Week 2 is already upon us. The opening week of the season is always an excellent time to take advantage of anyone overreacting to a hot start or a horrible outing. So let’s jump into this week’s risers and fallers.
Risers
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PHI
Philadelphia’s leadoff man is off to a weird start. His only hits are home runs. After three games, he is tied for last in the league with a BABIP of .000 (Batting Average on Balls in Play). Players with a lower than average BABIP are usually good buy-low candidates, depending on other factors.
McCutchen is hitting the ball the hard, registering a 43% Hard%, well above average. Going forward, I love McCutchen playing in the launching pad that is Philly’s home park. It doesn’t hurt as well that his fellow free agent acquisition, Bryce Harper, is mashing as well.
Matthew Boyd, SP, DET
The sample size is one game, but, wow ,what a first start for Boyd against the Blue Jays. 10 strikeouts and a walk in five innings. Sure, he gave up three runs, but the strikeout upside is all we care about for now.
Boyd broke out last year with an impressive K/9 of 8.40 in 170 innings and will surely see an increase in innings this year with the Tigers not in contention. Now is the time to grab him if he is available in your league (currently 39% owned in CBS fantasy leagues) before his next outing gets the attention of your league mates.
Holding Steady
Zack Greinke, SP, ARI
It wasn’t the ideal debut for the 35-year old hurler. The Dodgers got to him early, blasting four home runs and lighting up Greinke for seven runs in 3.2 innings. Naysayers will point to his declining velocity, but Greinke showed he was effective last season with a fastball that tops out at 90 MPH.
Greinke thrives on limiting hard contact and forcing hitters into ground balls. He has above-average ability to limit home runs on fly balls (10.3 HR/FB% for his career). Four home runs on six fly balls against a potent Dodgers lineup doesn’t change that.
Now would be the perfect time to swoop on Greinke if you can find an impatient owner, especially with the bias against old players so widespread in the fantasy game.
Fallers
Alex Bregman, SS/3B, HOU
Four games in and Bregman has managed to get on base one time so far. Yikes. It’s super early in the season, but with an ADP of 13, you expect elite production from day 1.
Bregman managed an impressive improvement on his BB% from 8.8% to 13.6% in 2018. So it seems a bit shocking that he hasn’t drawn a single walk through four games.
It’s not like you’re going to drop him at this point, but it bears watching. If he doesn’t show the same patience at the plate as last year, it might be time to look to trade him before his value falls.