Byron Buxton, OF, MIN
Buxton went 3-6 with a HR and a 2B on Sunday and is now 9-16 with 3 HR's and 3 2B's since rejoining the Twins at the beginning of September. During the four-game stretch, Buxton has only struck out once in 16 PA's, which is noteworthy considering he had a 36.7% K% for the season prior to his most recent demotion in August. Four games is a bit too soon to come to any conclusion, but if Buxton really has made changes to improve his contact, he has the ability to be a five-category contributor.
J.A. Happ, SP, TOR
Just a few weeks ago, Happ looked like a legitimate Cy-Young contender as he boasted a 16-3 record and a 2.96 ERA with a month and a half to go in the season. Those chances have since faded, as he has now fumbled to a 5.91 ERA and 1.45 WHIP over his past 4 starts. This has still been a career-year for Happ, but I wouldn't expect a repeat of his 2016 performance next season, as his peripherals are right in line with his career norms, which are mediocre at best. His K/9 remains in the 7.00's while his xFIP sits in the low 4.00's, but this year he has benefitted from his lowest BABIP since 2010 and highest LOB% since 2009. Happ has certainly made his fantasy owners happy this season, but I'll let probably someone else take a chance with him in 2017.
Eric Hosmer, 1B, KC
Hosmer went 0-3 with 3 K's on Sunday and has now watched his K% rise to a career high 19.6%. While his .271 BA on the season is still very decent, Hosmer has only hit .226 over the past 67 games, and the rise in strikeouts is at least partially responsible for that mark. The fact that his 11.9% SwStr% is also a career-high by a significant margin doesn't offer a lot of hope that his K% is coming back down either. Even with the decline in contact rate, Hosmer has seen an uptick in power as his 20 HR's this season are already a career best with almost a month left to go. However, it's hard to rely on him keeping up this HR-pace either with a 24.4% FB% that's among the lowest in the league, and a 20.2% HR/FB which doesn't seem sustainable. Hosmer's spot in the middle of the Kansas City lineup gives him plenty of opportunities to score and drive in runs, but right now he doesn't seem like a really safe bet to hit for average or power.
J.D. Martinez, OF, DET
Martinez homered again on Sunday and continued his sizzling stretch since returning from the DL in early August, as he is hitting .397 with a .707 SLG in 30 games since his return. For the season, he is slashing .321/.384/.579. His .383 BABIP for the season doesn't seem sustainable, but we said the same thing when he managed a .389 BABIP in 2014, and look where we are now. The fact is that Martinez has a career BABIP of .343 and has a Hard% of over 40.0% each of the past three seasons to back it up, so while it's not reasonable to expect a .320 BA, it may be time to accept that Martinez has the ability to hit for a decent average despite a high K%.
Brian Dozier, 2B, MIN
When we say that Dozier is on a hot streak, we're talking about a real hot streak, meaning 27 HR's in his last 64 games and 18 in the last 34. That's really not normal. What's also not normal is that he has only the 10th highest price among 2B in DraftKings on Monday, despite the fact that he'll be facing off against Ian Kennedy, a pitcher who is tied for 4th in the league in HRA's, tied for 1st in HRA's on the road, and has actually been worse against RH-hitters this season. I recommended Dozier in DraftKIngs last week as well, but that won't stop me from doing it again. Value Play DraftKings Salary: $4,700.
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