Jorge Polanco-Mariners-2B
Jorge Polanco was 0-4 with 2 K against the Twins. Polanco is struggling to start the year. He is hitting .182 with 5 HR, 14 R, 13 RBI, and 1 SB. He is striking out at the highest rate of his career (31% K). He is still walking (13% BB) but has struggled with contact. In the past, he hit the ball hard and had a manageable strikeout rate but both have disappeared this year. Polanco has struggled against the fastball (.095 AVG with 8% SwStr) which is a major red flag. This makes it really hard to believe that he turns it around to be the player that we have come to expect.
Corbin Carroll-Diamondbacks-OF
Corbin Carroll was 1-4 with 1 BB and 1 RBI against the Reds. Carroll has been a major disappointment out of the gate. He is hitting .206 with 2 HR, 15 R, 13 RBI, and 8 SB. The speed has been there as expected but he has struggled to hit for average and power. The average piece is a result of a low BABIP (.245) but he is not helping himself out in terms of hard contact (29% Hardhit). This is also impacting his power numbers and makes one believe that the shoulder he injured in July of last year is still bothering him. It is hard to refute the difference in his profile. The good news is that he can still be valuable in fantasy given his speed and likely regression in his average with a higher BABIP. He is more in line for a 10-15 HR/40-50 SB instead of the 20-30 HR/50 SB many expected coming into the year.
Jeimer Candelario-Reds-3B
Jeimer Candelario was 2-4 with an HR (4), 2 R, and 1 RBI against the Diamondbacks. The Reds big offseason addition has struggled so far. He is hitting .216 with 4 HR, 12 R, 12 RBI, and 0 SB. The hope was that Candelario would hit in the middle of the Reds lineup and benefit greatly from Great American Ballpark. Instead, he is striking out more than ever (32% K) because he is chasing more balls out of the zone (35% O-swing). Candelario is also struggling to barrel the baseball (4% Barrels) which has sapped his power. It is not uncommon for someone to struggle in the first year of a big contract. Stay the course for now keeping an eye on his strikeout rate for improvement. He is likely to bounce back as long as he cuts down on his strikeout rate.
Jordan Beck-Rockies-OF
Jordan Beck was 0-4 with 2 K against the Giants. Beck was hitting ninth in this one and he has struggled to start his major league career. He is hitting .156 with 0 HR, 0 R, 1 RBI, and 0 SB. He is having a hard time making contact (43% K) because he is chasing out of the zone (46% O-swing%). When he does make contact he is hitting it directly into the ground (63% GB). This looks like a young player who is overmatched in his first chance in the major leagues. Long term, the potential is still there for a power/speed profile but he is going to need more seasoning before making an impact.
Alex Bregman-Astros-3B
Alex Bregman was 1-3 against the Yankees. Bregman is struggling this year. He is hitting .192 with 1 HR, 6 R, 11 RBI, and 2 SB. His plate skills are still above average (10% BB and 12% K). However, he is having a hard time making hard contact (4% Barrels and 34% Hardhit). Bregman has never had elite quality of contact metrics but he combined average barrel rates with above-average contact which allowed him to hit for power. He also pulled the ball at a high rate (40%+ Pull%). This year his pull rate is 33% and his Oppo% is up to 32% (+10%). This is not a productive tradeoff for someone who doesn't hit the ball hard. Until his pull rates return it is going to be hard for him to return much fantasy value.
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