Domingo Santana
Santana returned to the Brewers on Monday in a pinch-hit role, drawing a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning. Santana was a guy I was pretty into before the season, and hasn't really done anything to prove any progression or regression from that tier (outside of his injury) in 2016. In 27 games, Santana had three home runs, 11 runs and 11 RBI while hitting .239. That's exactly 1/6 of the way through the season, putting him on a 162-game pace for 18 HR and 66 runs as well as RBI. The power potential is intriguing, and once he returns he could be due for a boost in home runs if he can just get a bit more elevation on his swing. In his first 27 games, Santana owned a fly ball rate of just 15.3 percent, the lowest rate in the league. Santana has never owned a great fly ball rate, but in 2015 it was nearly twice as high at 29.3 percent. If he can get back to that rate, the home runs (and runs and RBI that come along with them) could start jumping up. Keep an eye on Santana's production - and fly ball rate - when he returns to the lineup full-time, as a potential pick up.
Joey Votto
Votto hit his fifth home run of 2016 on Monday, and his third in his last eight games. However, over that stretch Votto has raised his batting average a grand total of four points, all the way up to a whopping .234. It's been over a week since the brilliant "Ferrari" quote from Votto about taking his swing out of the garage, and outside of a slight bump in power, the results look the same. Votto is still hitting the heck out of the ball, as his 44.3 hard hit ball rate good for seventh in baseball prior to Monday's games. When added to his 23.4 line drive rate, it's tough to see why Votto is struggling so much to get hits at his usual rate. One clue might be the fact that Votto has seen his pull rate increase for the fourth consecutive season, and is now a robust 40.5 percent. That's hardly among the league-leaders, but when combined increase in ground balls in his profile (49.4 percent up from 42.2 percent) and shifting becoming more and more commonplace across baseball, that could be the reason. Count me in as a believer in the increased pull rate, but not the increased ground ball rate. I'd expect Votto's average to drop into the .290 range, down from previous years, but nothing that's going to kill you. And the home runs should bounce back with any added fly balls.
Jean Segura
Just when it seemed like the Jean Segura Balloon may have popped, the 26-year-old shortstop has gotten hot again. Segura hit his fifth home run of 2016 on Monday, nearly reaching his season total from 2015 and matching his 2014 output already. His career high was 12 in 2013, and that number is certainly is danger with the pace Segura is on this season. Segura has hit a few more fly balls this season, but the biggest difference has been in his HR/FB rate. Part of this can be explained by the move to Chase Field, as his first four HR came at home before hitting his fifth coming in Coors Field last night. But with not too much of an increase in his hard hit rate; the fact that his home in Milwaukee was pretty homer-friendly; and the fact that last night was just his second home run since his initial outburst, all makes the power seem a bit like Fool's Gold. The rest of the production, however, seems maintainable. The average will obviously come down from the lofty .341 mark he's at, but expecting something around .290 or even .300 certainly isn't out of the question, and atop a pretty stacked Dback lineup, the runs and RBI should be aplenty. The steals have never been in question as he had 25 last season and is 4-for-5 in SB attempts this season. Segura had a bit of a cold stretch a week ago, but hopefully you didn't cut bait with him, and are now being rewarded again. Keep him around.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Juan Nicasio
Nicasio is the top bargain pitcher on Tuesday. Nicasio had one of his briefer outings his last time out, making it just 4.1 innings, but only allowed one earned run, and is still sporting a 3.16 ERA on the season. His FIP (4.13) and xFIP (3.90) are a bit higher, but with Pittsburgh's magical shifting abilities, that kind of a gap isn't unheard of among the Pirates. Plus, Nicasio has a 9.19 strikeout per nine rate, and a solid match up on Tuesday. Nicasio draws the 27th ranked (by wRC+) offense in Cincinnati, and although Votto and the crew have improved slightly in the past couple weeks, their strikeout rate has actually seen an increase over the same two-week span. Nicasio has to deal with the friendly confines of Great American Ballpark Tuesday, but the Reds are still just middle of the pack at home, coming in 15th in OPS in home games this season. Plus the walks that can hurt Nicasio shouldn't be a big deal because outside of Votto the Reds don't take many walks at all.
DraftKings: $6,300
Stephen Piscotty
Piscotty is the top recommended play on Tuesday, as the youthful Cardinal outfielder gets a match up against left-handed Hector Santiago. Piscotty is red hot as of late, bringing his season BA up to a robust .323 to go along with 42 RuBIns, five home runs and two steals. Piscotty has rather quietly been the seventh-best outfielder, per the ESPN player rater, after throwing folks off his scent with a slow start. Piscotty faces off with the lefty Santiago, which is great news for potential buyers on Tuesday. Piscotty is hitting a stupid .429 with two homers in just 28 at bats against lefties this season. This isn't just a fluke as Piscotty hit .322 off lefties last season, and Santiago is a very mediocre lefty. His 3.58 ERA might say otherwise, but his 4.48 FIP and 4.32 xFIP paint the more accurate picture of a pretty 'blah' pitcher. The Cardinals also love beating up on weaker teams, and Piscotty seems primed for a big day Tuesday.
DraftKings: $4,100
"This is just a small sample our our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 player updates daily: http://www.fantistics.com/
