Yoan Moncada (CHW) -Yoan Moncada hit his 12thhome run of the season, but added 2 more strikeouts to bring his season total to 74, the 5thhighest total in the American League. Despite the gaudy total, Moncada has significantly cut down on his strikeout rate this season from 33% to 28%, despite seeing his swinging strike rate increase 2.5% and his chase rate go up nearly 9%. How do we reconcile that? It's not immediately clear, but it does seem like his more aggressive approach is unlocking previously untapped powerful, almost giving him a better command of the strike zone in the process. Getting less timid usually leads to higher strikeouts, but in Moncada's case, he's actually maintained his contact rates. This is all good news for the overall development of the infielder, but he has a ways to go before being considered among fantasy's elite.
Jose Ramirez (CLE) - Jose Ramirez notched his first hits of the month in Wednesday's game against the division-leading Twins. Ramirez continues to be extremely disappointing for fantasy owners who drafted him in the first round this spring. The writing was all over the wall for regression this year, but the pullback was largest projected by the significant drop in hard hit rate he experienced in the second half of 2018 and yet, his hard hit rate in 2019 has been a decent 38%. The bigger difference has been at a deeper batted ball level where Jose Ramirez is hitting more flyballs this year (hitting one in about every other plate appearance), yet his hard hit rate on flyballs is a paltry 29%, giving him an equally awful .086 BABIP in those at-bats. League average hard% on flyballs is 39.7% with a .118 BABIP. He did manage to steal his 15thbase on Wednesday, but the extra speed isn't making up for his lost production in the other categories.
Rafael Devers (BOS) -Rafael Devers hit a home run and a double while adding his 8thstolen base as the Red Sox trounced the Royals on Wednesday. The homer was Dever's 9thof the season as the 3rdbaseman continued his torrid stretch since the beginning of May. Devers was a Fantistics darling this pre-season as one of the Draft Advisory Program's favorite picks for a breakout performer and he's fully living up to the hype. Dever has even exceeded expectations with an impressive .318/.375/.515 slash line.
Mike Minor (TEX) -Mike Minor tossed another impressive game against the Orioles on Wednesday, shutting them out as he pitched into the 6thinning. Minor improved his ERA to 2.55 as he finished with a line of 5.2IP, 7H, 0ER, 2BB and 7K. The left-hander has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners this season in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery. After Wednesday's game, Minor's ERA is at 2.55, while his xFIP is at a much higher 3.96. His strand rate of 87% is likely unsustainable, so it's likely we will see some pullback in Minor's numbers over the rest of the season, but some of his success is warranted, particularly evidenced by his 11.9% SwStr%, 79.7% zone contact rate and solid 63% first strike percentage.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr (TOR) -Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a go-ahead home run in 8thinning against the Yankees on Wednesday, giving the Blue Jays a boost in a comeback win. Guerrero now has 7 home runs in what has equated to a little over a month into his major league career. The best part about the rookie is that his excellent plate approach has translated nicely to the pro level with a 9% walk rate and just an 18% strikeout rate. The average hasn't translated yet, but that should come as his batted ball luck gets in line as he currently sports a low .269 BABIP despite a great 44.8% hard hit rate.
This is just a small sample of our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Follow for details: https://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Follow to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
Yoan Moncada (CHW) -Yoan Moncada hit his 12thhome run of the season, but added 2 more strikeouts to bring his season total to 74, the 5thhighest total in the American League. Despite the gaudy total, Moncada has significantly cut down on his strikeout rate this season from 33% to 28%, despite seeing his swinging strike rate increase 2.5% and his chase rate go up nearly 9%. How do we reconcile that? It's not immediately clear, but it does seem like his more aggressive approach is unlocking previously untapped powerful, almost giving him a better command of the strike zone in the process. Getting less timid usually leads to higher strikeouts, but in Moncada's case, he's actually maintained his contact rates. This is all good news for the overall development of the infielder, but he has a ways to go before being considered among fantasy's elite.
Jose Ramirez (CLE) - Jose Ramirez notched his first hits of the month in Wednesday's game against the division-leading Twins. Ramirez continues to be extremely disappointing for fantasy owners who drafted him in the first round this spring. The writing was all over the wall for regression this year, but the pullback was largest projected by the significant drop in hard hit rate he experienced in the second half of 2018 and yet, his hard hit rate in 2019 has been a decent 38%. The bigger difference has been at a deeper batted ball level where Jose Ramirez is hitting more flyballs this year (hitting one in about every other plate appearance), yet his hard hit rate on flyballs is a paltry 29%, giving him an equally awful .086 BABIP in those at-bats.
League average hard% on flyballs is 39.7% with a .118 BABIP. He did manage to steal his 15thbase on Wednesday, but the extra speed isn't making up for his lost production in the other categories.
