Jason Hammel dominated the Marlins on Monday night, striking out 11 over just 6.2 innings with only 1 ER. Hammel frustrated owners early on this season, but has quietly been putting together a Jake Arrieta-like 2014 season so far. Coming into last night, he had an excellent 2.98 ERA, fully supported by a 2.96 FIP and 2.99 SIERA. Hammel appears to be the real deal. We've seen an improved K rate in 2015 and significantly fewer walks. It looks like he's a viable starter for the rest of the year, but there's always uncertainty when somebody has never done it before. I'd anticipate an ERA a little above 3.00 the rest of the way, which is more than serviceable in most leagues.
Andre Ethier was a main beneficiary of Coors Field last night, going 2-for-5 with a HR and a triple. Ethier has been nothing short of fantastic in his opportunities this season. While the Dodgers seemed to be kicking themselves for dealing Matt Kemp early on, Ethier has eased that feeling. He's walking more and striking out less than his career averages. The longterm question will be what will his playing time amount to once Yasiel Puig is back. However, there's no certain timetable yet, so if Ethier is available, he's worth picking up. If you have a daily league, absolutely grab Ethier for his series at Coors Field.
Freddie Freeman posted a relatively pedestrian .799 OPS through May, but started June with a bang as he went 3-for-5 with a dinger and three RBIs. Freeman started the year on fire, but May certainly adjusted expectations for fantasy owners. As of now, he's more or less right in line with his 2014 performance, but with a bit more power. I expect this is largely what we'll see from Freeman for the rest of the season. At 25 years old, he still has the upside and potential to breakout, but owners will be content to see a repeat (or close to) his 2014. His walk and strikeout rates have declined, but with more flyballs, the power should be there the rest of the way to make up for it.
Andrew Cashner finished with one of the stranger lines you'll see: 4.2 innings, 5 earned, yet 12 strikeouts. Cashner's 2 wins and 8 losses is incredibly deceiving given how well he's pitches this season. With a sub-3.50 SIERA and a K rate approaching 9, that's not the record that we could expect. Thus, here we have a solid buy low candidate. There may be a very small window to buy here, so act quickly. Cashner benefits from pitching in the friendly confines of San Diego. Coupled with his strong K rate, we should see an excellent remainder of the season from Cashner. There's no reason he can't continue his solid peripherals, which will eventually lead to positive results.
Lucroy returned to action on Monday, but was 0-for-4 amidst a gem thrown by Jaime Garcia. It's hard to believe Lucroy has only played in 13 games this year, so if you can find a frustrated owner, toss a few offers out for Lucroy. He's only 29 years old and we haven't seen nearly enough of a sample to believe that he's ineffective. As the Brewers' lineup becomes healthy, expect Lucroy to start producing.
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