Kennys Vargas (DH, Min): Vargas returned to the Twins earlier this month, and so far his success from Triple-A has carried over to the Major League level. He went 1-4 with a two run homer and a walk, and in his first 56 plate appearances this season he's put up a .326/.429/.717 slash with three home runs and nine doubles. He's still striking out 26.8% of the time, which is much too high, but he's making a ton of hard contact at 48.3%. His nine walks in those 56 PA's are encouraging as well; he's posted double-digit walk rates throughout many of his minor league seasons, but has only a career 6.2% BB% in the majors. He's a player with big upside, so particularly if his acquisition cost is cheap, he makes for an excellent speculative add.
Jonathan Schoop (2B, Bal): Schoop continued his strong 2016 campaign with his 17th home run and 27th double of the season. He's still an incredibly impatient hitter, walking only 3.4% of the time, but that hasn't stopped him from hitting .294/.326/.512, and he's also managed to cut his strikeout rate to 20.7%, a very manageable number for a power hitter in this day and age. The .333 BABIP isn't obscenely high, but given his batted ball profile which consists of a lot of fly balls and pop-ups, is should be expected to regress and bring his average down with it. Power like this is hard to come by from a middle infielder though, so even if the average continues to fall over the final two months of the season, he'll be worth holding on to.
Hanley Ramirez (1B/OF, Bos): Hanley had himself a day against the Twins, going 2-4 with his 13th home run of the year, scoring twice and driving in three. Hanley has managed a respectable .282/.362/.459 slash this season despite a spike in his strikeout rate, up from about 16.4% the previous two seasons to 19.1% this season. His plate discipline hasn't faltered; instead, it's his drop in contact that has fueled the strikeout increase. His contact rate is down over 4% from his career rate, and he's making less contact on pitches both in and out of the strike zone. He's managed to make enough hard contact (36.1%) to keep his BABIP up though, and being in that fantastic Boston lineup has raised his value with runs and RBI. The steals are right about where most people thought they would be at this point in the season, so Hanley looks like he should continue to be a solid contributor for the duration, assuming his injury issues don't flare up again.
Tim Lincecum (SP, LAA): Lincecum was shelled by the Astros, yielding eight runs on seven hits and two walks in only an inning and a third of work, failing to record a strikeout. He had been missing a few bats coming into the game but this wasn't a great matchup so hopefully anyone who owned him had him on the bench for this one. He has a .441 BABIP through his first seven starts this season, but not all of that is bad luck. He's allowed a 39% hard contact rate and 27.6% line drive rate to hitters this season, which is a combination that will always spell doom for a pitcher. Combine that with the fact that he's been putting men on base too frequently (4.50 BB/9) and you've got a recipe for disaster. He isn't a recommended option in any format.
Delino DeShields (OF, Tex): DeShields was recalled recently to replace the oft-injured Shin-soo Choo. He was solid at the dish, going 2-4 with a home run, double, and a stolen base hitting out of the nine hole. Given the Rangers talented youth that have been solid at the top of the lineup DeShields will probably continue to hit ninth moving forward, which is a clear damper on his fantasy outlook. He does draw his fair share of walks, posting a 9.8% BB%, but has only a .308 OBP due to his .226 average. He was struggling enough to earn his demotion earlier in the season no doubt, but he did get the short end of the stick from the Rangers brass partially due to the emergence of Nomar Mazara, who has cooled off substantially as the season has worn on. DeShields has the potential to be an every day player if he can make better contact, something he failed to do earlier this year, with an awful 16.7% hard contact rate. Even if you have elite speed, weak ground balls aren't the best way to get on base. He's worth rostering in deeper leagues for roto owners who are looking for cheap speed, but it's hard to bank on a huge emergence heading into the final two months of the season.
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