Jac Caglianone, OF, KC
Caglianone had another big game against the Cardinals on Sunday, going 2-3 with 2 HR's, 3 RBI, and 2 BB's. He now has 4 HR's over his last 3 games, and has been scorching hot in the month of June, hitting .379 with 7 HR's and 16 RBI through 18 games. He is striking out a lot, and with a .362 BABIP, we should probably anticipate that his BA will fall from its current .275 mark. At the same time, his HardHit% is an elite 56.8%, so the power is certainly legit. He has just 12 HR's to date, but don't be surprised if he widely surpasses that total in the 2nd half.
Zack Gelof, 2B, ATH
Gelof extended his hitting streak to 24 games on Sunday, going 2-5 with a double and 3 runs scored against the Angels. Not only does he have a hit in 24 straight games, he has also scored at least 1 run in each of his last 13 contests. Overall, Gelof has hit .362 during the hitting streak, with 5 HR's and 2 SB's to go with it. The high BA is a bit a of a fluke, as he is still striking out at a 25.8% K% during the streak, while holding an unsustainable .458 BABIP and mediocre 87.1 EV. But his value comes from his ability to contribute across the board. He has already collected 11 HR's and 8 SB's this season, and his spot in the A's lineup gives him plenty of opportunities to rack up counting stats. Gelof batted leadoff for the third straight game on Sunday, after hitting near the bottom of the lineup for most of the season. If this does stick, it will be an extra boost to his counting stats, especially runs scored.
Andrew Alvarez, SP, WAS
Alvarez allowed 1 ER in 4 IP against the Rays on Sunday, striking out 6 batters without issuing a walk. Since joining the Nationals' rotation at the beginning of June, Alvarez has made four starts and been quite effective, posting a 2.70 ERA (5 ER's in 16.2 IP) along with a 20:7 K:BB. Over his last two starts, his K:BB stands at 11:1. While he has pitched well, he hasn't lasted even 5 innings in any of his starts. It's not clear if the Nationals plan to extend him further, as his pitch counts were actually lower in his last two starts than they were in the previous two. Obviously, a four inning pitcher has very little fantasy value, but he could be an intriguing option if and when the team allows him to go a bit deeper into games.
Denzer Guzman, 3B, LAA
Guzman homered for the 3rd consecutive game against the A's on Sunday, giving him three homeruns for the season in 12 games played. While the power just started to kick in over the past few days, Guzman has been hitting well since joining the Angels, with a .271 BA and 17.3% K%. He was having a monster season at AAA hitting .336 with 12 HR's and 57 RBI in 58 games, to go along with 9 steals. It's too small of a sample size as of yet, but his early big league success could very well be legitimate.
Brandon Young, SP, BAL
Young had yet another strong performance against the Dodgers on Sunday, allowing 1 ER on 5 hits in 5 IP, while striking out 5 and walking 2. This ends a streak of 5 consecutive quality starts for the 27-year-old, but it was his 9th consecutive start of allowing 3 ER's or less, lowering his ERA to 3.07 for the season. It's sort of been a magical season for Young as his underlying numbers are nowhere near the results we're seeing on the field. His 6.55 K/9 and 3.34 BB/9 are both very weak, while his 4.72 xFIP is close to two runs above his actual ERA. You can't deny that he's been getting the job done but at some point, the bubble has to burst.
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