Julio Teheran - Teheran only allowed four hits and a walk (and three ER) over 7 1/3 innings Monday to tally his 5th straight QS, striking out 5 and picking up his 9th win of the year. It's been a disappointing season for the Braves' ace, but these past five outings have shown a return to form of sorts, as he's begun to once again utilize the top of the strike zone, something that seems to have resulted in a marked control improvement. The BB/9 have been the most evident problem for him this year, and I would imagine it's no coincidence that this 5 QS run has seen the BB/9 drop to around 1.5. I believe in this return to form for Teheran, and would once again value him as a solid #2/#3 in all formats.
Gregory Polanco - Polanco has improved his batted ball mix and hard contact rate significantly in the second half, and the results have definitely shown up in the stats as he was hitting 310/359/497 before a 4-5 day with 2 doubles on Monday. Polanco doesn't really project to be a big power hitter even with 2-3 more years to go before his physical prime, but the improvement in hard contact could help him boost his AVG to a point where it is a consistent help. That, combined with his good speed and a bit of power, should help him perform solidly as an OF3 over the next couple of seasons. If he does develop a bit more power, look out.
Wilmer Flores - Flores had the biggest night of the offensive explosion Monday, bashing a double and two homers with 3 R and 5 RBI. Flores has really made some strides this year, but they're not quite showing up completely in the standard statistics. His line increased to 265/298/418 with Monday's performance, but I really like the 3% bump in both LD rate and hard contact rate while maintaining the improved contact rate of nearly 88%. He's barely 24 and is eligible at both 2B and SS...for me he's a borderline MIF in standard-sized leagues already, and I like the potential for that to become a solid option by next season.
J.A. Happ - The move to the NL, as it typically does with pitchers, has agreed with Happ. After another six shutout innings against the Marlins Monday, Happ is posting monthly bests in K rate and ERA...when was the last time you saw Happ strike out more than a man per inning for any length of time? He's suddenly relevant again in most formats as a back-end rotation piece, and he's now working on 12 straight shutout innings going into a home tilt against the Rockies this weekend.
Starlin Castro - Castro has been an unadulterated mess this year, but just a week or two after losing most of his playing time it appears that he's right back in as the starting SS, as Jorge Soler's trip to the DL has resulted in a change in plans. The odds are against Castro, who has combined all of his occasionally occurring bad habits into one season here in 2015, but SS is a weak enough position that a 25 year old that has previously shown some offensive ability across the board is a reasonable flyer in many formats. And really, the fact that Castro is just 25 astounds me every time I take a look at his player page....it seems like he's gone through an entire career cycle in just 6 years, and that's probably because he has.
