Didi Gregorius- SS- NYA- Idea- Gregorius is looking to continue his hot start in Cleveland. Posting a .272/.321/.391 slash line against RH pitching in 2015 (and hitting 8 of his 9 homers against them) as well as a .306/.355/.399 slash line on the road his odds are fairly strong. Facing Jordan Zimmerman, who had a .281/.338/.438 slash line against LH hitting last year doesn't hurt. Value play- Draft Kings salary- $3100
Danny Salazar- CLE- P- FYI- The rainout in Cleveland yesterday pushed Salazar's scheduled start back a day. It also prompted a change of Sox in his opponent- from Red to White. Salazar gave up 5 homers in 26.1 IP of Cactus League work. He also gave up 5 homers but in 11 IP last spring. In 2015 Salazar allowed 7 homers in his first 6 starts, covering 37.2 IP. Then he settled down. Salazar also started slow in 2014 before being sent back to the minors and improving. If Salazar gets off to another rocky season out of the gate look for him to be a buy low candidate.
Mat Latos- P- CHA- Hot- The White Sox were hoping to get the Latos who posted sub-3.50 ERAs from 2010-2014 and not the pitcher who wore out his welcome at 3 stops in 2015 when they signed him for 1 year at $3 million. After his first start of the season the returns are promising. Latos tossed 6 scoreless IP, allowing just 1 hit and walking 1 while striking out 2. His 4.50 ERA in 2015 was higher than his 3.72 FIP and with a 7.74 K/9 and 2.48 BB/9 his performance wasn't that bad on the field. How he wears in the clubhouse is another matter but not directly related to his fantasy value, as long as he has a job.
Marcus Semien- SS- OAK- Drop value- With the A's behind 2-0 in the bottom of the 7th and 2 outs yesterday manager Bob Melvin decided to pull Semien for a pinch hitter instead of having him hit against a RH reliever. This was despite the fact that it cost the A's the DH slot as Jed Lowrie had to move over to cover SS. Unless there was an undisclosed injury this is not good news for Melvin's confidence in Semien. Last year Semien did have some extreme splits, hitting .329 against LH pitching but only .230 against right-handers. Giving up the DH in a game you're still in seems to be a harsh reaction to numbers like that, though. Keep a watch to see if there is more to that move than was immediately said.
Tyler White- 1B- HOU- Rookie- White has carried his hot spring into his first major league season, hitting his first major league homer and knocking in 4 RBI in a 3-for-4 effort that brought his average to .667 in this first week of the 2016 season. He posted a .362 average in 57 games at AAA last year but was helped by a .412 BABIP. White has the potential to hit for average but hasn't shown the raw power you look for in a corner infielder.
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