Ervin Santana
The Twins' big off-season free agent acquisition made his 2015 season debut on Sunday after serving his 80-game suspension for PEDs. Santana looked much the ace that the Twins - and really patient fantasy owners - were hoping for in his debut, going eight easy innings, with just two runs and six baserunners allowed, while he fanned eight Royals, one of the harder teams in baseball to strike out. Santana has proven a valuable innings eater at least in the last two seasons, and if he can flash the strikeout potential he showed on Sunday, Santana could be a big pick up for owners. He's owned in about a fifth of ESPN leagues as of right now, and not too many of that 20 percent are likely to drop him after his strong outing Sunday. His next start is on Friday in a match up with Justin Verlander and the Tigers and Target Field. He's a good-not-great pick up for Friday, but if the nine swings-and-misses Santana got on his slider on Sunday are legit, he should have value game-in and game-out. He's definitely worth a pick up at this point.
Devon Travis
One of the Blue Jays to bully Verlander on Sunday was Devon Travis. Travis went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and three RBI. Travis has picked up right where he left off before hitting the disabled list, and has gone 13-for-33 in his nine games since returning from the DL. The same caveats from before his injury apply to Travis, as he is unlikely to keep up his home run pace, and his BABIP is a bit high, but the same positives remain (his spot in a potent lineup, and ability to contribute some in all five categories). If anything coming off his injury this strong has proven some doubters wrong, and he should be owned across the board at this point.
Adam Jones
Adam Jones has been a bit of a fantasy disappointment this season, if only because of his lofty draft spot. (Similar to Andrew McCutchen in the NL.) Jones had a strong day Sunday, however, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. Jones has been lacking a bit in power, as his ISO has continued a disturbing trend, as it is lower than the previous season for the fourth straight year in 2015. Jones' ISO was .218 in 2012; .208 in 2013; .188 last year, and .178 this season. Jones is about to turn 30, and while that's hardly ancient, it is likely a bit past his prime, and Jones' HR/FB rate backs up the drop in ISO the last three years. It may just be that the days of 30 home runs Adam Jones are over and now there will be 20 home run seasons. Given that Jones' speed (or at least his steals) has also dropped each of the last four seasons, it may be time to say that Jones is no longer an elite fantasy outfielder.
Michael Montgomery
The 26-year old Mariner rookie posted another solid start on Sunday, albeit one boosted by a bit of good luck once again. The former number one Royals' prospect took a heck of a long time to make the majors, so we don't want to rain on his parade too much, but he has definitely gotten a bit of (well-deserved) luck for his 1.52 ERA. Montgomery has just 31 strikeouts in 50 innings, and while that isn't necessarily a death knell for pitchers, it certainly isn't a great sign. As with any pitcher with a low strikeout total and low ERA, Montgomery's opponent BABIP is well below league average (.221), and his strand rate is well above league average (86.6 LOB %). Montgomery's velocity (fastball around 91 mph) is a far cry from what it was as a big-time prospect, and while there are some pitchers who can get soft contact off soft pitching, and seem to spit in the face of baseball pitching analytics, color me skeptical on Montgomery being able to do so much longer. Sell high if anyone is buying on him.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Miguel Sano
Sano has a hit in every big league game he has played in since getting called up before the holiday weekend, and is slashing .400/.438/.533 in a modest 16 plate appearances so far. The Twins' elite prospect has all the tools to be a big time player at the major league level, however, and is due for his first big league dinger. Sano was on fire before his call up and had 15 home runs in 66 Double-A games in 2015. Sano had 35 home runs across three different levels in 2013 before missing 2014 with Tommy John, and although his opponent Monday, Wei-Yin Chen has a pretty ERA (2.84) his FIP (4.29) suggests some rough outings in the not-too-distant future. The Twins' lineup has been pretty limp of late, which is the only drawback to Sano, but his price has not even close to caught up to the production he has shown so far in the bigs, and should be looked at every day until it does.
$2,200
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