Julio Urias (SP, LAD): Urias made his highly anticipated Major League debut Friday against the Dodgers. He was on a pitch count of 90, and managed to struggle through only two and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and four walks, striking out three. You could tell there were plenty of nerves and/or adrenaline for Urias, as he was uncharacteristically all over the place from the jump, requiring 81 pitches to get the eight outs. He owns a career 7.9% BB% throughout his minor league career, so to see such a lack of control will be chalked up as an anomaly in the long-term. He should be given a reprieve, since at only 19 years old he's the youngest player to debut in baseball since Felix Hernandez 11 years ago. It is worth debating how much fantasy value he will hold this season, however, since he's logged very few innings in the minors, and last year pitched only 80 1/3 innings. With 41 innings under his belt in AAA already this season, the Dodgers certainly won't be relying on him to remain a starter down the stretch. They'll take it easy on their young investment, strictly limiting his pitches and innings, and will probably move him to the bullpen or simply shut him down at some point before the conclusion of the season. He could have some tempting starts this season and flash his enormous potential, but he shouldn't be relied upon heavily in single season formats.
David Wright (3B, NYM): Wright socked his seventh home run of the season Friday night off of Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher. It was his only hit of the night, finishing 1-4 with two strikeouts. He's drawing plenty of walks - the most of his career, actually - at 15.9%, and he's also smoking the ball with a 46.3% hard contact rate and a 28.8% line drive rate. So how does he have such a poor .226 average, especially on a .320 BABIP? Well, the problem lies in the 33.5% K%, which is a mammoth 12.8% jump from his 20.7% K% last season. His swinging strike rate his risen by 3.3% from last season as well, and his contact rate is down to a dangerous 67.8%. It's quite a change for Wright, as these are numbers you'd expect from a three true outcome player like Miguel Sano rather than a more contact oriented player like Wright. It's a dangerous change, one that should make his owners nervous. With such poor contact skills, the batting average is going to remain pretty miserable and he'll have to continue to hit for power to maintain any mixed league value. Mix in a hefty amount of injury potential and you've got a player to deal away.
Aaron Hill (2B/3B, Mil): Nobody is talking about Aaron Hill's resurgence with the Brewers this season, although some Hill ruckus is going to bubble to the surface after another multi-HR effort. Hill struck again, going 3-4 with two solo home runs and a walk against the Reds. Hill has shown good plate discipline this season and has a very nice .271/.340/.443 slash on the season, switching between second and third base defensively. He's even gone 3-4 in stolen base attempts, and at this point he's completely viable in mixed leagues. He's a huge candidate to be traded before the deadline this season since the Brewers certainly don't see the 34 year old as a cornerstone of their rebuild, but you can't worry about where he might end up in the second half of the season for fantasy purposes right now. For those who may have just lost Mike Moustakas for the season, you could do worse than riding Aaron Hill while he's hot.
Jonathan Villar (SS, Mil): Villar continued his speedy ways on Friday, going 3-4 with two runs, two RBI, a walk, and two stolen bases. He's up to 17 steals now with a cool .306/.402/.429 slash line. He's essentially done the Dee Gordon, slapping the ball on the ground (60.2% GB rate) and booking it to first. He's really become a patient hitter, and despite a strikeout rate much higher than you would prefer from a leadoff hitter at 24.3%, you'll obviously take a .402 OBP and some serious wheels. If Aaron Hill is dealt, Villar might shift over to third base when the Brewers eventually call up Orlando Arcia, which would stink for his fantasy value down the road, but for now that's all speculation. His .417 BABIP will come down plenty, but at this point you've got to expect an inflated BABIP simply because he's so fast. It's awfully hard to call him a sell high when he's stealing bases at such a clip, so hang on to him and enjoy the steals, but know that there will be a cold streak at some point.
Tyler Chatwood (SP, Col): Chatwood had no problems pitching at Coors Field on Friday, limiting the Giants to one unearned run in seven innings, scattering four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He's had an improbably run this season, and his ERA now sits at a sterling 2.69. Regression looms though, as his .262 BABIP is low even for a pitcher with a near-elite 59.1% ground ball rate. His FIP (3.89) and xFIP (3.92) both sit over a run higher than his ERA, and the lack of strikeouts limit his ceiling. He's struck out only 39 batters in 63.2 IP, good for a 5.51 K/9. He's managed to limit the walks (2.26 BB/9) and used his ground ball rate to limit the homers (0.85 HR/9) which is essential for success in Coors. He can be a useful streaming option in mixed leagues, but the extreme lack of K's keeps him from being anywhere near a must-own in standard mixed leagues.
Let's talk some ball. Follow me on Twitter @NathanDokken
This is just a small sample our our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 player updates daily: http://www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
