% K rate with a superb 5.2% walk rate. When you consider that he has been unlucky with an elevated .329 BABIP and a 67.9% LOB% that should adjust, you can see where the improved numbers will come from. Of course, he has to toil for the less than potent Mets offense, but when you possess a 95.7 mph fastball and a nice curve good things are bound to happen for this budding star.
Carlos Gonzalez (OF- Colorado) $3500
Carlos Gonzalez returned to the Rockies starting lineup on Friday after leaving last Sunday's game with a sprained hand. His .253/.313/.424 slash line features 10 homers and 28 RBI in 67 games played this season. Cargo had the 4th 5 hit game of his career in today's contest. When he has been able to stay on the field this month, it has been his best with 6 HR's and 15 RBI's to go along with a .285 BA. Regardless, Cargo remains one of the most frustrating players in fantasy. He is an all-world talent who has not been able to play in more than 127 games since his breakout season in 2010. Still only 29, the name will continue to resonate with fantasy owners dreaming of his return to past glory. With his history of injury, it is impossible to predict what he might accomplish this season. Cargo's underlying peripherals seem to be in line with past seasons with the exception of a weaker hard ball hit rate. A .277 BABIP certainly suggests that he will raise his .250 BA although he only batted .238 last season with a .283 BABIP. Cargo could be a good sell high candidate if he continues his hot month of hitting for power. His $3500 cost on FanDuel would seem to be an attractive price tomorrow, but with Cargo you always need to check the lineups very closely just before the game starts.
Christian Yelich (OF-Miami)
Christian Yelich has missed a number of games to injury this season and it only adds to the disappointment for fantasy owners. Yelich possesses the bat speed at 106 mph and distance on HR's at 418 feet to be a power hitter, but he has only 4 HR's this season. After 21 steals and a .284 BA in 2014, he is mired in a .227 BA and only has 5 steals. He was 0-3 in today's game. There are a number of reasons beyond injury concerns for his lackluster performance. His plate discipline has not advanced, in fact he is now striking out at a near 25% rate and his walk rate has decreased as well. True his .284 BA in 2014 was supported by a .356 BABIP, but with a more normalized .297 this season he should not be hitting this poorly. He is chasing more balls outside the strike zone resulting in a 7% drop in his contact rate. His line drive rate has disappeared from view and he is pounding the ball into the ground at an alarming 70% rate. He is only 23 years old, so there is no cause for alarm, but he needs to make some adjustments if he is to reach his very sizable potential.
Denard Span (OF-Wash) $3300
Denard Span was not in today's lineup with a recurrence of back spasms that have plagued him this past week. It does not appear worthy of a DL stint at this time. After playing in 153 and 147 games in 2013 and 2014, Span has missed about 20 games this first half. The injuries to stalwarts like Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon will also have an impact on his counting stats although Bryan Harper is trying his best to make up for the lost bats. Span is a 4 category contributor sitting atop the Washington lineup and looking at his peripherals there is nothing to suggest that he won't have a strong 2nd half. He has actually shown a bit more pop with his 5 HR's matching his output last season in 430 less PA's. I think his current .301/.354/.435 line will look about the same at the end of the year and he will probably still steal 20 bases to boot. If he is in the starting lineup tomorrow, his $3300 price on FanDuel makes him a value option against Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan who has a total of 5 innings of MLB experience.
Adeiny Hechavarria (SS- Miami) $2400
Adeiny Hechavarria has started to rebound from a recent 5 game slump in mid-June with his 5th hit and 3rd RBI in the last four games to bring his BA back up to .287 on the season. He has 4 HR's, 33 runs scored, and 31 RBI's on the year. Today he was batting 3rd in front of Giancarlo Stanton for the 1st time this season. His value will certainly rise if he can maintain a place in the top third of the order even if this only comes against lefty pitchers. At a thin SS position, Adeiny makes good contact and has a fine 22.6% line drive rate that will help him maintain a favorable BA. Most of his stats have come batting in the 7th and dreaded 8th position in the lineup, so his counting stats could improve significantly if this becomes a more regular occurrence. Check his lineup position tomorrow because he would make a possible value play at only $2400 on FanDuel even though the lefty he faces is Clayton Kershaw. Almost anytime that you can have a quality batter at this cheap price batting 3rd in the lineup you should take it.
@stevietheshu
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