Jorge Polanco (SS - MIN) - Polanco had a great day against the White Sox Wednesday, going 3-4 with a 2B, HR, and SB in the 7-2 win. He has 4 HR and 3 SB in the past 8 games, but his line for the season is pretty average for him: 260/325/449. His contact rate is typically very solid, but he's heading for a career best in SB and HR both, primarily due to a massive pull% to go along with his steadily increasing FB rate. Polanco is a average-minus exit velo guy, so he needs the huge FB% to get to the decent HR totals he occasionally posts.....the problem is that that's a style that puts pressure on the AVG, something that's only alleviated somewhat by his very solid contact ability. Polanco is a classic example of a high floor/low ceiling player, and I expect the 28 year old to remain a consistently viable MI option in the majority of formats for a few years yet.
Greg Allen (OF - NYY) - Greg Allen has started out his Yankee career with a bang, going 5-12 with 2 2B, a 3B, 3 SB, and 3 BB.The Yanks are pretty beat up at the moment, so expect Allen to continue to start, and whenever he has started before he is an instant cheap source of speed. He's a decent contact hitter as well, so although there's no power to speak of, he does have some value in roto formats at the very least. Even when Judge and Andujar return, Allen may still continue to start as Brett Gardner has been downright awful this season. I actually like Allen as a pick-up in all roto-style formats and any other OBP-based leagues as well.
Kike Hernandez (OF - BOS) - Hernandez doubled and homered again on Wednesday, giving him 5 and 6 for the month of July respectively. He's showing a bit more power than he ever has before, with career highs in FB rate, pull%, and exit velocity. That doesn't do wonders for his batting average of course, but hitting leadoff for one of the best offenses in baseball ensures that he will provide tons of value elsewhere, and the positional flexibility is a big help as well. Hernandez has been much more valuable than I anticipated coming in to the season, and it really doesn't look like it's the slightest bit fluky.
Randy Arozarena (OF - TB) - Arozarena entered this week in a 4-41 slump, but three days later things look much different for the 26 year old. Two more HRs on Wednesday against Baltimore give him 3 straight multi-hit games and a 7-13, 2 2B, 3 HR start to the week. The contact rate has been poorer than expected, and it definitely appears that he's reaching for power a bit, but 13 HR and 11 SB in 88 G is pretty solid production....it just falls a bit short of expectations I think. It's fairly common for a player that broke in the way Arozarena did to become overvalued quickly, and that's my feeling on what his status was this spring.....the performance we are seeing isn't really out of line with my expectations for him, both for now and for what to generally expect over the next few years. Solid plate discipline, above average power and speed, and some contact issues keeping the AVG from being much of a help. Very solid player.
Estevan Florial (OF - NYY) - Florial has gone 2-6 with 2 BB, a HR, and a SB in his first 2 games with the Yanks this season, as the "AAAA" OF they've been trotting out has helped them win a few in a row. Florial is one of the traditionally overhyped Yankee prospects that has done just this side of nothing since 2017 in A-ball, but he does have the prospect pu-pu platter of speed, power, and sizable contact issues. I like the odds of Greg Allen providing value more than I do for Florial, but whereas Allen has a pretty solid floor and a rather low ceiling due to the lack of power, Florial has no floor and a massive ceiling. I can see a speculative pickup in some of the deepest of formats, but really I expect him to be back in the minors in fairly short order, hot start notwithstanding.
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