Miguel Andujar (3B) NYY - I'm not sure the campfire icon does this kid justice.....he had an XBH for the 7th straight game on Monday, and he's 15-29 with 8 2B, 1 3B, and 3 HR over that stretch. He's moved all the way up to tied for 22nd in avg exit velocity, and for a guy with that kind of bat speed, his contact numbers are pretty solid (80.3% coming into Monday with K rates of 12-14% the last 2 years in the minors). I think he's a potential star, and at this point I think he's done enough to remain as the starter even after Brandon Drury returns.
Mitch Haniger (OF) SEA - Haniger might be hotter than Miguel Andujar right now, as the 27 year old homered and doubled Monday night to give him 5 of each in his past five games. He's tied for 28th in exit velocity, he remains a patient hitter with solid chase and contact rates, and the AVG looks legitimate with a .313 BABIP that is a bit lower than expected with his LD and hard contact rates. I think my top-50 OF call on Haniger is going to prove to be an understatement honestly.....he could force his way into the top-30 if he can stay healthy.
Trevor Cahill (SP) OAK - Cahill's 2nd start of 2018 wasn't quite as good as the first, but it was still chock full of the K's and GB's that we love to see. He's been throwing fewer and fewer fastballs over the past 5-6 years and missing bats more and more, and if he can replicate his performance from SD last season, which I think he can, he'll prove to be a useful streamer this year. I'd have no problem owning him as one of my 6-7 SPs in any format....those swinging strike rates are starting to get pretty impressive the past few years.
Yoan Moncada (2B) CWS - Moncada missed the cycle by a single on Monday, picking up the 3 XBH in a 10-4 win over the Mariners. I'm having trouble taking the angst over this guy seriously. He's #1 in the majors in exit velocity right now and he doesn't even turn 23 for another month. He has excellent power, steals bases, and has a chase rate under 20%. Even with the substantial K rate, he entered Monday ranked 11th among 2B. He's fine. He's probably going to be a star, but he's a virtual shoo-in to be a top-10 player at the keystone with his power, speed, and pitch recognition.
Max Kepler (OF) MIN - Kepler doubled in 4 trips against the Yanks Monday to extend his hitting streak to six games, and he's now hitting 286/375/589. Many expected a breakout from Kepler last season, but I'm ready to call one a year later at age 25. He's top-50 in exit velocity, hovers around 80% in contact rate, is increasing his FB rate pretty steadily each season, and doesn't expand the strike zone all that much. I think he'll be a top-60 OF this year, which means he should be owned in all formats and started in virtually all of them.
