Matthew Boyd, SP, DET
Boyd allowed 4 ER's in 5.1 IP against the White Sox on Thursday, but he struck out 13 without a walk. Boyd has struggled in terms of run prevention over the last month or so, as he now has a 6.03 ERA over his last 6 starts. However, he has a ridiculous 54:5 K:BB across 34.1 IP over the that same stretch and his xFIP has been around 3.00. This could be an excellent buy low opportunity if Boyd's owner thinks he has suddenly lost it, because the peripherals certainly don't make it look that way. He may get traded over the next month, and that would likely only increase his fantasy value as he would have a better chance at grabbing wins.
Byron Buxton, OF, MIN
Buxton went 0-2 against the A's on Thursday, but also walked twice and stole his 11th base of the season. For years, Buxton has been an exciting player in fantasy circles thanks to his power/speed combo, but his career 30% K% always carried with it a massive BA risk. And indeed he hit .225 or lower in 3 of his first 4 MLB seasons. But this year, Buxton has lowered his K% to an extremely respectable 22.7%, and his BA is a similarly respectable .250. This would be great if he could keep this up, and the sample size of nearly 250 PA's is relatively large, but his 14.5% SwStr% is still awful and actually higher than his career rate, which makes you wonder if he can maintain his contact improvements. The speed and power will like likely still be there, but I can't say he's out of the woods as far as being a BA-drain.
Michael Chavis, 2B, 3B, BOS
Chavis hit 1-4 with a 3-run HR on Thursday, giving the rookie 15 HR's and 47 RBI for the season. Chavis has tailed off considerably since his hot start with the Red Sox, although he now has 3 HR's and 2 doubles over his last 5 games. Overall, Chavis has a terrible 33.1% K% and is lucky to even be hitting .265. He BA has been carried by a .358 BABIP but his average Hard% and Exit Velocity don't support that kind of success. The same can be said for his 24.6% HR/FB%, which means we shouldn't expect a repeat of his early season HR barrage. He'll have opportunities to drive in runs as part of a strong Red Sox lineup, but his power is only decent, and he could end up being a BA liability.
Eloy Jimenez, OF, CWS
Jimenez went 1-4 with a HR and 3 RBI on Thursday, giving him 3 HR's over his last 6 games. He has been displaying his power often in recent weeks, as he now has 9 HR's and 22 RBI over his last 22 games. He has been striking out plenty with a 29.2% K%, so he'll have a hard time improving much on his .243 BA, but his power should keep him in fantasy lineups. His 26.9% HR/FB% does seem a bit inflated, but with a 45.3% Hard Hit% (82nd percentile), he should be able to maintain a high number in that category. He should be able to make a run at 30 HR's and get himself into the AL Rookie of the Year conversation.
J.D. Martinez, OF, BOS
Martinez has crushed lefties this season to the tune of a .358/.419/.821 slash line with 9 HR's in 67 AB's against them. On Friday, he'll have an excellent matchup against Tigers LHP Ryan Carpenter who has allowed 8 HR's to RH-hitters in 25.1 IP this season and has been terrible overall with an 8.82 ERA. DraftKings Value Play Salary $4,800.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Click here for details:http://www.insiderbaseball.
