Prince Fielder
Fielder showed signs of life Thursday, hitting his fourth home run of the season, albeit in a 1-for-4 performance. Fielder has been one of the most disappointing players in fantasy baseball this season, and is still only slashing .193/.265/.302 even after the home run. The interesting part is his peripherals don't really scream "terrible season" at you. His line drive rate is the highest it has been since 2012, yet his BABIP is a dismal .219. His contact rate is right around where he was during the beginning of his career, but the issue seems to be he just doesn't have the pop to pull that off anymore. His hard hit ball rate is nine percentage points below his career rate and five percentage off last season. That seems to explain some of his career-low HR/FB rate, though I would expect him to finish closer to 20 home runs than 10, as long as the Rangers keep giving him at bats. People are still hanging on to Fielder, with 67.1 percent ownership, but with no positional flexibility, name recognition is the only reason to keep him over a guy like Eugenio Suarez who will offer just as much pop, with third and short eligibility and a few steals. He's owned in five percent fewer leagues, though. If you need power, guys like Gattis and Napoli, if they are still available are much better options. Brandon Moss is even around par with Fielder now. Don't hang around for the name.
Jurickson Profar
Profar had himself another multi-hit game on Thursday, and is now slashing .389/.400/.611 in his first 55 plate appearances at the major league level in 2016. That slash line stands out a bit more given the pedigree that was attached to Profar's name at one point. He was the consensus number one prospect in baseball, and is still only 23 years old. Of course, Profar won't keep up his .432 BABIP that he's currently sporting, but he's sporting a 23.3 percent line drive rate (before Thursday) and could well sit in the .320 BABIP range, giving him around a .300 average. With the pop that Profar has shown (.222 ISO), that will be plenty valuable in any league. Profar has been so impressive that the Rangers moved him to first base after Rougned Odor's return, as a way of getting him at bats. Now with Adrian Beltre out for a few days, it's over to third with Profar, and all these positions only add more to his value. There's a lot to like here with Profar, as his HR/FB rate doesn't jump out, and he should start stealing a few bases at some point, too. He had four in 42 games in Triple-A this season. If he's somehow still available in your league, snatch him up.
Leonys Martin
Martin didn't play in his rehab game Thursday due to the condition of the field, and the team not wanting to risk his hamstring injury getting worse. That being said, Martin should be picked up if whatever owner had him for his hot streak dropped him with the injury. Martin has eight home and nine steals in just 44 games this season, and while those paces won't last, he is definitely deserving of a roster spot even in ten-team mixed leagues. Martin's hard hit ball rate is up ten percent this season over his career, and while that alone can't explain the massive jump in HR/FB rate (21.4 percent up from 8.9 percent), but it certainly makes the number seem a little more likely to stay in the 14-17 percent range. Martin is also hitting fly balls at a way higher rate than any previous season, and he looks like a new hitter. Martin did flash some power at Triple-A in 2012, hitting 12 home runs in 55 games, and the speed is legitimate. Martin stole 67 bases in his two full seasons with the Rangers. Personally, I cut Grichuk for Martin, and there are plenty of guys on rosters who should be dropped in favor of Martin even if it takes a day or two more before he returns to the bigs.
Robbie Grossman
Grossman has been a lone bright spot for the Twins this season, as the 26-year-old former Astro is slashing .328/.449/.641, albeit in just 19 games. The most impressive part of Grossman's profile is his walk rate, currently at 17.9 percent, a bit higher than his career rate, but that has always been a strength. Grossman has never really shown the power he has displayed in this 19-game stretch, however. Grossman is sporting a .213 ISO, with four home runs so far. That home runs won't keep flying out of the park at that rate, but he is indeed hitting the ball a lot harder than in previous stints at the pro level (37.0 hard hit ball rate). He's also hitting more fly balls, and if he can establish a place in the Twins lineup, he's pretty intriguing. Grossman also has a .386 BABIP, but he has always been able to hold an above-average BABIP, and I could see that staying around .340 if he continues hitting the ball as hard as he is right now. At that rate, a .285ish BA with 12-15 or so more home runs, has plenty of AL-Only and even deeper mixed league potential. What could make Grossman a possible ten-team mixed option, though, is something that hasn't actually shown up yet. Grossman stole 30+ bases in two separate minor league seasons, and had 14 steals in 93 Triple-A games last year. If he can steal 10-15 bases along with the rest of his projections he's going to be on a lot of people's radar and you may regret waiting for him "to prove it," instead of biting the bullet and seeing if he can stay hot.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Dae-Ho Lee
If Lee is in the starting lineup Friday, he should be in your starting lineup. Lee has eight home runs in 109 plate appearances and is hitting .296 in his limited action. Lee is a righty going up against lefty Derek Holland, and half Lee's home runs have come against lefties this season. Holland has been very mediocre this season and isn't able to strike out batters any more. The risk with Lee is that he's not an every day guy, but if you can check that first, you'll get the discount of a not-every-day guy with the same production regardless.
DraftKings: $2,800
