Do you think the Diamondbacks are happy with JD Martinez? I would say so, particularly after he went deep twice last night for his 2nd and 3rd HRs of the season (in the NL). Martinez's value sky-rocketed with the friendly move to Arizona and their suddenly potent offense. Martinez is making the best contact% of his entire career, and in part because of that, is having his best year ever. Continue to expect excellent results going forward and enjoy the ride.
Paul Goldschmidt had another day at the office yesterday, going 2-for-2 with two doubles and three walks. Talk about a unique stat line, but Goldie is a unique player. He's having another career year, and what is perhaps most interesting is that his LD% is the lowest that it's ever been, but he's counteracted that with the highest Hard% of his career. So even though he's hitting less LDs, he's still crushing flyballs that are going over the fence instead of leading to outs, hence the 21 HR so far. With a wRC+ over 150, he remains one of the game's elite players.
Former first round pick Aaron Blair gave up 5 runs off 5 hits in just 3 innings yesterday for the Braves. It was his first start of the season. Blair showed promise in AAA last season, but has brought virtually nothing to the table this year as he recorded a 1.48 WHIP in AAA. That said, despite the high round draft pick, he's not a recommended option in any format right now.
Jeff Samardzija rebounded big time yesterday, going 7 IP with 8 K and 1 ER for the win. The Shark screams as a buy low candidate; entering yesterday, his 5.05 ERA was a full 1.7 runs above his SIERA. Yesterday we saw some mean regression. If you can, definitely buy on the Shark at this point as a great mid-rotation arm. His numbers should come back down to earth, particularly so pitching in the friendly confines of San Francisco. More results like yesterday should occur soon.
Buster Posey quietly continued his dominant season yesterday as he went 1-for-1 with 3 walks. Posey is having the second best year of his career, but the poor guy can't collect an RBI; he has just 44 on the season despite a batting average of .328 in 89 games with 11 HR. At some point, he'll begin to drive in more runs and we'll see his value rise even further. He remains the #1 catcher option in baseball.
