Jarrett Parker (OF, SF): Parker rounded the bases casually with his only hit of the night Sunday against the Cardinals, finishing 1-3 with two RBI on his second homer of the season. Parker will fill in for the brutally injured Hunter Pence while he's on the DL, and presents an intriguing power/speed combination for the short-term. He's not likely to stick as a long-term option due to his propensity for strikeouts; he's got a 35.8% career K% in the Majors, and even in AAA last season posted a 32.5% mark. He did go 23/20 however, so he's the type of player that can get on a hot streak and carry your team for a span of time, and if he's cold you can cut him and not lose any sleep over it. He makes for an interesting flier in deep leagues.
Wilson Ramos (C, Was): Ramos hit his eighth home run of the season off Reds starter Jon Moscot, finishing 3-5 with two runs and two RBI. Ramos has been a gold mine in an otherwise collapsed coal mine of a catcher position this season, hitting .350/.392/.569. His preseason Lasik surgery has clearly paid dividends, as he's also cut his strikeout rate a whopping 8.3% from last season, upping his contact rate by 6.9% as well. His 21.9% HR/FB is quite a bit higher than his 16.8% career mark, so the homers are likely to slow down a bit, but hitting in a strong Nationals lineup only helps ensure Ramos is a must-own fantasy catcher for the rest of the season.
Aaron Nola (SP, Phi): Nola had a strong start against the Brewers, throwing six shutout innings with eight hits, two walks and nine K's. He notched his fifth win of the season and dropped his ERA to 2.65. He has an absolutely outstanding 85:15 K:BB ratio in 78 IP this season, and that, coupled with a 53.9% ground ball rate, really lends to the profile of an ace pitcher. If there's anything to knock him for, it's a propensity to give up the long ball (0.81 HR/9) and maybe the fact that he pitches for the Phillies, but the latter is a bit out of his hands. Really, there's nothing not to love here. There's are strong peripherals backing up strong performance. Unlike a slew of other young pitchers this season, Nola should have no problem going 200 innings given his 180+ innings last season. He may fade a bit down the stretch, but Nola is more of a hold than a sell high.
Wil Myers (1B/OF, SD): Myers went 2-4 with his 10th homer of the season, also recording a double and two RBI. He's been a solid fantasy contributor this season, racking up six steals in addition to his 10 bombs with a .283/.315/.480 slash line. The lack of walks is peculiar, sitting at less than half of his walk rate from last year (5% from 10.7%). He's making more contact this season and whiffing less, so there's that, but OBP leaguers have to be a little bummed. There's nothing substantially out of line with his swing rates though, so perhaps we'll see him walk a little more as the season wears on. The biggest problem with Myers, of course, has been staying healthy. Time will tell if he can make it through an entire season while avoiding the DL, but I wouldn't fault anyone for wanting to sell now while his on-pace numbers are good and get out from under him before he gets nicked up.
Jon Gray (SP, Col): Big Jon Gray flashed his ace upside against the Padres, striking out 12 over seven frames. He yielded two runs on five hits and a walk. He's now sitting at 10.49 K/9 and 2.92 BB/9 in his nine starts, with a nice 48.5% ground ball rate to boot. The results haven't followed however, as his ERA still sits at 5.33 after the outing. His peripherals all call for improvement from that mark, and it's hard to argue with that when he's on like he was in this start. He's got the potential to be a big earner this season, so if you can find a Gray owner that is still tepid on him due to the bloated ERA, he's worth buying. He's young and there will be plenty of bumps in the road even in addition to the Coors effect, but he's got the pedigree and upside to be an impact starting pitcher in fantasy. He gets to face the Padres again with his next turn on the bump on Friday.
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