Travis Jankowski
Expect Jankowski to be one of the hottest pick ups in the upcoming days, as he stole his fourth base of his last three games as part of a 2-for-5 effort with an RBI. Jankowski is owned in just 0.2 percent of ESPN leagues, but I would bet that he is up to 10 percent within a week. Jankowski has nine steals in just 80 plate appearances, an absurd rate. He has 14 runs, five RBI and a home run in those 80 plate appearances and a decent .261 batting average. His .364 OBP is a lot sexier, especially given that once he gets on with a walk, there's a good chance he's taking second with the steal. The steals are legitimate, as well, as he stole 71 bases in the minor leagues in 2013, and 32 in less than 100 games in the minors last season. He has been in the starting lineup four of the last five days, and is making regular late-game appearances thanks to his defense and speed. He should definitely be owned in NL-Only while he runs hot, and deep mixed league owners should be taking a look at if his psot in the lineup becomes more steady with the productive streak he is having.
Santiago Casilla
Casilla continued his excellent return on what was one of the cheaper closer options before the 2016 season. Casilla is proof positive that waiting on saves in your draft can be an efficient strategy. (Just ignore the Glen Perkins and Sean Doolitle-sized holes in your roster.) Casilla locked down his 16th save of the season, striking all three in a one-hit inning. Casilla lowered his ERA to 2.48 in the process, with a FIP (3.23) and xFIP (2.64) that show that is a maintainable figure. Casilla is striking out 11.79 batters per nine, and could actually see his numbers improve if a few less fly balls start leaving the yard. Casilla's ground ball rate is excellent, and he has been inducing plenty of pop ups this season. His strand rate is a bit high (90.9 left on-base percentage), but that's the only (minor) red flag. On a team like the Giants, Casilla will continue to lock down saves, and provide plenty of returns
Joe Panik
The Giant offense has been red hot, sporting a shiny 127 wRC+ over the previous 14 days, even before their five runs on Thursday. Panik has been one of those hot pieces, with a six-game hit streak, and hits in 13 of his last 14 games. Panik has 16 runs and 12 RBI in those 14 games, with a home run and two steals to boot. Panik is available in almost 30 percent of ESPN leagues, so if you're in a shallow league, it's worth checking if he's still there. If he is, snatch him up, as signs point to him being a lot closer to "hot streak Panik" than "beginning of season Panik." He still has room to improve in terms of his BABIP, currently sporting a .269 BABIP, despite a career BABIP of .317. His line drive rate is down five percent this year, but that shouldn't cost him fifty points of BABIP, especially given the fact that his hard hit rate is right in line with his career. Panik's improved HR/FB (8.0 percent up from 6.0 career) rate doesn't jump off the page, but rather looks like a natural progression for a 25-year-old. There's a lot to like moving forward here.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Cody Reed
Another high-risk/high-reward play on Friday, I'm all in on Reed. He has elite-level strikeout stuff, and his xFIP (3.26) is a lot prettier than his ERA (5.14). If he can keep the ball in the park against the Padres (in Great American Ball Park), he should be mighty valuable. Reed is pitching in just his second professional game, having given up four runs (on a pair of home runs) in seven innings against Houston (in Houston) in his debut. The key number, though, was his nine strikeouts that jump off the page. Reed is the Reds top pitching prospect, and the 23-year-old has a nice pedigree. Reed touched 96.9 mph with his fastball, and got 12 whiffs with slider. He was pretty much a two-pitch pitcher, tossing 50 fastballs, 36 sliders and just six changeups. The Padres are the third-worst hitting team in baseball against fastballs, and the fifth-worst against sliders. I really like this match up for Reed, as the Padres are also in the bottom third of the league in home runs hit, the one bugaboo for Reed in his debut. Reed should also be picked up in your non-daily leagues, by the way.
DraftKings: $7,200
Tyler Anderson
We'll complete the trifecta with a third pitcher who carries a bit of risk, but I like on Friday. It's always ballsy to select a pitcher going in Coors, especially one who has only made two career starts. That being said, Anderson's first two starts have been excellent, and one of them came in Coors. His debut was a 6.1 inning, six-hit, six-strikeout, one-run win over the Padres in Coors Field. He followed that up with 5.2 innings of four-hit, one-walk, four-strikeout, two-run ball in a loss to the Marlins in his second start. The success was no illusion, as his FIP (1.71) and xFIP (2.67), despite the small sample size, portend even more success ahead. He has just one walk on the season, and relies heavily on the changeup, a nice anecdote to the Coors Effect on breaking balls. Anderson faces a strong Diamondback lineup, so just in case you want to hedge your bet, you might want to go with Yasmany Tomas. Tomas is a nice cheap power option, as he has
DraftKings: $6,800
Hedge Yasmany Tomas: $4,100
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