Brandon Nimmo (OF-NYM) went 3-5 with a triple against the Dodgers on Saturday. Finally locked into a full-time role (and batting leadoff), Nimmo is absolutely raking over the past eight games, recording a .395 average (15-28) with five extra-base hits (three homers), and nine RBI. Especially in OBP leagues, Nimmo merits attention, for his season line is up to .284 (.400 OBP) with 12 homers, 25 RBI, 38 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. While he does strike out a good bit (27.2%), he does walk a lot (11.9%) and his .364 BABIP doesn't appear unsustainably high based on his major and minor-league track records (he has a career .356 BABIP in the majors, and he posted a few .340+ BABIP seasons in the minors). Nimmo hits for average, hits for power, and steals some bags, yet he is still available in over 31% of ESPN leagues.
Ozzie Albies (2B-ATL) went 4-5 (all singles) with an RBI against the Orioles on Saturday. After starting off slow in June by going 7-61 (.115 average) through June 16th, he has turned it on over the past five games by going 9-23 (.391). The overall numbers are nice for Albies beyond the .258 average, as he has smacked 16 homers while driving in 44 runs, scoring 56 runs, and swiping 6 bags. His 16.9% strikeout rate isn't really a problem, but his .270 BABIP indicates that his average should rise if he approaches the BABIP rates that he regularly posted in the minors (for example, a .342 BABIP and .285 average in Triple-A last season). There is a lot to like about his peripherals - a 36% hard-hit rate, 21.1% liners, and 41.8% flyballs, for example - although his 14.7% HR/FB seems a bit high for him (his 8.2% in the majors last season was higher than anything he ever posted in the minors). Based on that - and his .231 ISO (in the minors, he never posted an ISO higher than the .171 that he recorded in 244 big-league plate appearances last season) - I would expect his power output to decline a little going forward as his average climbs a bit.
David Peralta (OF-ARI) went 2-4 with a double, triple, two RBI, and a walk as he hit out of the cleanup spot against the Pirates on Saturday. He is now batting .278 with 14 homers and 41 RBI on the season. After a poor May in which he hit .211 with just two homers and five RBI, he's heated up in June with a .329 average (27-82), seven homers, and 19 RBI. As good as he has been, his numbers may get better as his average should continue to rise toward his .290 career clip as his BABIP normalizes toward his career .337 rate. The power output is the big surprise here, as he has only once posted an ISO north of .181 during his major league career (back in 2015, when he posted a .210 ISO en route to hitting 17 homers over 517 plate appearances), yet he so far has a .223 ISO and 14 homers in 2018, already matching (in just 301 plate appearances) the number of home runs that he hit last season in 577 plate appearances. Going forward, I would expect a little more in the average department and a little less in terms of power.
Zack Greinke (SP-ARI) shut down the Pirates on Saturday, tossing six shutout innings in which he gave up just two hits and walked none while striking out seven. The outing was one of his best so far in 2018, and he is now 7-5 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Although the surface numbers aren't exactly great, his 3.30 xFIP and 3.38 SIERA indicate that he's actually been better than that. Indeed, he owns a solid 9.56 K/9 (8.24 career) and very good 1.78 BB/9 (2.17 career) while his strand rate is a bit high at 79.9% (74.9% career). At the same time, there is some reason for concern as Greinke approaches age 35. His average velocity is down across the board, as his 89.3 average fastball speed is well below last season's 91 while his secondary pitches are all down over an MPH each as well. Moreover, he is giving up a career-high 43.9% hard-hit rate (29.3% career) while he is inducing the fewest groundballs that he has since 2009 (41.2% in 2018, down from 46.8% last year). All that said, Greinke is probably a solid hold - I wouldn't be actively looking to buy or sell him unless a great deal comes along.
Julio Teheran (SP-ATL) got shelled in his 4.2 innings of work against the Orioles on Saturday, giving up seven runs (all earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out six. He's now 5-5 on the season with a 4.52 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 81.2 innings. In looking at his profile, the one positive is his 8.04 K/9, which would be his highest since 2013. Otherwise, things aren't pretty, as indicated by his 4.80 xFIP and 4.70 SIERA. His 4.30 BB/9 would easily be a career high (2.71 career, previous high was 3.66 in his 19.2-inning debut in 2011) and his .229 BABIP allowed is well below his .273 career rate, which suggests that his ERA will get even worse as more of those batted balls become hits. Moreover, he is giving up a career-high 38.4% hard-hit rate to opposing batters while 44.4% of batted balls given up are flyballs (41% career). And even though he is only 27, Teheran's velocity continues to decline; after logging averages of 90.4-91.5 MPH with his fastball since 2013, his fastball is averaging only 89.5 MPH so far in 2018 while his average slider is down from 82.5 MPH last year to 79.6 MPH this year. If you can get anything at all in return for him, I would try to unload him before things get even worse.
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