David Peralta - Peralta continued his assault on RHP Wednesday, going 2-5 with a double against the Braves in a 9-8 loss. He's hitting 282/353/534 against righties and is ranked #54 among OF despite his part-time play, yet he's still owned in barely over 5% of leagues on ESPN. Peralta has managed to improved nearly every aspect of his game thus far in his first full big-league season, improving his LD rate, patience (BB rate and chase rate), ISO, and swinging strike%. I definitely think he's a worthwhile add in most formats.
Cameron Maybin - Maybin had another three singles on Wednesday, giving him 4 multi-hit games in his last 6. He's hitting 268/353/413, drawing more walks and hitting for more power than he ever has in his up-and-down 9 year big league career. He is on pace to put together a 15/20 season, and he's hitting line drives at almost a 30% clip with a better contact rate than he's ever shown, so you have to think that there is still some potential for improvement here. I think he's a deep league starter at the very least right now, and with the potential for moderate totals in power and speed to go along with the improved contact, there's a chance that he will provide some standard-league value over the remainder of the season as well.
Jimmy Nelson - Nelson was knocked around in the first inning by the Cards Wednesday, but ended up battling his way through five innings in a 7-4 defeat. Nelson once again flashed an intriguing swinging strike%, but the oddly typical road combo of singles and walks did him in. At home he has had much better control while allowing a passel of homers, and on the road he keeps the ball in the park but loses the control. Somewhere in here there's a solid pitcher, but the inconsistencies are substantial enough that he only warrants rostering in deeper formats right now.
Will Middlebrooks - Middlebrooks was 1-3 with 3 RBIs on Wednesday, and he's now hit in 7 of his last 8 with 2 doubles and 2 homers over that stretch. Middlebrooks is a puzzling player, as his hard contact numbers are well above average yet he consistently posts very low BABIPs, and his swing rates are fairly average yet his walk rates are also consistently very low. He does have some power, but it's more average-plus than excellent. I always expected him to turn into a .280/20/80 guy, but it certainly hasn't come together just yet. I think he's worth a look in deeper leagues for the moderate upside potential that he offers, but he's likely still not a standard-sized league option.
Joe Panik - Panik had a pair of singles Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to 9 games, and he's now hitting 307/378/448 on the year. He doesn't chase, connects when he swings, and is showing a touch more power and patience here in 2015. He's looking more and more like a viable starting 2B at just 24 even though the upside is definitely limited.....he could easily slot in as the 8th-12th best 2B in baseball for a handful of years.
