Anthony Rizzo - The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo blasted his 10th HR of the season on Saturday against the Mets. He's now hitting .282/.350/.540 with 30 RBI and a .258 ISO. Rizzo's actually posting a reverse split this season with a .415 wOBA against lefties and a .355 mark versus righties. Compared to last season, Rizzo's HR/FB rate is about the same (18% in 2012 vs. 20% in 2013), but he's been able to hit a larger percentage of fly balls (30% in 2012 vs. 37% in 2013) and increase his ISO by about 80 points. He's managing a solid LD rate of 23% and has a whiff rate under 20%. All told, the first baseman has been a strong play in fantasy and he has the peripherals to back up his success for the long term.
Scott Feldman - Scott Feldman tossed a gem against the Mets by yielding zero runs over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked only one batter. After owning a 5.09 ERA in 2012, the right hander's been a surprise this season, posting a 2.19 ERA through his first 49 innings of work. Interestingly, last season, despite the high ERA, Feldman recorded a respectable 3.87 xFIP. This season, he's got a much better ERA, but his 4.10 xFIP is almost two full runs above his ERA. Feldman is definitely benefiting from a .236 BABIP, but he's also doing his part to keep that mark low by limiting opposing hitters to a 14% LD rate. He's also improved his GB% by 8% from 42% in 2012 to 50% this year. Feldman won't keep us his current performance, but he's not relying on just good fortunate - batters aren't making consistently solid contact off him and it's showing in his bottom line numbers.
Kris Medlen - Kris Medlen tossed seven innings and allowed zero ER against the Dodgers yesterday and now has a 3.02 ERA for the season. Despite the nice looking ERA, Medlen has not been very sharp in 2013, at least according to his peripherals. He's recorded a 1.73 strikeout-to-walk rate and has seen his K% plummet from 23% in 2012 to just 14% this season. He's also experienced regression with his HR/FB rate, which has increased from 5% to 11.5%. All told, Medlen's missing fewer bats, walking more hitters and allowing more baseballs to leave the yard. It's no wonder his xFIP is 4.70. Those that took the right hander with the hopes he could have another sensational season have to be disappointed, especially because it's doubtful he can maintain his current ERA without significantly improving his peripheral numbers.
Kyle Kendrick - Kyle Kendrick tossed six innings and allowed four ER against the Reds on Saturday. He now owns a 2.82 ERA in 60 innings this season. While Kendrick is enjoying a low BABIP of .263, he did post a similar mark (.278) in 159 innings last year and his career rate is just .283. So, even if Kendrick can't maintain his current BABIP, based on his career performance, that rate shouldn't spike too significantly. Kendrick has also improved his BB% from 7% to 4% while maintaining a K% of 17%. The right hander is throwing more sinkers this season (60% in 2013 vs. 49% in 2012) and has continued to use his improved change-up (22% in 2012/13 vs. 14% in 2011), which he worked on and started throwing more often after the 2011 season. Kendrick's current performance is likely unsustainable moving forward, but I can definitely see him settling into a decent back end starter in deep leagues or as a spot starter in daily plays.
Ike Davis - With rumors swirling that the Mets may demote Ike Davis if he doesn't have a productive weekend at the plate, the first baseman responded with an 0-for-4 on Saturday versus Chicago. That o-fer brings Davis' overall line down to .156/.238/.259. He's striking out at a 31% clip while walking at just 9%. Davis started slow last season, but the Mets' brass doesn't seem to have as much patience in 2013 and it's hard to argue with them based on the numbers that Davis is putting up. His HR/FB rate has fallen from 21% in 2012 to 12%. Davis' SwStr% is up to 12% (league average is 9%) and he owns a paltry .104 ISO. Despite a low batting average last season (.227), Davis hit 32 HRs and looked like a nice, cheap option at first base for fantasy teams this season. But, at this point, he's droppable until he can break out this funk.
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