Kevin Kiermaier
Kiermaier stayed red hot Thursday, going deep twice more, bringing his season total to 11 home runs, four of which have come in the last week. Kiermaier is now sporting a 12-game hit streak, with four steals during that streak, and has seven hits in his last two nights. So should you pick him up? Well, it's never a bad idea to pick up someone as scorching hot as Kiermaier, and the good news is the schedule is favorable in the next few series. Kiermaier gets three more days in Yankee Stadium, before three games in Toronto and then three in Baltimore. All nine of those games are in VERY favorable stadiums for run scoring, and come against non-elite pitching staffs. As for Kiermaier himself, his BA was begging for a bit of positive regression before this outburst, and while the power isn't projected to get much better than this, his fly ball rate is indeed up ten percent from 2015, and his hard hit ball rate is up eight percent. There's a decent amount to like here long-term, and a ton to like here down the playoff stretch. Grab him now, while he's still available in 90 percent of ESPN leagues. That won't last.
Brian McCann
McCann has been lost in all the Gary Sanchez hooplah, but hit two home runs Thursday, giving him three long balls in his last three games. McCann has only started three times behind the plate since August 12, but is getting quite regular time at the Yankee DH spot. Looking ahead, it's a bit of a mixed bag for McCann. For starters, with the way Sanchez has taken to the majors, it's hard to imagine McCann being the regular Yankee backstop ever again. He's 32 years old, and has been declining for several seasons. That being said, 2016 has actually seen a bit of a reverse in decline in a couple key areas. For one, McCann's line drive rate (21.5 percent) is back in line with career norms after a big drop in 2015. That has helped his BABIP bounce back a bit, although that hasn't translated to his actual BA yet. McCann's hard hit ball rate (34.5 percent) is also back to his career rate, after two seasons in the dumps. Overall, I kind of like McCann as a deep sleeper in 2017, someone who will be written off and looked over, despite a season in which he will maintain catcher eligibility, and may well have his 2016 stats as a floor for 2017.
Trevor Bauer
Bauer had a very blah start Thursday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings, while striking out just two. Bauer got the win, improving to 11-6, but has been not nearly as sharp in his past couple months as he was to start the season. If we zoom in even closer, Bauer has just 13 strikeouts compared to eight walks in his past four starts, a terrible K/9 of 4.5, that would rank dead last among qualified pitchers in 2016. The biggest upside for Bauer is indeed his wins, and with his next outing coming in Chicago against the White Sox, there's a definite possibility of a win. However, he'll be facing Jose Quintana, and given the low ceiling in the rest of the categories you need from a pitcher, I wouldn't be tripping over myself to pick up Bauer any time soon in mixed leagues.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Jonathan Lucroy
After a night off Thursday, Lucroy should be fresh for a nice matchup Friday. Lucroy and the Rangers face the left-handed Tyler Skaggs in Los Angeles. While Skaggs has been better in his last couple of starts, he still owns a 4.71 ERA and 4.23 xFIP this season. Lucroy has been awesome since coming over to Texas, .295/.368/.611 in his 29 games with the Rangers, with a 162-game pace of 50 home runs. Of course, to extrapolate such a small sample is silly, but the fact remains he has been elite with Texas. That bodes well for Friday, as well as his long-term future, and he has another year in Texas to rake.
Yahoo: $18
Jarrod Dyson
It keeps surprising me to see Dyson this low on the daily leagues, considering he is getting in the lineup consistently these days, and playing well on top of that. With Lorenzo Cain out, Dyson has been in the starting lineup nine straight games, and during that stretch is hitting .350 with eight runs, four RBI, three extra-base hits, two walks, and most importantly, six steals. Six steals in nine starts! The crazy thing is that isn't even that ridiculous a pace for Dyson. He has 26 steals this season in just 282 plate appearances, putting him on pace for basically a steal every other game he starts. Dyson gets the platoon advantage Friday, as well, and has averaged ten points a game in Yahoo over that recent nine-game stretch. Enjoy the bargain while it lasts.
Yahoo: $9
