Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN
Hamilton batted leadoff for the Reds on Wednesday, but went 0-4 lowering his BA to .182. Hitting in the leadoff spot isn't something we should expect to happen regularly for Hamilton, it was more a matter of typical leadoff hitter Zach Cozart getting the day off, but it does seem to indicate that the Reds still think Hamilton is not a completely awful offensive player. While Hamilton's abilities won't be affected by what the Reds think of him, his fantasy value will be. As long as he is a regular in the lineup, a 40+ SB season is not only possible, but quite probable. It's hard to invest in a player who could still end up getting benched or demoted in the not so far future, but if he's available on the waiver wire, there aren't many such players with the upside that Hamilton has.
Devin Mesoraco, C, CIN
Mesoraco was out of the lineup for the Reds on Wednesday, with Tucker Barnhart taking over the catching duties and eventually knocking the game winning run. With Mesoraco sitting on a .472 OPS (compared to Barnhart's .814 mark) it's fair to wonder if we won't see Meso on the bench more often. As of now he would appear to still be the starter, but I don't know if I'm interested anymore anyway. His one career year was propelled by an excellent 38.7% Hard%, but that mark has been under 20% in small samples from 2015 and 2016. Check to see if there are better options, because there probably are.
Curtis Granderson, OF, NYM
Don't look now but Granderson has hits in 7 of his last 8 games and has a .606 SLG over that span. After racking up the K's during his tenure with the Yankees, he has impressively cut down on the strikeouts since joining the Mets, a trend that has continued into 2016. In fact, his plate discipline has been so good that last year Granderson actually ranked 2nd best in the league in O-Swing%, and he has so far improved on that number this season. He is no longer the BA drain that he was in his final seasons with the Yankees (or at least he shouldn't be), and he has hit at least 20 HR's in each of his last 8 full seasons. There is still value here.
Jeremy Hazelbaker, OF, STL
For those who haven't jumped onto the Hazelbaker train yet, good for you because it's already time to get off. After a torrid start to the season, Hazelbaker has found himself in an 0-15 slump and isn't really an everyday player right now. With a 27.7% K%, it will be hard to maintain a decent batting average, and the counting stats will obviously suffer from limited playing time.
Joc Pederson, OF, LAD
Pederson has been hitting RHP's well to start the season with a .902 OPS against them in the early going. His opponent is Atlanta RHP Matt Wisler who has allowed a career OPS of .970 to left-handed hitters. For the matchup, Pederson is reasonably priced. Value Play Draft Kings $3,700.
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