Jackie Bradley (BOS - OF) - Bradley Jr. extended his hit streak with a single in the top of the ninth against Wade Davis in the afternoon game, and promptly extended it again with a homerun in the nightcap. Bradley's season has been incredible, to say the least. He made a big adjustment at the plate where he's taking a much bigger leg kick compared to even last year, and the dividends have paid themselves forward amply. That said, he'll be coming back down to earth because his .392 BABIP is bound to normalize, but his results should still be pretty solid. It will be interesting to see how long the hit streak continues, which is now at 24 games.
Rajai Davis (CLE - OF) - Davis hit his third and fourth home runs of the season yesterday atop the Indians lineup with three runs scored and a stolen base. Davis should start seeing some more regular playing time with Brantley on the disabled list, which could make him an intriguing option in some formats. For the season, his OPS is ugly at .666 (coming into yesterday), but he's hitting at the top of a powerful offense and already has 9 stolen bases for the season. He'll hurt your average, but could make for a good tier 3 OF if you're in need of runs, RBIs, and stolen bases for the next few weeks. He's hitting the ball well, but his 25% K rate will prevent him from moving up the rankings any higher than that.
Justin Verlander (DET - SP) - Verlander was impressive yesterday, registering 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings while allowing just 3 ER. Despite an additional drop to his velocity in 2016, Verlander is actually more effective in 2016, warranting fantasy consideration in deeper leagues. Prior to yesterday, his SIERA was 3.86, but his K rate was 9.06 per 9, which is tantalizing to say the least. Still, it will be tough to trust Verlander because he's prone to the long-ball (1.45 HR/9) since he's inducing GBs at only a 36.3% rate, well down from 42% during his heyday. For that reason, I'm bearish on Verlander moving forward, but you can certainly do worse and at the very least, he's shown that he's not washed up for 2016.
Khris Davis (OAK - OF) - Davis was 2-for-2 yesterday with 2 walks, and yes, another home run. You may not believe it, but Davis' power is for real - his 22.4% HR rate is actually lower than last year's 24.5%. So how does he has 12 HR? He's hitting a career high 45.7% of flyballs, which is great for power, but coming at the extreme expense of his LD rate and average, which sits at just .228. The power is nice, but Davis looks truly like a one-trick pony at the plate, so I'm only rostering him if I'm desperate for power.
Rich Hill (OAK - SP) - Hill impressed yet again yesterday, going 6 innings with 6 K's and just 1 ER. Coming into yesterday, he had a shiny 2.68 ERA, but it was quite a bit more favorable than his 3.58 SIERA. Still, the results for the 36 year old have been impressive, particularly when he's sporting a K rate over 10 per 9. Encouragingly, he walked only one yesterday after having some control issues this year. Any way you slice it, Hill is more than a viable starter going forward.
