Rich Hill (SP-LAD) - This is getting ugly. Hill lasted just four innings Thursday against the Indians, allowing seven runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out four. His ERA rose from 3.77 to 5.14 in 35 innings. Speaking of innings, Hill has yet to go more than five in eight starts, and is averaging just 4.4 innings per start. On the plus side, his 9.0 K/9 is solid, but he's allowed five homers and his BB/9 is an ugly 5.9. Hill's velocity is also down (89 mph average) and he's been so erratic, but I guess the positive thing is that the blister issue appears to be a thing of the past. I don't think the Dodgers will pull Hill from the rotation after this one, but he's probably on a short leash given other options and his lack of ability to go past the fifth inning.
Chris Taylor (OF/INF - LAD) - The Dodgers got blown out 12-5 on Thursday in Cleveland, but it wasn't for lack of production from the red-hot Chris Taylor. Leading off, Taylor went 2-for-4 with a walk, his eighth home run, and two RBI, leaving him at .303/.392/.515 in an improbable breakout season at the age of 26. How's that Zach Lee for Taylor deal looking now? In parts of three major league seasons prior to 2017, Taylor had a single home run in 291 career at-bats and looked every bit a utility player at best. Now he's an every day starter in the outfield, and a guy who would have likely made Joc Pederson a bench or Triple-A guy if not for the injury to Adrian Gonzalez. Taylor is somehow owned in just 51% of Yahoo leagues, and given he also has seven steals and is leading off, that number should be in the 90%+ range. Go ahead and grab him if you can, as you'd likely get eligibility at multiple positions depending on your league.
Logan Forsythe (2B/3B-LAD) - Forsythe is really struggling right now. The infielder walked and struck out three times in four plate appearances Thursday in Cleveland and is now batting just .190/.333/.248. Strikeouts are up around the league, but it's still concerning to see Forsythe whiffing 32.6% of the time when his career rate is a reasonable 20.5%. His 15.5% BB% is keeping the OBP reasonable despite the anemic BA, but Forsythe in 129 PA's has just one home run and for that matter, just four XBHs. He's hitting .120 versus RHP and .367 versus lefties against whom he's always been a little better, but not THIS much better. Toe and hamstring injuries have surely impacted him at the plate and who knows, maybe they are still bothering him, as he's not this bad. With Chase Utley posting a .794 OPS versus RHP, this could evolve into a platoon situation with Forsythe also giving Justin Turner the occasional day off, but this isn't what the Dodgers had in mind when they surrendered Jose De Leon for Forsythe this winter. Ultimately I think he'll turn things around, but only if he's playing nearly every day.
Eric Sogard (INF-MIL) - Sogard did it again Thursday, going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored against the Cardinals. Sogard on the year is now hitting a whopping .357/.471/.560 with three homers, eight doubles, 14 RBI, and two steals in 84 at-bats. Sogard is playing every day with Jonathan Villar (back) n the DL, and at this point the best guess on my part for Villar's return is the end of June. Once he's back, it should be interesting to see how playing time is divvied up given Villar is batting just .213 and Arcia is at a so-so .254/.298/.362. maybe Sogard loses a little playing time, but not much assuming he's still raking. He's a decent deeper league option while Villar is out, but once everyone is healthy (including Ryan Braun), all bets are off.
Amed Rosario (SS-NYM) - With Asdrubal Cabrera out with a thumb injury, the Mets still elected to pass on promotion Rosario from Triple-A Las Vegas. He's batting .333/.374/.496 with seven homers and 12 stolen bases. Rosario is in a hitter-friendly environment of course, but with the passing of the Super-two deadline, there really doesn't appear to be a reason why Rosario is still in the minors unless they want to hold him down until September and bring him up for good in June/July 2018. That seems insane, but these are the Mets. For now, the Mets are using the .187/.265/.290 slashing Jose Reyes at shortstop and Wilmer Flores at third (who's actually hitting well), so it appears to be only a matter of time before Rosario gets a look. Of some concern is his 5.2% BB%, but Rosario is just 21, so that shouldn't be a long-term concern. Rosario is a worthy stash even in shallow leagues.
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