Yasiel Puig seems to be purposely aggravating fantasy owners that didn't start him this week, as he hit his third HR in the last four games last night. He was 2-for-3 yesterday while adding 2 walks. Puig was so incredibly bad the first month that we know he'll do better. The big question is if he can top last year's respectable performance. At age 27, I think he's worth a flier. His stock is rising.
Caleb Smith was more than disappointing against the Dodgers yesterday, going just 3 innings with 4 BB and 4 K's while allowing 4 ER. Smith is still having a great season, but yesterday's control issues are a concern that may severely limit his upside. So far Smith has dominated with a 31.9% K rate, which is enticing. Unfortunately playing for the Marlins, wins will be difficult to come by. Despite a 3.63 ERA entering yesterday, he took his 5th loss of the season yesterday. He's a great back-end rotation arm with upside.
Kenta Maeda was dominant against the AAAA Marlins, going 8 innings with 8 strikeouts of scoreless ball. Maeda has been a bit unfortunate this year, but his peripherals look fantastic. His K% is up to 28.2%, the highest of his career. Opponents had a .384 BABIP against him entering yesterday, which should normalize lower. He looks posed for a low/mid 3.00s ERA with a great K rate. I'm buying.
Vince Velasquez went 6.1 innings of scoreless ball yesterday while tallying 5 strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 4.37. For those hoping to see the Velasquez from two years ago, it appears as though he has returned. His SwStr% is almost identical. The one rub is he's allowing quite a few flyballs (46%) which will make him susceptible to the longball. If he can get the GB rate up, he'll be in for a fantastic season.
Carlos Santana connected with his 8th HR of the season yesterday. Santana is batting .271 in May, yet his average his still below the Mendoza line. He's clearly been the recipient of some poor luck, and I'd anticipate seeing a lot more HR in the future. His FB rate is up to 50.4%, over 10% higher than his career. If he keeps this pace, 30+ HR is likely, but his average will continue to suffer immensely. I'm not sure how valuable that is when you add it all up, but Santana is closer to the player in May than April.
