Dee Gordon (SS-LAD) - Gordon is going to be given a "few days" off in an effort to help him break out of a season-long slump. His K% is relatively reasonable at 19.4%, though with his contact ability, I would think it would be higher. He's not drawing walks (5.2% BB%), and he could probably even stand to bump up his GB% that currently sits at 54.3%. It's pretty amazing actually that a guy with a .239 OBP already has 12 stolen bases, but he'd probably have 20+ right now if he were actually getting on base. Looking at his PITCHf/x data, Gordon is swinging at too many pitchers outside the strike zone. We've seen young hitters learn to be more patient, and the hope here is that Gordon won't have to learn that at the Triple-A level. Fortunately for him, Justin Sellers is his backup, and Sellers is an even worse hitter.
Matt Adams (1B-STL) - Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, and now...Matt Adams? Yep. With Berkman injuring his knee, Adams got the call from Triple-A Memphis and will presumably get most of the starts at first base with Berkman sidelined. As for Berkman's knee, he doesn't think it's an ACL tear, but the injury looked to be significant, so Adams is worth an immediate pickup in deeper formats. All Adams was doing for Memphis was batting .340/.375/.603 with nine home runs in 152 PA's. Adams had a 17.2 AB/HR rate the previous two minor league seasons, so the power is legitimate. He won't steal bases and we'll have to see how much contact he's able to make off of big league pitching, but he's worth a grab for the HR potential alone.
Brett Hayes (C-FLA) - Hayes is a guy to keep an eye on in deeper formats. John Buck is still the starter, but that's likely due in large part to Buck's $18 million contract. Buck is batting just .186/.307/.351 with 4 HRs in 97 at-bats. He's struck out in nearly 30% of his PA's while walking about 10% of the time. Hayes got the start on Sunday, only his second since May 12 and went 2-for-4 with his first RBI of the season in a total of 40 at-bats. Don't expect Hayes to usurp Buck for the starting job, but perhaps he'll get a few more starts because of Buck's poor play.
Jose Reyes (SS-FLA) - After batting just .220 with four stolen bases in April, Reyes is starting to settle in with his new team. Two more hits on Sunday raised his overall line to .247/.331/.335, and he's swiped seven bags so far in May. He's also drawn 12 walks this month while striking out three times. That sort of contact rate is going to help Reyes inch toward .300 by season's end if he can keep it up. The 11 steals in spite of the .331 OBP is a good sign that Reyes' balky legs are healthy, so continue to consider him an elite fantasy shortstop going forward.
Aroldis Chapman (RP-CIN) - Chapman notched his first save of the season on Sunday after being tagged as the Reds' new closer on Sunday. The Reds announced that they were going with a committee approach, but Chapman is expected to be the primary guy. Others who could time include (in order of likelihood to accumulate saves) Logan Ondrusek, Jose Arredondo, and perhaps even Marshall. Chapman's overall numbers in 22.1 innings are pretty impressive - no runs, a 0.63 WHIP, 39:7 K:BB and just seven hits allowed. He's easily the most valuable fantasy reliever in the game right now.
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