Carlos Correa flexed his muscles yesterday, hitting his 15th and 16th HRs of the season. After an awfully slow start to the year, he's actually outpacing his fantastic 2015 performance as he has a wRC+ over 145 for the season. At just 22 years old, he's among the game's very best and most exciting players going forward. It's difficult to ascertain if he can keep this pace up because he's incredibly young and still growing as a player (and a human being). From a LD%, it looks like there's some regression coming, but his Hard% is up from last year, so perhaps those will cancel each other out. If I were a betting man, I'd say don't expect a .300+ average in the second half, but the power will certainly be there as he flirts with 30 HR.
Jakob Junis got lit up again yesterday by the Tigers, allowing 6 ER in 6 innings of work. He's allowing over 2 HR per 9 innings, which makes it difficult to succeed. Junis is getting flat out crushed, and despite incredible numbers over 42.1 innings in AAA this year, he can't get it to work at the major league level. It seems in his case it will take some time to adjust to major league hitting before he finds success (if ever). Leave him on the waiver wire and look to take advantage against him in the DFS world next start.
Justin Upton had quite a day, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and his 15th HR of the year. Upton is having a great bounceback season following last year's dismal 105 wRC+ performance. Upton is simply squaring up much better in 2017; his Hard% is up to 41.9% from 37.9% last year, and he's started using the opposite field more (28% vs. 24%). Basically all other peripherals are in-line compared to last year with minor improvements to BB% and K%. It goes to show that a few small improvements can lead to big results. I'd expect more of the same from Upton going forward. 30 HR and double-digit SB remains a strong possibility.
Eric Hosmer was 1-for-4 yesterday. Hosmer sports an impressive .300+ average, but isn't getting much love in the fantasy world, mostly due to the lack of power that we all were hoping would continue to build from last year's 25 HR campaign and also because he has a measly 32 RBI through nearly half the season. Unfortunately, Hosmer has routinely pounded the ball into the ground with GB percentages of 51%, 52%, 59%, and 56% the last four years. His HR/FB rates are solid, as is his contact. If there's ever an off-season where Hosmer works on his swing trajectory to increase flyballs a la Yonder Alonso, we should see an enormous breakout. Hosmer is serviceable, but continues to harbor more potential than anything.
In his first start following the birth of his child, Brad Peacock looked a little sleep deprived as he walked 6 batters in 5 innings yesterday against the Athletics. He labored through the game was still picked up the win as he allowed 2 hits with 7 Ks on the night. I own Peacock in a few leagues and I'm inclined to try to sell high at this point. There's not much indicating that he's been overly fortunate to find success in 2017, it's just that it's seemingly come out of nowhere. Peacock is a former 41st round pick that was only given a shot to start this year because of injuries to the Astros starters. Granted he's made the most of it, but I'm certainly questioning whether he can keep up this kind of success over the entirety of the second half. He could be a good trade chip to use against sabermetrically-minded owners because his peripherals are all excellent, but it's worth remembering that they're aided by his time in the bullpen the early part of the season.
Carlos Correa flexed his muscles yesterday, hitting his 15th and 16th HRs of the season. After an awfully slow start to the year, he's actually outpacing his fantastic 2015 performance as he has a wRC+ over 145 for the season. At just 22 years old, he's among the game's very best and most exciting players going forward. It's difficult to ascertain if he can keep this pace up because he's incredibly young and still growing as a player (and a human being). From a LD%, it looks like there's some regression coming, but his Hard% is up from last year, so perhaps those will cancel each other out. If I were a betting man, I'd say don't expect a .300+ average in the second half, but the power will certainly be there as he flirts with 30 HR.
Jakob Junis got lit up again yesterday by the Tigers, allowing 6 ER in 6 innings of work. He's allowing over 2 HR per 9 innings, which makes it difficult to succeed. Junis is getting flat out crushed, and despite incredible numbers over 42.1 innings in AAA this year, he can't get it to work at the major league level. It seems in his case it will take some time to adjust to major league hitting before he finds success (if ever). Leave him on the waiver wire and look to take advantage against him in the DFS world next start.
Justin Upton had quite a day, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and his 15th HR of the year. Upton is having a great bounceback season following last year's dismal 105 wRC+ performance. Upton is simply squaring up much better in 2017; his Hard% is up to 41.9% from 37.9% last year, and he's started using the opposite field more (28% vs. 24%). Basically all other peripherals are in-line compared to last year with minor improvements to BB% and K%. It goes to show that a few small improvements can lead to big results. I'd expect more of the same from Upton going forward. 30 HR and double-digit SB remains a strong possibility.
Eric Hosmer was 1-for-4 yesterday. Hosmer sports an impressive .300+ average, but isn't getting much love in the fantasy world, mostly due to the lack of power that we all were hoping would continue to build from last year's 25 HR campaign and also because he has a measly 32 RBI through nearly half the season. Unfortunately, Hosmer has routinely pounded the ball into the ground with GB percentages of 51%, 52%, 59%, and 56% the last four years. His HR/FB rates are solid, as is his contact. If there's ever an off-season where Hosmer works on his swing trajectory to increase flyballs a la Yonder Alonso, we should see an enormous breakout. Hosmer is serviceable, but continues to harbor more potential than anything.
In his first start following the birth of his child, Brad Peacock looked a little sleep deprived as he walked 6 batters in 5 innings yesterday against the Athletics. He labored through the game was still picked up the win as he allowed 2 hits with 7 Ks on the night. I own Peacock in a few leagues and I'm inclined to try to sell high at this point. There's not much indicating that he's been overly fortunate to find success in 2017, it's just that it's seemingly come out of nowhere. Peacock is a former 41st round pick that was only given a shot to start this year because of injuries to the Astros starters. Granted he's made the most of it, but I'm certainly questioning whether he can keep up this kind of success over the entirety of the second half. He could be a good trade chip to use against sabermetrically-minded owners because his peripherals are all excellent, but it's worth remembering that they're aided by his time in the bullpen the early part of the season.
