David Bote (2B/3B - CHC) - Bote had a huge game Wednesday, going 4-4 with a double, homer, and 7 RBIs in the 9-8 win over Colorado. His hard contact rate of 42.3% is surely going up after that outburst, and he's now hitting 289/363/503 for the season. The AVG is fairly suspect for me, as he has some pretty significant contact issues and is posting a BABIP of .332 despite a LD rate of only 18%, but there's plenty of pop here (79th in exit velo and an improved FB rate), and the positional flexibility is nice as well (he should be eligible at 2B and 3B everywhere, and he's played part of 1 game at SS and OF as well). I do expect some regression here, but he's still an interesting piece for your roster in most formats.
Sandy Alcantara (SP - MIA) - That's quality starts in 3 of his last 4 for Alcantara, who held the Brewers to 1 run on 5 hits through 7 innings Wednesday, walking 1 and fanning 5. Alcantara definitely has a live arm, reaching 95-96 consistently, which makes the disconnect between his 11.6% swinging strike rate and 5.77 K/9 look more positive than negative. His control is pretty rough though, and as such he's the sort of low floor arm that I have trouble utilizing...there is upside here though, and I do think he's deeper-league viable.
Tyler Mahle (SP - CIN) - I'm not totally enamored with the top of the pitching slate for Thursday, but Mahle ($7300) is intriguing to me in the middle tier. His revamped arsenal (scrapped the slider and change, added a curve and splitter) has added some value, and although he isn't missing any more bats, making the K/9 potentially a bit misleading, the control improvement has been outstanding. He is pitching more like a 3.75-4.00 ERA arm than what he's been able to post (4.26), and I think he has the upside that you want for that price range.
Adam Haseley (OF - PHI) - Just a week removed from AA, Haseley finds himself the new starting CF in Philadelphia after the season-ending injury to Andrew McCutchen. Haseley's first MLB hit ended up being a game-winning RBI double on Wednesday, and the former first-round pick looks like a rather well-rounded bat potentially, showing solid contact skills, developing power, and average-plus speed. I'd expect him to play mostly every day for the near-term, and he definitely warrants a spot in deeper leagues right now. For standard formats he's a borderline acquisition, as there's really no standout tool for him to lean on, but it's possible that he could become a 20/10 player with a helping AVG....much more of a high floor/low ceiling player than a potential star.
Josh Donaldson (3B - ATL) - The contact rate deterioration the past few years is a bit of a concern, but for those worried about Donaldson's power, don't be. I fully expect the 52% hard contact rate and #10 ranking in exit velocity to take hold as the weather warms up...I think 25-30 HR is still a strong possibility. I don't mind him as a buy low candidate, but I don't expect the AVG to be much of a helper unfortunately.
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