John Jaso- 1B- PIT- Idea- Jaso is off to a hot start, with an average of .351. He did some damage against RH pitching in 2015 with a slash line of .285/.365/.465. The Brewers will be starting Jimmy Nelson, who had a solid rookie campaign in 2015 but did show weakness against LH hitting. Nelson's .298/.381/.495 slash line against them last year makes it likely Jaso will continue his hot streak. Value play- Draft Kings salary $3100
Nick Markakis- OF- ATL- Hot- Markakis went 2-for-4 with a double yesterday to raise his average to .303. He is enjoying a .345 BABIP early in the season after having it at .338 in his first season with Atlanta last year. Some regression to the mean is expected for him as the season progresses. Markakis had a preseason projection of a .284 average, down from .296 in 2015. That still isn't bad but if you can get someone to pay for a .300+ average now it would be time to sell high.
Stephen Strasburg- P- WAS- Great Player- Strasburg has won both of his starts this season and both were of the quality variety. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 7.2 IP while striking out 7. Strasburg has failed to record a quality start only once in 12 outings since returning from the DL in August of last year. He is showing what he can do when healthy. With a strong Nationals team behind him Strasburg should be a major producer in all categories this season.
Danny Espinosa- SS- WAS- Drop Value- Espinosa went hitless for the 6th straight game yesterday and his average now sits at .130. Meanwhile, down at AAA Syracuse, prime prospect Trea Turner went 1-for-4, which caused his average to drop all the way to .421. If things don't change fairly soon, expect a new SS in the Nation's Capital before long.
Matt Cain- P- SF- Cold- Yes, it was in Coors Field, but still getting rocked for 6 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 4.2 IP is disappointing for Cain. He had registered a quality start in his first outing of 2016 but yesterday was far from that. Since coming off the DL last year Cain has only posted 4 quality starts in 13 he has made. One bright spot yesterday was his 7 Ks. It was in 2012 that Cain was last a top tier fantasy pitcher. The signs are not there yet that he has returned to anywhere near that level. Cain's preseason projection was for a 4.05 ERA. That's well below where he was a few years ago.
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