Jonathan Schoop - Schoop hit his 9th homer of the year against Noah Syndergaard, boosting his line to 301/335/529 through 153 ABs this year. People need to get on the bandwagon here, as 2B with 25-30 HR power do not come around all that often. He does swing and miss a lot, but the LD rate of 23% will help offset that a bit. What he has is power, with every stat offering projections of somewhere between well above average and a step under elite. Still just 23, his BBS on HRs in 105 and his average distance is over 400 feet, both solidly above average, and the reduction in chase rate and increase in hard contact rate this year lead me to believe that he is still improving as a hitter. Something like .260-.270 with 25 homers would not be out of the question for 2016, and there's some upside from there. He should be owned and started across the board.
Nathan Eovaldi - Eovaldi continues to win, tossing 7 innings against the Twins on Wednesday and allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks with 8 K's (and 3 ER) to pick up his 8th straight win. He's allowed 3 ER or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts, and even though the K numbers aren't consistently there, he looks like he's turning into a solid back-end rotation piece. The huge jump in GB rate is the primary culprit here, but you also have to love the sizable velocity bump combined with an increased gap between his FB and change (and the increased usage on said change). Those factors combined are allowing him to post his best "soft contact" numbers since his 35 inning debut in 2011, enabling him to limit the big innings that have been an issue in the past. You still get the feeling that there's more potential here, as the stuff is certainly electric at times (he hit 100 multiple times today, for example, with 15 swinging strikes mixed in), but even if this is all there is he's worth owning and starting in most formats. As an interesting side note, he's been fantastic in day games this year (continuing a career-long trend), going 5-0 with a 2.54 ERA....something to keep in mind for DFS purposes.
Will Venable - Venable to expected to join the Rangers on Thursday, and with Josh Hamilton likely heading to the DL, Venable should at least be able to pick up most of the playing time against RHP. This is more of a big deal than you might think, as Venable's road line is 290/348/438 with 5 HRs and 7 SBs in just 169 ABs. In short, he's a potential 15/20 bat that hits line drives at a 23.5% clip, which should mitigate the contact issues a bit. I like him in deeper formats for sure with the move to Texas, and depending on the playing time he could move into "own everywhere status" in that park.
Jackie Bradley - Bradley homered again on Wednesday, giving him 5 on the season and a new ISO of .270 after 89 ABs. He's definitely making a concerted effort to hit the ball in the air more, and while the K's will still be an issue for him, he certainly looks like he can now provide some value in the OF in deeper leagues at the very least, and he should be owned in all formats that reward OBP. An outlook of around 15 homers and 5-10 steals with an average slightly below the median but a bunch of walks would be a reasonable expectation for next season, I would think.
Greg Bird - Bird is picking up some playing time with Teixeira limping around with a bone bruise, and he's gotten off to an excellent start in his first 5 games as a Yankee. Bird hit two homers on Wednesday against the Twins, making him 6-18 since his call-up. He's really improved the two weaker areas of his game this season (K rate and defense) while moving up through the minors, which is no small feat, posting a 301/353/500 line in roughly 150 PAs at AAA. His above average power is his strongest tool, and at age 22 he already appears to be capable of 20-25 homers a year. Right now I'd expect the AVG to be a bit of an issue, but the adjustments that he's made this season lead me to believe that he could progress enough down the road for that to cease being a problem by his prime. The biggest problem here is playing time, as once Teixeira is healthy there's really nowhere for him to go, and that includes a look at 2016 as well. I think he could be a very solid CIF bat in Yankee Stadium, but we may have to wait until 2017 (or perhaps the inevitable injury to one of the oldsters) for that to come to fruition with any frequency. For now, he's a short-term pickup only in deeper leagues, with the expectation that if Teixeira returns later this week, Bird's value will dwindle to near-zero.
