Ryon Healy (3B) OAK - Healy homered again Monday, giving him 5 for the month to go along with a 10-game hitting streak. His contact rate has skyrocketed this month, as he's limited the K's to just 10 in 68 ABs (he fanned 23 times in 99 August ABs, for comparison). As Nate mentioned, the AVG looks to be a bit above where you'd expect given the batted ball data, but the power is clearly not, as the rookie has 453 and 472-foot homers to his credit in just the past week. That'll play even in Oakland, and as he'll be just 25 entering 2017, he has to be considered a reasonable mixed-league option at least as a CI.
Carlos Gomez (OF) TEX - Sometimes it really is just a change of scenery, but whatever the reason, Gomez has caught fire in Texas. It isn't just the fact that the numbers are improved....his whole approach is different. He's walked 11 times in September (after another one in a 2-4 day Monday) in just 69 PAs after walking 23 times in 349 PAs prior to that, and his GB% is down by over 10 from his pre-September stats as well. He was hitting 283/406/566 for the month coming into the contest, and he has 4 HR and 3 SB as well. He's certainly hot enough to justify a pickup for the last few weeks in season-long formats, and I'm starting to wonder if he would be a top-50 OF if the Rangers decide to re-sign him this off-season. The way he's played this September, you'd have to think that he is....the avg HR distance and BBS are above average and obviously the speed is as well.
Jharel Cotton (SP) OAK - Cotton had his third straight solid start to begin his MLB career, holding the Astros to just 1 run on 2 hits over 6 innings, fanning 6 without walking a man. Cotton will give up a few homers, but don't be fooled by the first two "low-K" outings, he can miss bats. He generated 12 swinging strikes in just 75 pitches Monday, and he had come into the game with a 10.2% swinging strike rate despite the low K/9 figure. Cotton has much more upside than has been talked about to this point, particularly given his move to the favorable home park in Oakland.
Evan Longoria (3B) TB - The soon-to-be 31 year old has had an excellent year, reminiscent (on the surface) of his first few years in the majors, hitting 279/324/533 with 35 HRs and 94 RBIs with a few weeks to go. The 409 ft avg HR distance lends credence to the power numbers, as does the 36.8% hard contact rate, but I'm a bit concerned about the ability to maintain an AVG at this level. Longoria's chase rate continues to climb, the BB rate continues to regress, and the swinging strike% jumped up to a new plateau this season as he inches closer and closer to what I feel is the magic 70% contact rate mark. (75.4% this season, career-low) I wouldn't be optimistic that this is a complete career-resurgence for Longoria, who is coming off two straight disappointing seasons. Enough indicators are declining in the face of the solid performance this season, that I'd expect some regression in 2017, and I expect him to be overvalued come spring.
Mike Clevinger (SP) CLE - In the deep sleeper category for the last few weeks, Mike Clevinger has been stretched out a bit by the Tribe as they desperately look for a 4th starter (and a 5th). Clevinger has only managed to go a total of 9 2/3 innings in his first three starts since moving from the pen, but in those outings he's allowed just 3 runs and struck out 11 against 5 walks. They believe that he's stretched out to about 100 pitches now, and he'll be facing the Royals on Wednesday, a team that is 28th in OPS for the year against RHP. He might be a sneaky high-risk play in both DFS and season-long leagues for those attempting to grab a place or two in K's.
