Austin Gomber- P- COL- Hot- Gomber bounced back from a poor start to record his 3rd quality start in 4 outings since coming off the IL. He threw 6 shutout IP, allowing 5 hits, walking no one, and struck out 9. His ERA of 3.79 is almost identical to his 3.78 FIP, so he is not outperforming his underlying numbers. Yesterday's gem at Coors Field dropped Gomber's home ERA to 1.70. He has a 5.40 ERA on the road. His FIPs are closer together, 4.05 at home before yesterday and 4.00 on the road. So he isn't really pitching differently depending on location. It looks like Gomber is not suffering any lingering effects from forearm tightness and is good to start on your team.
Christian Walker- 1B- ARI- Hot- Walker hit his 5th homer of the season in a 1-for-3 performance. He has not been putting up the numbers he did in 2019-2020. Walker is slashing .236/.293/.355. His Exit Velocity is at 88.1 after being 90.4 last season and 91.1 in 2019. Walker's HardHit% has also dropped from 48.8% in 2019 to 48.5% last season to 40.2% in 2021. Walker may be a candidate for a comeback in 2022. He has had two stints on the IL this season with oblique issues. That's the sort of thing that can sap power from a hitter. His ISO plunge from .188 in 2020 to .120 this season could be injury-related.
Colin Moran- 3B- PIT- Cold- Moran made his first start since coming off the IL. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and struck out twice. Moran didn't have a great rehab stint of 9 games at AAA Indianapolis as far as average went. He slashed .200/.276/.520 while at AAA. The average was negatively impacted by a .176 BABIP and the SLG was boosted by 2 homers in 25 ABs. With Pittsburgh over the course of the season he s slashing .273/.341/.404. Moran's MLB numbers reflect almost the opposite of what he put up during rehab. His BABIP with the Pirates is .364, supporting his average. Moran has hit 4 homers in 179 PAs with the Pirates. This is more in line with what he put up in years other than 2020, when he slugged 10 homers in 200 PAs. Last year his Exit Velocity was 91.9 and HardHiit% was 47.2%. In 2021 Moran is at 87.9 and 31.9%, respectively. The small sample size season of 2020 is looking like an outlier for Moran. Expect regression to the mean to negatively impact an average to some extent. His career BABIP is .326 so the impact may not be as much as you'd expect, given his current BABIP. His power numbers should stay fairly steady for the rest of the season.
J.D. Davis- 3B- NYM- Rise Value- Davis is part of a platoon situation with the Mets. He is starting against southpaws but does also get the occasional start against RH pitching. Davis has performed well in limited work in 2021, slashing .289/.400/.474 with 4 homers in 115 PAs in the majors after going 0-for-4 with a walk and 3 Ks yesterday. He slashed .316/.469/.737 with 4 homers in 49 PAs with AAA Syracuse. In both places this season Davis has been helped by good fortune. At Syracuse his BABIP was .400 and it's .429 with the Mets. Davis hasn't exhibited good plate discipline with the Mets, with a SwStr% of 18.1% and K% of 32.2%. With an Exit Velocity of 89.1 and HardHit% of 40.7% the power will likely stay. Regression to the mean and the K% will have a negative impact on his average.
Frank Schwindel- 1B- CHC- Hot- With Patrick Wisdom getting most of the starts at 3B for the Cubs Schwindel has been at 1B. He has started the last 5 games and hit safely in all of them. Schwindel is 7-for-20 in his streak with a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. There could be some regression o the mean happening. Schwindel was batting .143 with a .133 BABIP in 21 PAs before the streak started. Now he is at .244 with a .258 BABIP. His Exit Velocity of 88.9 and HardHIt% of 31.0% for the season has been roughly maintained in the last 5 games. Schwindel likely has room for more positive regression. He also has 17 homers in 246 PAs at AAA this season, so some additional power may come as well. Schwindel is a late season sleeper candidate in deep leagues.
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