Kyle Schwarber (C- Cubs)
Cubs recalled Kyle Schwarber from Triple-A today and he is catching and hitting second in the lineup. While he is a work in progress as a catcher, Schwarber is almost certain to receive the lion's share of the starts behind the plate with Miguel Montero expected to miss the next six weeks of action. Schwarber was the 4th pick overall in the 2014 June Amateur draft and those who have watched him are convinced that he will be a big time hitter. He has immense raw power which scouts rated at 70 on an 80 scale. He had 3 hits today including a double and a run scored and was equally impressive in the few games he played as a DH in American League parks earlier in the year. Pick him up in your fantasy leagues if he happens to still be on the waiver wire. Hitting 2nd in the lineup, he makes for a great play on DraftKings. His $ value was not available for today's game, but keep an eye out tomorrow as he gets added to the DFS roster.
A.J. Pollock (OF - Arizona) $4700
You have to look no further than his .302, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 60 R, 19 SB line to know that Pollock has been great this season. His performance this year was foreshadowed by his .303/.353/.498 slash line over 75 games in 2014. It certainly doesn't hurt to have the spectacular Paul Goldschmidt raking behind you but Pollock's peripherals support his current production. There is nothing out of line with his .330 BABIP and he makes hard contact and plenty of it with a nice 32.7% contact rate. Pollock is hitting a few too many infield fly balls, and his under 20% LD rate does not support his current 13.6% HR/FB rate, but his skills suggest that he will continue to be a force at the top of the Arizona lineup. Since he hits righty's and lefty's with almost equal aplomb, he makes a good DraftKings play on Saturday against Jake Peavy in only his 3rd start since April after a long DL stint.
Tony Cingrani (SP- Cinn)
After a disastrous 2014 where is went 2-8 with a 4.55 ERA and almost 5 walks per 9 innings, Tony Cingrani fell off the fantasy radar. Well guess what, he's back. Reds manager Bryan Price said Friday that Cingrani is now in the mix to get a start next Wednesday versus the Cubs. He has been strong in 3 rehab starts tossing 9 shutout innings and striking out 12. If he pitches well, he has a real chance of staying in the rotation with rumors flying that the Reds will be sellers come the July 31 trading deadline. Johnny Cueto has been among a number of names mentioned as being on the block. Cingrani will probably be on an innings limit initially so his immediate value will be limited, but this is a guy with a very good arm who struck out over 10 batters per 9 innings in 18 starts in 2013 and produced a 2.92 ERA. Caution is the key word here since he is coming back from a sore shoulder, but since he misses bats and is only 26 years old, you could do worse than to take a shot on him in deeper mixed leagues especially if he pitches impressively in his last minor league start tonight.
Ken Giles ( RP-PHI)
As fantasy teams look for potential closers to snatch from the waiver wire, Ken Giles should be a pretty obvious target as a speculative add. He has been very impressive in the setup role with 11 holds, a 1.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 49 K's in 38 innings. The last place Phillies are almost certain to deal Jonathan Papelbon who remains a valuable asset with 14 saves this year and a 1.60 ERA to go with a 0.98 WHIP. Papelbon has made it clear that he wants to be traded to a contending team. Giles would be next in line for the closer role in Philadelphia and it would make sense if you have the room to pick him up. Bad teams generally win mostly close games, so Giles could be just what the doctor ordered for teams lagging in the saves category. Other smart shoppers have already done so, as he has a 30% ownership rate in CBS Sports Leagues.
Yunel Escobar (3B-Nationals) $3200
Yunel Escobar was batting leadoff today for the Nationals as Denard Span remains sidelined. Escobar is having a very nice season at the plate batting .325 with 44 runs scored and 29 RBI's. While he has only 5 HR's on the season, he has hit as many as 14 so there is still some upside in that area. He homered and doubled in today's game which will resume tomorrow at 2:30. Escobar is a career .280 hitter so he would have to find a way to continue benefiting from a .360 BABIP to keep his BA so far north of .300. He did have a BABIP this high in half a season earlier in his career, so it is not impossible that he settles in somewhere between that elevated number and his .305 career average. Escobar is a very good contact hitter and his .369 OBP could keep him at the top of the lineup for now. If you are looking for a value play at 3B that will only cost you $3200 on DraftKings, you might want to look in Escobar's direction on Saturday.
@stevietheshu
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