Roy Halladay (SP-PHI) - After a mini-vacation, Bad Roy Halladay made his return to the rotation Sunday against the Marlins. Doc allowed a whopping nine runs on four hits with four walks and yes, four strikeouts over just 2.1 innings. Halladay allowed a grand slam and bases-clearing triple to Adeiny Hechavarria, who entered the day with just three RBI all year. Halladay had ripped off three quality starts in mid-April, but in his last two, he's now allowed 17 runs on 13 hits over six innings in his last two starts. Halladay's fastball velocity remains 2-3 mph off from what we saw last year, while he's actually throwing his curveball much harder. This could be part of his issues, as Halladay previously had in the range of 14-15 mph of separation between the two pitches, whereas now that rage is more like 10-11 mph. Hitters are laying off his pitches outside the zone with far more frequency, so the command isn't there, and with a 3.8 BB/9, neither is the control. We don't know if there's anything physical here, but the Phillies might be best-served by giving their former ace a little time off. Fantasy owners certainly should as well. Edit: Halladay is reportedly dealing with a shoulder injury that could have him headed to the DL.
Evan Gattis (C-ATL) - Gattis' fantasy value is about to take a hit with Brian McCann returning from a shoulder injury on Monday. Gattis was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI Sunday against the Mets, leaving him with a .261/.307/.565. A .304 ISO isn't bad, but we'd certainly like to see better than a 23:6 K:BB. Gattis will split time behind the plate with McCann and see some time in LF, so expect to see him in the lineup three times a week and with a couple pinch-hitting appearances mixed in. With seven homers
already, Gattis has been a nice find for the Braves and he could very well be their catcher of the future, but for now, playing time will be sporadic.
Todd Frazier (3B-CIN) - Frazier has been struggling of late, but he did go 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of RBI Sunday against the Cubs. He had been just 4-for-30 in his previous nine games, with his last multi-hit game coming on April 18. Frazier probably is never going to hit for a high average, but with six homers, he has the power to hit 25-30 long balls annually. In Frazier's last full minor league season (2010) he hit just .258, so the average probably tops out at .270 at best going forward.
Freddie Freeman (1B-ATL) - Freeman entered Sunday's game batting .288, but with just one home run in 53 at-bats. After going 3-for-5 with a homer, double, and three RBI, Freeman is now batting .313 with an .833 OPS. Freeman still has his career season in front of him, but with a .787 career OPS, I'm just not sure he's ever going to be an elite offensive first baseman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Freeman go on a nice run right about now.
Nolan Arenado (3B-COL) - Arenado was moved into the second spot in the order Sunday and he responded, going 2-for-5 with a home run off the Rays Alex Cobb. It was Arenado's third homer of the season and it brought his slash line to a robust .323/.364/.677 in 31 at-bats. Three homers and three strikeouts...nice ratio. We don't know whether Arendado's spot in the lineup will hold going forward, but if it does, hitting between Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez isn't a bad place to be. It might limit his RBI opportunities, but then again given Sunday's effort, perhaps not. Given Arenado's upside, I wouldn't consider him anything less than a top-10 third baseman going forward.
