This article is part of our The Daily Duel series.
Teams continue to call up players in this week's "Newbies" section. It's important to track everyone returning or making debuts in their respective lineups, as they could make for sneaky plays in tournament formats if your opponents aren't keeping track of them.
Newbies
Billy Hamilton, CIN, $3200 – Owners who drafted and held onto Hamilton all season probably won't get their value out of him but that doesn't mean he won't have some value for daily players. Hamilton has a ton of speed, going 75-for-90 on stolen base attempts at Triple-A Louisville before his promotion. His trouble has been getting on base, although he showed much better discipline since the All-Star break. He is probably only going to pick up a start or two each week, so make sure he's in the Reds' lineup before you consider using him.
Value Players Looking To Rebound
Here are some players who have seen their value drop significantly due to poor production in the season thus far. You might be surprised at some of the names and how much their stock has fallen. That being said, for most of these players there is either a track record of success or enough pedigree that they should be able to turn their season around sooner rather than later. As a result, they should provide good value in the near future.
Kendrys Morales, SEA, $2400 – I'm not sure what has happened to Morales since August 1, as he only has one home run and his OPS has dropped 50 points. That's the bad news. The good news is that Morales has been streaky this season month-by-month and could heat up and finish the season strong. Here are how his monthly splits have gone for OPS:
- April - .738
- May - .983
- June - .571
- July - .941
- August - .655
As you can see he's a cheap option with potential; just wait a game or two until he shows signs of life at the plate.
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA, $3500 – It's been a tough season for Stanton who once again missed time due to injury and has had to endure playing for arguably the worst team in the league. His .831 OPS isn't terrible but is low considering what was expected out of him this season. Oddly, the best situations to use him this season have been when he's at home (1.067 OPS) and against left-handed pitching (.908 OPS).
On Fire
These players have been some of the hottest hitters in the league recently. They are worth considering putting into the lineup regardless of the price they cost. Hot streaks do not always last, but there is no reason to sit a player down if he is smoking the ball.
Mitch Moreland, TEX, $2700 – Moreland quietly has been one of the better power bats in the Rangers lineup hitting 22 homers this season, third on the team behind Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz. Over the last two weeks, Moreland has only gone 10-for-39 (.256) but five of those hits have been home runs. He hasn't shown any drastic home/away splits, but he faired better against right-handed pitching (151 OPS points higher than left-handed pitching).
Brian Dozier, MIN, $3600 – Can someone explain to me how it is Dozier has become a power hitter this season? In the past four seasons (three in the minors) he hit 17 dingers total. He's been arguably the Twins hottest hitter as of late (with Justin Morneau traded and Joe Mauer on the DL) going 8-for-29 with four home runs. Even more impressive for his season-long numbers is that his home OPS (.780) is better than his road OPS (.725). While the Twins are running out a makeshift lineup these days, Dozier hitting in the top third should find him a few extra at-bats each week.
Coco Crisp, OAK, $3600 – Just once I'd like to see what Crisp could do if he stayed healthy and got 600 plate appearances. He reached 583 plate appearances a couple of seasons ago and finished with eight home runs and 49 stolen bases. Over the past two seasons, he's slowed down a little with the steals but has seen a spike in his home run totals. In the past two weeks he's gone 18-for-53 (.340) with 15 runs and seven home runs. Ride him while he's hot and semi-healthy.
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