Jung Ho Kang (SS/3B-PIT) - In NL-only and deeper mixed leagues, Kang is likely already rostered on someone's bench or DL, but if not, keep his name in mind. Kang is currently out with a knee injury, but he has now begun a minor league rehab assignment going 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored while playing seven innings of third base Monday. That seems to indicate he's fine physically, but Kang will likely need a week or more of minor league at-bats to get comfortable enough at the plate to be activated. That indicates a late-April return is possible. Kang hit a solid .287/.355/.461 with 15 homers and five stolen bases in 126 games for the Pirates last year. Far from the 40 bombs he hit in his last season in the Korean league, but that level of production wasn't expected. It's possible that if he can eventually stay healthy enough to play 150 games that Kang could go for 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases, and given that he will have SS and 3B eligibility this year, Kang could even have value in 12-team mixed leagues as a mix-and-match SS/3B option when other guys are slumping or have off-days. In DFS formats, keep in mind he hit just .238 vs. lefties and .300 against RHP a year ago even though he bats from the right side.
Scooter Gennett (2B-MIL) - Gennett kept up his hot start Tuesday, going 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI against the Twins. That brought him to a surprising .283/.400/.543. Considering last year's .264/.294/.381 mark, Gennett is fortunate to be playing for a bottom-feeding team, as after last year, there's little chance a contender would give him a starting job. Gennett though already has three home runs in 46 at-bats after smacking just six last year in 375 at-bats. His minor league high was nine long balls in a season (three times), so we're probably not going to see a power explosion here. Still, he could hit in the .280s with double-digit HR and even hitting second in a below average lineup should yield 65 or so runs. Not a bad guy to have in deeper mixed and NL-only formats. He's utterly useless against LHP in case you ever consider him in DFS games.
Jonathan Villar (SS-MIL) - Villar is off to a nice start this season, going 2-for-4 (singles) on Tuesday to elevate him to .282/.404/.410 on the young season. Villar is thought to be a mere placeholder for top prospect Orlando Arcia, but at this point, there's no incentive to recall the 21 year-old Arcia (.289 in Triple-A). Villar and his .404 OBP were batting seventh on Tuesday while leadoff man, 3B Colin Walsh (cue the "who?" comments) is now 1-for-14 after getting his first hit Tuesday. Considering Villar's OBP and 35-40 SB upside, it's a curious lineup, but perhaps that changes. When Arcia is ready, it's possible Villar could shift to third base ahead of Aaron Hill and Walsh, but for now, he's a nice sleeper in all roto and DFS formats given his low salary.
Jeremy Jeffress (RP-MIL) - Jeffress notched his fifth save of the season Tuesday in a win over the Twins. In seven games, Jeffress has tossed 6.2 innings while allowing no runs on five hits with a 5:1 K:BB. So far he's lost about two mph (at 94.3 mph average now) off his velocity shown back in 2014, but he's also compensated by improving his control quite a bit since his wild days in Kansas City and even in his first stint with the Brewers in 2010. From 2010-2012, Jeffress had a combined BB/9 of an ugly 6.9, but he got that down to 2.9 in 68 innings last year and is looking like he'll continue the improvement in 2016. The only thing keeping Jeffress from elite closer status is the relatively low strikeout rate, but we could see that improve over time given how hard he throws. Will Smith should be back sometime in June from a knee injury, but Jeffress is making huge strides in locking down this job.
Alex Wood (SP-LAD) - Wood was hit hard by his former team the Braves Tuesday, allowing six runs (just three earned) on seven hits over four mediocre innings. He walked three and struck out one in seeing his ERA rise to 5.06. This one is particularly disappointing given Wood allowed just one run over seven innings against the Diamondbacks in his last start, so that's two poor starts and one good one for the southpaw. In 16 total innings, Wood has allowed hitters to bat .303 against him while posting a 7:8 K:BB. Wood would likely be in the bullpen by now if the Dodgers actually had options. Mike Bolsinger (oblique) is out indefinitely, Brandon McCarthy (elbow) won't be back until at least July, and Brett Anderson (back) may be out for the year. Oh and they Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder/groin) keeps having setbacks. That should earn Wood another start or two, but the leash may be getting shorter.
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