Alex Colome (SP-TB)
Alex Colome has gotten off to a good start after joining the Rays rotation in late April. He is 2-0 with a 26.3% K Rate and a .184 ERA. Small sample size to be sure but there is more going on here. He has a 13% swinging strike rate, he hasn't walked a batter yet, or given up a HR. Now for the good news. Colome has a lively 94 mph fastball but he been able to reduce the speed on his change to 83 mph which provides that magical 10 mph differential between fastball and change that is devastating for batters. It's true that he is basically a two pitch hurler, but he is starting to mix in a curve which has been in the same range of effectiveness as his changeup. The curve is key to keeping batters off balance the 2nd and 3rd time through the order. Colome could be on the road to reaching his potential which I think is a #2 SP. While he is only throwing his curve 8% of the time, this is more than twice as often as he used it in the past. Colome is a pitcher to watch and if he is still on the waiver wire I would go pick him up.
Devon Travis (2B-Toronto) $3300
Rookie Devon Travis is making an early case for AL Rookie of the Year. He has clubbed 7 HR's and driven in 23 while batting a sound .289 after going 0-4 in today's game. He has a .574 slugging percentage which he only approached once in his Minor League career with the Tigers organization. The question on everyone's mind is can he keep this up or is this just a super start that will flame out. Travis has only average batted ball speed on his HR's but he has shown good average true distance of 402.4 feet. If you are looking for power producing infielders to compare him with I would pick Jhonny Peralta who has similar bat speed and distance on his HR's. Peralta and Travis also have comparable contact rates right about at league average. There is no chance that he keeps up this HR/FB rate of 22.6%. Despite his diminutive size at 5-9/195, I do see him as a batter like Peralta who could hit 20+ HR's with a solid BA and Travis has the advantage of the favorable park he plays in. Very valuable in any fantasy league but let's see him do this over an entire season. Travis makes an excellent play at $3300 on DraftKings on Saturday.
Brian McCann (C-NYY)
Brian McCann has been slow out of the gate again this season with a .231 BA and just 3 HR's. He was 1-3 in today's game with a HR and 2 RBI's. Last season he cracked 23 HR's but batted only .232 due to a very low .231 BABIP. The low BABIP continues again this 2015 campaign with a .247 mark that certainly has impeded his BA once again. More concerning is his extremely low 13% LD rate which is well below his 20.1% lifetime average. Unfortunately many of his hits can be attributed to a very high Infield Hit Rate of 14.3% which is not sustainable for his skillset. His 23% hard hit rate on balls in play is way off his career 35% numbers. While his FB rate is well within his career range, his HR/FB rate of 5.7% is not. This all adds up to a hitter who is not making solid contact now but his history tells us that he will. Perhaps today's HR will be the start of something good.
Jason Kipnis (2B-Cleveland)
After a very slow start, Jason Kipnis came alive once he started to bat at the top of the Cleveland order. He has had 12 hits including 3 doubles, 2 HR's and 4 RBI's since May 1st and went 1-4 with a run scored in today's game. Everything went awry for Kipnis last season as his HR/FB rate dropped from 12% to 5% and he was completely derailed by a serious oblique injury. It was just one year before when he was a budding breakout star batting .284 while smacking 17 HR's, driving in 84, and stealing 30 bases. The indicators for Kipnis are all pointing in a very positive direction. His contact rate is up 6% and is approaching elite range at 89%. The HR/FB rate is back up to 10% and with his underlying skills it should go even higher. A strong rebound is very much in the cards for this talented 28 year old and the window of opportunity to buy low on him has long since passed.
Brian Dozier (2B-Minn)
Brian Dozier is coming off a breakout season where he smacked 23 HR, scored 112 runs, knocked in 71, and stole 21 bases. He is a heavy fly ball hitter without strong bat speed or significant distance on fly balls so mix in a 76% contact rate and he is going to be a BA liability. He has gotten off to mixed start this season with only 2 HR's and 2 stolen bases to go along with a .228 BA but his 22 runs scored and 14 RBI's makes him quite valuable at the top of the order. He was 1-5 in today's game with a double and run scored. Once he raises his FB% to more normal levels you will see a spike in HR production. He is pulling the ball more this year and as a result he has not been effective going to the opposite field as he had been last season. He is only 27 so he can make the proper adjustments, but I don't see him approaching the all-around production that he did last year.
