Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU
Altuve went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored against the A's on Wednesday, while picking up his 2nd SB of the season. Yes, you read that right - it's May 9th and Altuve collected just his 2nd steal, his first coming all the way back on April 1st. With a .331 BA and 23 runs scored, Altuve has been a big fantasy asset anyway, but those who selected him with a top-3 overall pick are expecting 5-category contributions, and SB's are a big part of that. Altuve has swiped at least 30 bags in each of the past 6 seasons, so it's quite shocking that he's been running at such an infrequent pace. The Astros are near the bottom of the league in SB's, so let's hope this is not part of some team philosophy to cut back on running. It's still early, and for now Altuve owners just have to keep their fingers crossed that April was just a slow month and not the beginning of a new trend.
Carlos Carrasco, SP, CLE
Carrasco struck out 14 in a complete game against the Brewers on Wednesday, allowing 2 ER's on 5 hits and 1 BB. It was a nice bounce back after two rough outings in which Carrasco combined to allow 10 ER's in 8.1 IP. Even before those two starts, he wasn't getting K's like he has in recent years; his 8.10 K/9 entering Wednesday's game was his lowest since2013 and a far cry from the 10.17 K/9 he posted a year ago. The 14-K performance should quell some of that concern, and the fact that his 13.2% SwStr% (entering Wednesday) is right in line with recent seasons is another reason to believe his K% can return to an elite level.
Chris Davis, 1B, BAL
Has Chris Davis' bat awoken? After hitting just 2 HR's in his first 31 games this season, Davis has now homered in back-to-back games, doubling his season HR total. We know Davis won't hit for average, but at least he's usually been a solid power source with 26+ HR's in each of the past 6 seasons. This year however, he's been posting a career-low 35.2% FB% (career 41.4%) while his Hard% has dropped about 10% from his marks in previous seasons. Even with the power, Davis is a risky fantasy player, so if you're going to roster him, you want to at least make sure the power is there. Two games isn't a big enough sample to assume that he's back, but it's a step in the right direction.
Nomar Mazara, OF, TEX
Mazara hit 2 more HR's, including the game winner in the 10th inning, against the Tigers on Wednesday, giving him an incredible 7 HR's in 9 games in the month of May. It's hard to see him keeping this up in the long term, as his FB% (entering Wednesday) sat at a mere 23.8%, and although he has been hitting the ball hard (40.0% Hard%), a HR/FB rate nearing 40% is not sustainable. His .294 BA is also probably due for a bit of regression, as his .323 BABIP is significantly higher than his career .300 mark. While he likely won't keep up his current pace, he should remain a solid if unspectacular fantasy player.
Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC
Moustakas is hitting .324 with a 1.086 OPS and 9 HR's in 86 AB's against RHP's this season, and on Thursday he'll have the pleasure of facing Orioles RHP Chris Tillman. Tillman is allowing a .417/.517/.708 slash line to LH-hitters this season. Anyone facing Tillman is a worthwhile fantasy play! DraftKings Value Play Salary $4,500.
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