Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX
Andrus went 3-4 with a 2B on Monday and continues to have a blistering September in which he's slashing .357/.430/.686 through 20 games. The hot streak has pushed his season BA to .302 which would be a career high. Andrus has always been an excellent contact hitter with decent BABIP's, yet he has never translated that into a really high BA. Part of the problem has been his complete lack of power, as over the past 6 seasons, he has averaged under 4 HR's a year despite having received over 650 PA's each year. This year, however, Andrus has managed a career high 8 HR's in thus far over 100 less PA's than his average season. And while 8 HR's doesn't make a power hitter, nor can his 4 HR's in September be considered a power surge, it is possible that Andrus develops moderate power as he heads into his age-28 season. Extra power would help not only in the HR and RBI categories, but with BA as well.
Dellin Betances, RP, NYY
Betances walked two batters and committed an error without recording an out on Monday, and was ultimately charged with 1 ER. It has been quite a cold spell for Betances who has a dreadful 15.00 ERA and 3.17 WHIP over his last 8 appearances covering 6 IP. While he does have 9 K's over that span, he has also walked eight, a surprising turn of events for a guy who only walked 20 through his first 66 IP this season. The sudden wildness could be a result of the wear and tear of the season, but it shouldn't affect his value heading into the 2017 season. Betances still holds an incredible 15.38 K/9 for the season with an exceptional 1.81 xFIP and should be considered one of the top closers in next year's drafts.
Robinson Cano, 2B, SEA
Cano hit two more HR's against the Astros on Monday giving him a career-high 35 for the season, and pulling the Mariners within two games of a wildcard spot. The 35 homeruns have to be considered a surprise as he hit that many homeruns in his previous two seasons with Seattle combined. The primary change is that he is once again putting the ball in the air consistently; after posting a FB% around 25% each of the past two years, that number has jumped to over 35% in 2016. The resurgence gives plenty of hope that Cano can continue hitting for power as he enters his mid 30's.
Fransisco Lindor, SS, CLE
After an 0-2 showing on Monday, Lindor has now gone 44 games without a HR (his last one coming on Aug 10) after he had 14 through the season's first 110 games. It probably wouldn't have been fair to expect him to continue at early season pace, as his FB% and Hard% are both quite low at around 27%. 14 HR's would seem to be a reasonable projection for next season unless we start to see him hit more FB's consistently. What's more surprising is his current 0-24 slump, and the fact that he only has 3 hits in his last 48 AB's. That slump, however, is unlikely to continue as Lindor continues to make good contact and owns an excellent 13.0 K% this season.
Justin Verlander, SP, DET
Verlander has been on fire since the beginning of July, posting a 2.16 ERA with 127 K's in 108.1 IP during that time, and not allowing more than 3 ER's in any of his 16 starts since July 1. On Tuesday, he'll take on Mike clevinger and the Indians, who just clinched the AL Central and are likely to start resting some of their regulars. DraftKings Value Play $11,600.
This is just a small sample of our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 player updates daily: http://www.fantistics.com/
