Zack Greinke (SP-LAD)
The Dodgers announced that Zack Greinke will return to start against the Mets on either Saturday or Sunday. Greinke was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday for the birth of the couple's first child. He has recorded a sensational 43.2 scoreless innings and he taking dead aim at Orel Hershiser's all time record of 59. Facing the hapless Mets this weekend could get him halfway there. Greinke's value has obviously never been higher and I think this presents a great sell opportunity. While this might sound like heresy to some, his underlying peripherals scream out that his 1.30 ERA is not sustainable. He has benefited from a .232 BABIP and an 89.9% LOB rate. When you factor in that his career BABIP is right at the .300 mark, and his LOB rate this season is over 10% better than he has ever done, regression is coming. Greinke has an xFIP of 3.05. He is a marvelous pitcher and deserves the accolades he is getting, but if you play your cards right you could get a King's ransom for him. If the long range indicators for performance are correct, he might actually finish a little below last year's overall numbers.
Joc Pederson, (OF-LAD)
July has not been kind to Joc Pederson. He is batting .164 with 0 HR's this month after hitting 7 in June, 9 in May, and 4 in April. Why Don Mattingly continues to bat him in the leadoff position with a .243 OBP this month and a 30% K Rate defies explanation. Overall Pederson still maintains a .356 OBP, but the kid needs to gather himself after the league has obviously made some adjustments. His BA is down to .228 on the season. Pederson makes hard contact at an elite rate that puts him in the top 10 in baseball. He currently is the Major League leader in ESPN's Golden Sledgehammer standings with an average true HR distance of 430 feet on his 20 HR's. This is obviously an elite talent with great bat speed who needs to make some adjustments right now. Take the pressure off him and move him down the order until he shows some signs of breaking out of this slump that now has lasted 80 plate appearances. I think we would all like to see a confident Pederson leading off and Puig hitting 2nd where he has a wRC+ of 158 and a .396 wOBA for his career.
Brandon Crawford (SS- SF Giants) $3300
Brandon Crawford is having the best year of his career this season. His 14 HR's in 92 games are more than he has hit in any full season in the Majors or Minor Leagues. Crawford is much more aggressive at the plate this season and it shows in his 37% Chase Rate. While he is hitting more ground balls than he did in 2014, he has leveraged a 5% increase in his hard ball hitting rate into a 16.7% HR/FB rate. His bat speed is just average so he does not have the tools to sustain this kind of HR hitting clip. This is Evan Gattis and Chris Carter type HR production on fly balls so this will not be sustained. However, he has been hitting over .300 with a .600+ Slugging percentage over the last 7 games so ride him while he is this hot. He is only $3300 on FanDuel so he makes for an interesting play on Saturday.
Michael Conforto (OF- NYM)
Michael Conforto is in left field and batting seventh in his Met Major League debut on Friday. He was 0-3 with an RBI groundout. The Met's are in need of production in their lineup and young Mr. Conforto brings a .297/.372/.482 batting line with 12 homers and 54 RBI between High- and Double-A this season. He will certainly get AB's against right-handed pitching and with Michael Cuddyer's injury could play that into full time AB's if he can produce. Conforto was ranked as the #14 Prospect in the game in Baseball America's Mid- Season ratings. Scouts have been bullish about his power potential which was rated 60 on a scale of 80. Not projected to steal bases, he had a good walk to K ratio in his Minor League career. He is worth picking up in all fantasy formats but the lack of experience at the Triple A level may limit his immediate impact and only time will tell if he is ready.
Corey Dickerson (OF-Colorado)
Rockies activated OF Corey Dickerson from the 15-day disabled list today as he tries to recover from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He batted 6th today in the Rockies lineup and had 2 hits and a walk. Dickerson had a breakout year last season batting .312 with 24 HR's and 76 RBI's as he finally was able to play regularly. The problem he faces is that this foot ailment often does not respond well to treatment and becomes debilitating. You need go no further than the effect that it had on Albert Pujols last season and Ryan Zimmerman this season. Dickerson is unfortunately a very risky play the remainder of the year especially in redraft leagues.
@stevietheshu
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