Dee Gordon (2B-MIA): Flash broke the internet with news of his testing positive for PED's and will immediately begin serving an 80-game suspension. Derek Dietrich figures to see the lion's share of duty at 2B, with Miguel Rojas also receiving a value boost. Dietrich has hit 25 homers in 211 games and could provide Gordon owners with a bit of pop, but the challenge is how to replace the 30+ steals you're going to lose. Outside of a trade, owners may want to look at stashing Trea Turner, whose speed will play once the Nationals make the call, and Orlando Arcia, who should see time with the Brewers in the second half.
Odubel Herrera (OF-PHI): Herrera went 1 for 3, scored a run, and added another walk to what has been an impressive start to 2016. After posting an abysmal 28:129 BB:K ratio in 2015, Herrera is carrying a 22:18 mark as we approach May. Wow! He did show similar ratios in the lower minors, so the former Rule 5 Pick seems to be tapping into his potential with a regular job and spot atop the Phillies lineup firmly secured. He has lowered his swinging strike and chase rate dramatically, and after posting a 65% stolen base success rate in 2015, he is 4 for his first 5 attempts in 2016.
Charlie Blackmon (OF-COL): The Rockies will activate Charlie Blackmon (turf toe) after he successfully completed a short rehab assignment. Blackmon posted back-to-back elite fantasy seasons in 2014 and 2015, hitting a combined 36 homers with 71 stolen bases and a .287 AVG. While he limped out of the gates in 2016, he struck out 2 times in 27 AB's and posted a .200 BABIP. I have no performance concerns with Blackmon and believe he should be activated in all leagues. The one issue that may continue is Walt Weiss' inexplicable predilection to sit Blackmon against certain lefties despite his .41 EYE and .311 wOBA against them in 2015. Activate him but monitor his usage closely.
Tanner Roark (SP-WAS): Tanner Roark nearly matched Aaron Nola with 6 strikeouts in 7 scoreless innings of his own, but the Nats' pen let him down. Are we to buy the new Tanner Roark and his 23% K-rate? His swinging strike rate, while up, continues to hover below league average. And while you have to love the amount of weak contact he's inducing on the ground, he's carrying a 90% strand rate and a 5% HR/FB rate into his next start, marks that are surely to regress. The spike in K's and performance are likely artifacts of the lineups he's faced, so treat Roark as you would have before the season began: as a solid streaming option in standard, 12-team mixed leagues.
Joey Votto (1B-CIN): Look to Joey Votto ($3200 vs. Juan Nicasio) on FanDuel today. Nicasio has really scuffled against lefties the past three years, and despite his work with Ray Searage, his wOBA against continues to hover around .400. Votto brings a .268 BABIP and a swing out of sorts into the tilt; but, he recently compared his swing to a Ferrari that takes time to get exactly right. With the lefty-friendly confines of PNC slated to have moderate winds whirling out to right field, all of the ingredients are there for today to be the day the Ferrari leaves the factory.
