Collin Cowgill - Collin Cowgill smashed a grand slam for the Mets on Monday and finished 2-for-5 including a double versus the Padres. Cowgill got shipped from the Athletics to the Mets this past offseason and won the starting centerfield job over Kirk Nieuwenhuis this spring. The 26-year old has posted some impressive numbers in the minors during the past few seasons, including a .354/.430/.554 slash line at AAA for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and back-to-back seasons of double digit HRs and 25+ steals in 2010 and 2011. The reason to temper expectations is because those gaudy stats came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In Cowgill's only major league action, he got 100 plate appearances over 37 games in 2011 and hit just .239 with a .065 ISO during that time. Then, in 116 plate appearances for Oakland last year, he owned a .269/.336/.317 line and .048 ISO. However, the Mets are giving Cowgill regular ABs for the first time in his career, so perhaps the outfielder will take advantage and become a valuable fantasy commodity. I know fellow writers Michael Leone and Drew Dinkmeyer are high on Cowgill, and he's certainly worth monitoring over the next few weeks.
Chris Heisey - With Ryan Ludwick out with a dislocated shoulder, Chris Heisey is likely to get more ABs in the Cincinnati outfield and the 28-year old makes for an intriguing play. In 2011, the outfielder hit 18 HRs and recorded a .487 SLG% in just 279 ABs. He owned a .233 ISO and 19% HR/FB rate that season. However, in 2012, Heisey struggled by hitting just seven HRs in 347 ABs with a meager .135 ISO. Looking deeper into Heisey's stats, we see a very odd change during the past two seasons. He owned an .865 OPS with 17 HRs versus right-handed pitching compared to one HR and a .553 OPS versus southpaws in 2011. In 2012, Heisey flipped those numbers by connecting for just three HRs and a .680 OPS against righties while hitting four HRs and owning an .827 OPS versus lefties. Heisey has never really had extended regular ABs, so with Ludwick out, he has a chance to make an impact. There's definitely some upside here, but it's hard to predict whether we'll see the 2011 version or 2012 version. Heisey is worth consideration, and could provide decent pop, in deeper NL-only and mixed leagues.
John Axford - John Axford is a reliever I have targeted in drafts and auctions heading into the season because I believe he will improve upon his 1.30 HR/9 mark from 2012, which caused the right hander to own a 4.67 ERA. Considering Axford struck out more than 12 batters per game and posted a solid 3.29 xFIP in 2012, he seems like a great bounce back candidate. However, Axford blew his first save opportunity of the season on Monday by allowing a solo HR to Dexter Fowler with two outs in the 9th inning. Axford went on to strike out the side, but it certainly wasn't encouraging to see him give up yet another gopher ball. His pitch to Fowler was an elevated fastball, which the left-handed hitting outfielder turned on and smashed over the right field wall. Despite the blown save, I still believe in Axford's ability to be an excellent closer. In 2010 and 2011, his HR/9 was just 0.16 and 0.49, respectively, and he never really struggled with HRs in the minors. Plus, his ability to miss bats is elite. Continue to deploy him as you normally would and don't be too concerned about this Opening Day blunder.
Jeff Samardzija - Jeff Samardzija tossed a gem versus the Pirates on Monday, going eight strong innings and yielding zero earned runs while striking out nine batters. He only allowed two hits and one walk en route to throwing 110 pitches. Samardzija is coming off a breakout season where he posted a 9.27 K/9, cut his BB/9 from 5.11 in 2011 to just 2.89 in 2012 and dropped his xFIP from 4.27 to just 3.38. He was also able to improve his chase rate by 4% to 34% and, most impressively, increase his swinging strike percentage from 10% to 12.1%. As you can see, most of Samardzija's 2012 peripheral stats point toward the right hander having another excellent season in 2013. He certainly looked the part on Opening Day. Samardzija should next draw a road start versus Atlanta on Sunday afternoon.
Stephen Strasburg - Perhaps the only surprise in this game was that Stephen Strasburg didn't throw a no-hitter considering he was facing the weak-hitting Marlins. Instead, Strasburg settled for a final line of seven innings, three hits, zero earned runs and three strikeouts on just 80 pitches. While Strasburg's fantasy owners would have liked to see more whiffs, I'm actually encouraged that he was able to work so efficiently - twice recording seven-pitch innings. The strikeouts will come with time. Strasburg kept the Marlins' offense off-balance by inducing 12 ground ball outs and yielding just one extra base hit, a double to Giancarlo Stanton. Last season, Strasburg posted an 11.13 K/9, 3.16 ERA and 2.81 xFIP. There's no reason to think he won't at least meet and potentially improve upon those figures in 2013. Strasburg should face the Reds in Cincinnati on Sunday for his next start, unless the Nationals decide to push him back to give him an extra day of rest. If that happens, he'll take on the Chicago White Sox a week from today.
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