Scott Carroll, Chicago White Sox - Scott Carroll picked up the loss Saturday throwing 6.0 innings but his defense allowed two unearned runs which were enough to send Carroll home with the loss. Carroll' stat line is almost baffling, as he is only striking out 2.03 per nine, walking the same, has a BABIP of .244, and owns a 0.68 ERA over 13.1 innings. These numbers do not set him up for long or short term success. He isn't missing any bats as batters are making contact on 94.7% of their swings against him. His success is tied solely right now to his ability to induce ground balls which dipped to 54.8% after Saturday's outing. Carroll isn't worth adding, even with his next outing being against the Cubs it's only a matter of time before his success fades away.
CJ Cron, Los Angeles Angels - CJ Cron had a heck of a debut Saturday after being called up to replace David Freese (Broken Finger) on the roster. Cron went 3-for-4 in the loss with his first two major league RBI. Cron is filled with power potential which is evident by his .283 ISO in AAA this year before being called up. While in High-A in 2012, Cron launched 27 homers with 123 RBI in just 129 games. For a guy with Cron's power he posts a relatively good K%, hovering around 13% in 2012. Cron may only be up for a couple weeks until Freese is healthy but he is still worth an add in AL leagues and worth some consideration in mixed leagues because if he continues to hit how he has this year they will find at bats for him with the big league club.
Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays - Marcus Stroman received news that he would be replacing Brandon Marrow on the Blue Jays roster after Marrow was placed on the 60-DL with a torn tendon in his finger. Stroman, the Jays 2012 first round pick, comes to the team after an excellent season in AAA going 2-2 with a 1.69 ERA. He is a strikeout artist and was continuing that work in AAA with a 12.15 K/9 so far, and he has only posted a K/9 under 10 in one stop through the minors. His value will be limited at first as it appears that he will work out of the bullpen to begin with, but when/if he moves to the rotation he will definitely be a solid option for teams provided the bullpen can actually hold onto a lead for him.
Jonathan Villar, Houston Astros - Jonathan Villar has emerged as one of the better fantasy options at shortstop this year with four homers and six steals to go along with his .256 average. While the average isn't impressive, he is tied for third among all shortstops in homers and trails only Elvis Andrus in steals. His .256 ISO is by far a career high with his highest total in the minor coming at .165, but he has seen is ISO climb every year throughout the minor to its peak of what he is doing now. There is a chance of his average to dip even lower as he is striking out at a near 30% clip but throughout the minors he has posted high K rates and a .270 or lower average. Villar is already halfway to his Fantistic's prediction for homeruns, and he is already producing excellent value for where he was taken in most drafts. Pick him up if he's still sitting on the waiver wire in your league.
Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays - Lawrie turned in a 3-for-5 performance Saturday while driving in his 21st run of the season. His average has slowly climbed to .232 with his recent hot stretch and he has been a steady source of homers and RBI for the third base spot. His ISO this year is his second highest in his major league career, trailing just his rookie campaign where he hit 9 homers in just 47 games. While his line drive rate has dropped, his fly ball rate has increased by 3% which helps increase his power numbers. Lawrie's chase rate is up from past seasons in addition to his overall swing rate jumping up, and he's not making as much contact as he has in the past. He'll continue to post some solid power numbers but the average will hold him back from moving too far up the rankings.
Josh Sperry - @jsperry1991
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