Robbie Grossman (OF) MIN - Grossman is sizzling, reaching base in his 13th straight game with a walk, a single, and his 5th homer of the year in the 9-4 victory over the Angels on Monday. Grossman is now hitting 325/464/623 through just under 100 PAs, and even though it seems like he's been a failed prospect forever, I feel compelled to reiterate that he's just 26. He's walking more than he's striking out, he's chasing pitches less than 20% of the time, his hard contact rate has jumped to 33%, and his avg HR distance is over 410 feet. Obviously the scope of the performance is a bit of a fluke, but the considerable improvement doesn't seem to be. He's available in a fairly significant number of leagues, and he shouldn't be, particularly any league that value drawing walks in some fashion.
Russell Martin (C) TOR - Martin had a night off Monday, but over the last few weeks he's 15-51 with a double, 5 homers, 10 R, and 13 RBI. He's also controlling the strike zone far better, with 8 walks against only 11 K's during that stretch. The LD and hard contact rates are both career bests as well, all of which certainly makes it look like he's right back to being a starting-quality C in all formats.
Jason Kipnis (2B) CLE - Kipnis was one of only two Indians to manage a hit against Edinson Volquez Monday, tallying a walk, a double, and a homer in the 2-1 loss. Kipnis still isn't putting up the stats that he did a few years ago, but the LD rate and hard contact rate both look very sound, making me believe that we might see some positive movement in those figures as the season goes by. Additionally, Kipnis is facing occasional gas can Chris Young and the Royals on Tuesday, and despite his solid play over the past week he is under $4000 ($3900) on DK...he will likely make for a solid value at that price.
Whit Merrifield (2/3/O) KC - Merrifield triple and homered on Monday (his first of each in the majors), and he's now hit in 8 of his last 9 with a 330/344/484 line in total through 93 PAs with the Royals. He's been a solid contact hitter with excellent speed during his minor league tenure, and his hard contact rate for KC is over 40% after Monday's action. Add in the multi-positional flexibility (2B, 3B, and OF thus far), and he's looking more and more like a player that can help in most formats with each passing week.
Tim Anderson (SS) CWS - Anderson hit leadoff on Monday, going 1-6 with 2 strikeouts in the 10-9 extra-inning win over the Tigers. I'm a bit more lukewarm than most about Anderson's status as a prospect, as he relies on hitting singles and stealing bases without great contact ability or patience....sort of like a lesser version of Billy Hamilton. Still, a leadoff hitter at SS with excellent speed is a commodity, and the starting job is his unless he bombs. He's worth a risk in deeper leagues to be sure, but I wouldn't break the bank for him.
