Lonnie Chisenhall (3B-CLE): Lonnie Chisenhall hit his 6th homer of the season to push his OPS to .829. He's posting career-highs in hard hit and line drive rates and is holding his own against lefties, upping his wOBA to over .300 against them to earn himself more consistent playing time. His .340 BABIP is due to regress slightly, as his .290 mark on groundballs is well above where it should be given his speed and hard hit rate; but otherwise, he looks legit. Buy.
Cam Bedrosian (RP-LAA): Cam Bedrosian backed up a mediocre Matt Shoemaker by striking out the side in the 6th. Bedrosian, who carries a 95 MPH fastball and has posted a 26% K-rate and 53% ground ball rate, has closer stuff and has looked more confident since his most recent call up from AAA. In fact, he's only walked 2 batters in his last 14 appearances. While Bedrosian is behind Huston Street and Joe Smith, I envision the Angels shaking things up in the second half through trades, which could open the door for the youngster to close.
Jonathan Schoop (2B-BAL): Jonathan Schoop hit his 14th homer of the season as part of a 2-for-3 night but it wasn't enough to overcome the awfulness of Ubaldo. While his power looks legit, I'm concerned about the batting average. He's hard hit rate and overall batted ball profile don't support the .340 BABIP, and his plate discipline, which includes a 4% BB-rate, 40% chase rate, and a 73% contact rate, put heavy downward pressure on the surface ratios.
Nick Franklin (OF-TB): Continuing to take advantage of increased playing time, Nick Franklin went 2-for-4, homered, and stole 2 bases in a losing effort against the Red Sox. The 2009 1st round pick possess a ton of raw talent but has struggled with translating that against MLB pitching. Yes, the .480 BABIP is insanely high. However, Franklin is making more contact (80%), swinging and missing fewer times (10%), and chasing less (25%) while making consistently hard contact (35%). Deep leaguers can give him a look while he has the AB's.
Lance McCullers (SP-HOU): Lance McCullers ($9200) brings huge K and W upside into his matchup against the A's in Houston. Since coming back from injury, sir Lance has been dealing. His chase rate is up to 32% and his swinging strike rate is up to 13%, significant improvements over last year's marks. Add in his obvious comfort at home and the A's woes against righties this season, and you have the makings for a profitable play. Oh, he should enjoy the offense feasting on Kendall Graveman!
