Ian Desmond (COL) - Ian Desmond was activated from the disabled list on Monday after missing the last month with a calf injury. Desmond can play multiple positions, which is a good thing because Gerrardo Parra's strong hitting will make it difficult to keep him out of the lineup. Desmond makes for an affordable DFS option and a fine season-long play as Colorado finishes the season with six out of their final ten series at home. His .366 BABIP and consequently his .285 batting average is rather inflated in relation to his league average 30% hard hit rate.
Yoenis Cespedes (NYM) - The Mets revealed that Yoenis Cespedes has a hamstring strain in his right leg, an injury which will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. It's been a disappointing season for the 31 year old slugger. Cespedes has 17 home runs in 81 games played after hitting 31 in 132 games a season ago. After playing in 150+ games each of his final two seasons in Oakland & Detroit, Cespedes has dealt with injuries since coming to New York. Despite his elevated age, his hard hit rate has actually increased (42% this season and 39% last season vs 35% career hard hit %), but his launch angle has decreased which has resulted in just a 15% HR/FB rate this year.
Lucas Sims (ATL) - The youngster twirled a nice game against the Phillies going 6.1 innings pitched while allowing four earned runs on eight hits, just one walk and striking out seven. It was the most strikeouts the rookie has had in any start this season and he now owns a 22:9 strikeout to walk rate in 34.2 innings pitched. Sims is very much a pitch-to-contact type of pitcher, allowing an 83% contact rate with just a 30% hard hit rate. Surprisingly, however, he only induces groundballs 40% of the time, which is a really low number considering how often balls are put in play against him. Sims has flashed a solid strikeout in the minor leagues throughout his career, so there's certainly hope for some upside in the strikeouts as he further matures.
Buster Posey (SF) - 'Tis the season for injured catchers. Buster Posey said on Monday that he's going to take a few days off to rest his ailing thumb after undergoing an MRI on Monday. The catcher has been reportedly been dealing with this injury for over a week, but his entire second half has been a little low offensively. After slashing .324/.406/.498 before the all-break, he's hitting just .286/.385/.383 in the second half. Included in that is an ISO of .175 vs .098. Thumb injuries are infamous for killing power and this appears no different.
Rhys Hoskins (PHI) - Even when he doesn't hit a homerun, he's still being productive at the plate. Rhys Hoskins failed to hit a homerun in Monday's game, but he did tally two hits including a double, an RBI and a run scored in the Phillies' 6-1 win over the Braves. Hoskins's ISO Is now sitting at an insane .515 after hitting 11 homeruns and 2 doubles over his first 80 plate appearances. Incredibly, his hard hit rate is 49% and his medium hit rate is 35%. Will he continue? No, not at this pace, but ride him while he's hot. He does have 67 homeruns over the last two seasons in AA and AAA.
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