Matt Olson, 1B (OAK)
Olson connected for his seventh home run in his last 16 games, quieting any concerns over reduced power from his hamate bone surgery. Despite that injury typically affecting a batter's pop, Olson's ISO is actually 79 points higher than last year. He's only hitting .238, but his BABIP is .255 so it's reasonable to expect positive regression. The guy has a 53.6% hard hit rate! Yeah, his 22% HR/FB rate is elevated, but with that hard contact you can expect more home runs. Also he is hitting over 50% fly balls, which normally would be a concern, but if he can continue to hit the ball as hard as he is, that will result in a lot of home runs in the future.
Griffin Canning, SP (LAA)
Canning lowered his ERA to 3.06 with six 1-run innings on Wednesday, but his xFIP is over a run higher at 4.36 (beware of his 89% strand rate). He managed to strike out five Athletics, his third straight game with five K's, and it was his first career start without allowing a walk. He came into the day with a 16.4% swinging strike rate, but that's not likely to last. Canning really has a nice arsenal and appears to be starting to understand how to sequence against major league hitters, but that may come with less strikeouts. However, it should produce better surface results. With that being said, take caution with just how good he's been lately. With the elevated strand rate and opponents' BABIP of .203, regression is probable.
Wade LeBlanc, SP (SEA)
LeBlanc had his best start since returning from the injured list on May 18, allowing three runs in five innings while striking out five. He is showing nothing close to the solid performance he had last season. Opponents are hitting him hard and his cutter, which was excellent last year, is getting battered this year. He's still getting whiffs with the pitch, but he's also giving up hard contact. Last year, batters had a .131 ISO against LeBlanc's cutter. This year the ISO is .244. LeBlanc's cutter fueled his renaissance in 2018 but could be his demise in 2019.
Tim Beckham, SS (SEA)
Beckham's tenure on the pine appears to be short-lived as Mariners' youngster J.P. Crawford was put on the Injured List and could miss 3-4 weeks with a sprained ankle. Beckham was inserted right back into the starting lineup at shortstop and delivered his 10th homer of the year in Seattle's 8-7 loss to Texas. Beckham is 29 years old, and it's hard to imagine he will be able to drastically improve his plate discipline at this point in his career, and so as long as he makes contact barely more than 70% of the time and as long as he carries a swinging strike rate over 12%, he won't be able to improve on a batting average that tends to sit in the mid-200's. He has ability. He's capable of hitting 20 home runs, but an inconsistent approach limits his ceiling.
Jack Mayfield, SS (HOU)
Although he didn't get the start on Wednesday, Mayfield may be the most direct beneficiary of Carlos Correa's massage mishap. The 28-year-old rookie hit 10 home runs in 152 at bats at AAA-Round Rock before being called up earlier this week. He upped his walk rate to over 11% while lowering his strikeout rate to under 16%. He's a guy who can loft the ball and could be a contributor in the potent Astros lineup while the stars are on the mend. Also of note, particularly for DFS purposes, Mayfield is a reverse-split guy. He hits righties better than lefties. The Astros face right-handed Mike Fiers in their next game on Friday. Mayfield should be a great value play on DraftKings.
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