It was easy to see why fantasy baseball owners passed on Wil Myers in drafts. The Padres’ first baseman has not stayed healthy after winning the AL Rookie of the Year with the Rays in 2013. Not only he did play just 147 games combined the past two seasons, he had 14 home runs and 64 RBIs, so there wasn’t even great production.
Lack of health and playing for a rebuilding Padres team wasn’t very appealing. But Myers was a top prospect, is just 25 and is another example of why you don’t give up on top talent. He is one of the surprising players in 2016, and he is for real.
Myers already has set several career highs in 72 games. He is batting .284 with 47 runs, 16 home runs, 45 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and an .853 OPS.
A 2.66 ERA and 0.91 WHIP should not equate to a 3-7 record. This is the case for Julio Teheran since he pitches for a bad Braves team. Though the strikeout percentage and walk rates are down, he has a career worst 35.5 percent hard-hit rate, his velocity is down and his swinging-strike rate of 9.8 percent is his worst in four years. A .206 BABIP and high 81.6 percent strand rate indicate some good luck. The wins won’t be there, so sell.
It feels like people don’t want to believe in Steven Wright. The Red Sox’s knuckleballer is 8-4 with a 2.01 ERA and 1.10 WHIP and an 11.3 percent swinging-strike rate indicates the 20.1 percent strikeout rate could rise. Knuckleballers are difficult to predict, but watching the movement on Wright’s pitches show he can continue to be successful, and he gets a lot of offensive support. Buy.
Jonathan Villar is having a breakout season, and though he strikes out 25.4 percent of the time, he has increased the walk rate to 11.9 percent, has a 22.5 percent line-drive rate and a 31.2 percent hard-hit rate. The reason you need to keep him is steals, with 25 in 33 attempts.
Health has held back Michael Saunders the past few seasons, but hitting cleanup and a hard-hit rate of 37.5 percent show he can continue to build on his 15 home runs and 32 RBIs.
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