Ronald Acuna has somehow lived up to the hype, going 3-for-5 yesterday with his second HR of the season. The sample here is far too small to draw any conclusions, but one of the amazing things about Acuna in the minors was that he improved at every single level he got promoted to, starting at 19 in A+ ball to AAA last year. So far, he's continued that trend in the majors. His value is sky high right now - something to keep in mind.
Atlanta has a lot of young talent, and it may have found a fountain of youth for Nick Markakis - who was 3-for-5 yesterday with his 5th HR, while collecting 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. I basically disowned Markakis is all leagues a number of years ago, as he was your run of the mill, totally average player. So far he's making me look like a fool in 2018, as his wRC+ is 151 (entering yesterday). Digging into the numbers, he's not overly fortunate - he's simply hitting the crap out of the ball. That said, I can't remember any 34-year-old breaking a 4-year trend of mediocrity with an MVP-level year. For that reason, I'm shopping Markakis for any value I can get. I don't see him keeping up a pace similar to this over the course of the entire season.
Julio Teheran went 7 strong yesterday, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. While it was a great start, Teheran remains a non-recommended option. He's improved his K rate this season, but is walking almost 5 batters per nine innings. On top of that, he's incredibly susceptible to the longball given his 46% flyball rate this year. He's still just 27, but he's too erratic to be trusted.
Alex Wood threw a heck of a game yesterday, albeit over just 5 innings, as he allowed 1 run with 8 strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 3.81. If a buy low opportunity is still there with Wood, I would recommend placing an offer. His FIP entering yesterday was just 2.44 vs. the 4.11 ERA. His peripherals remain in line with last year when he posted an excellent season.
AJ Pollock was 2-for-4 yesterday with his 8th SB on the year. By now it looks like Pollock is on the precipice of a special season - his wRC+ is over 180 and he's on pace to surpass 25/25 HR/SB by the All-Star Break. Pollock ranks 6th in Barrels/PA, and has a top 20 exit velocity, but nothing earth shattering. My take is: he's playing well, but we should expect a meaningful drop back to normalcy sometime soon. He'll still carry meaningful value given the SBs, but the 28% HR/FB rate is far outside his career that we're most likely seeing an anomaly. If you can get top 10 value for Pollock, I would deal him for more of a sure-thing.
