Eric Thames connected with his 16th of the season off Johnny Cueto yesterday, and he also walked twice. With each game we have a larger and larger sample size, and Thames' season gets more and more impressive. The 28.8% HR/FB ratio is elite; given his pure power, it seems sustainable but a decrease wouldn't shock me. What's fantastic is his near 18% BB%, which is helping result in a crazy .415+ wOBA. At some point, he'll go through a large slump because his contact rate is sub-70% and his LD% is just 17.1%, but who knows when that will be. If you can get a more proven commodity for him, I'd pull the trigger, but I don't think we'll see a complete dropoff; the power should be there the rest of the way.
Chris Iannetta had one of the better games of his career, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a HR, and 7 RBI. Iannetta is a part timer so his value will be limited, though it's extremely impressive that he's tallied 8 HR in just over 100 PA. Those would be impressive numbers if extrapolated over a full season's worth; unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any likelihood of that happening. He's a better DFS player than full season guy, despite the excellent Thursday.
Slumping Wil Myers was 2-for-3 with a BB yesterday. Following a fantasy start to the season, Myers has cooled off immensely. It seems clear that he's pressing at the plate; he's swinging at far more pitches outside the zone, he's missing more pitches, and he's striking out a lot more. A recipe for disaster. The only saving grace is that with some patience (that he's exhibited historically) it should be an easy fix when the time comes. When he is making contact, its much in the same manner as he was last season, which led to 28 HR and 28 SB.
Johnny Cueto was un-Cueto like yesterday, going 5 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) while walking 4. Cueto looks like a good buy low target; his ERA is about a run worse than it should be, and he's missing a lot of bats. The big negative is that he's allowing very hard contact, which has resulted in a HR/9 that's more than doubled since last year. Even if Cueto is hit a little harder than last year, he'll benefit from the friendly confines of SF that will mask some skill deterioration. I'm buying, but don't pay top 10 for him.
Gerrit Cole was hammered yesterday for 11 hits and 7 ER in just 4.2 innings. The former #1 overall pick just can't seem to figure it out on the mound. His stuff seems great (96 MPH velocity), but he's struggling to strike many people out. His GB% of 46% is solid, and he's only walking 2 per 9. So what's the story? He's just posting average numbers, and you're getting an average return. He's pitching like a 4.00 ERA pitcher, though I do believe he has the potential for much better results. I'm just not sure that happens in 2017.
