Brian Dozier - Dozier had a rough three-game set in Texas, going 1-13 with 5 K's. Let's get something straight: I do like Brian Dozier as a player. He has some pop, he's running like he did in the minors, and his contact rate has improved enough to become a tremendous strength. My concern is that people are starting to value him like a 25-35 HR hitter, and I just don't know if he has it in him. Out of the top 80 qualifiers for the HR title (he's currently tied for 16th), he has the 4th lowest AVG distance (in front of Chris Carter, Kyle Seager, and Brian McCann) and the 2nd lowest batted ball velocity (in front of Yoenis Cespedes). He already hit 15, so I'm sure he could get to 30 in some set of circumstances, but my target for him is in the 22-25 range for year's end. Those in re-draft leagues could consider selling him high if his value is above that level.
Alex Cobb - Cobb is now just 4/8 in QS since coming off the DL, as he earned a fairly ugly win against the O's Sunday with 8 hits and 4 runs allowed (3 earned) in 5 innings of work. Everything still looks OK with him: LD rate is down, swinging strike% is up, velocity seems fine, control is slightly worse but in the same general vicinity....just the results have been sketchy. I'm inclined to buy low here as far as season-long goes, although I am a bit hesitant for this week's Detroit outing.
Matt Joyce - Joyce had been in a pretty major slump since a hot April, but a 5-6, 2 HR performance on Sunday has brought his batting line right back to respectability (274/360/425). On the heels of a 2-3 performance on Friday, perhaps Joyce is starting a new hot streak right before a trip to the friendly porch at Yankee Stadium. I would have no problem slotting him in for 7 games this week to try and catch lightning in a bottle, as Joyce usually starts hitting better about when you can see his BB:K ratio improving, which it has done the past two weeks vs. the 3 or 4 weeks prior to that.
Dioner Navarro - Navarro hit well this week, going 8-24 with 2 2Bs, 2 HRs, and 6 RBIs as he continues to shake off a strangely power-free start to 2014. His 273/325/455 was a bit closer to what I had in mind for him this season, and I'm hopeful that he's simply heated up with the weather. He remains oddly underrated, as even with the cold start he's been a top-15 catcher, yet he's still owned at under 5% in ESPN leagues. I still view him as a lower-tier starting backstop in most formats, and certainly worth owning.
Kole Calhoun - After going 1-19 in his first week off of the DL in late May, Calhoun has promptly rattled off a 32-90 stretch with 7 doubles and 4 homers over the 25 games since. Calhoun is pretty much right in line with my expectations on a per game basis at this point, and I'm hoping for a big second half from the 26 year old.
