Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
I was wrong.
Those words are never easy to say, but when it comes to fantasy, it tends to happen a lot. It’s like being a weatherman a lot of the time, and when it comes to the fantasy prospects of Yasiel Puig, it appears I projected thunderstorms when almost two months of the season, it’s been nothing but sunshine.
The reason I was telling people to temper expectations with Puig was inexperience. He obviously hit the scene during his first season in the majors, but there were signs that worried me a bit. A bit of a reckless player, Puig lacked plate discipline and was a very free-swinging hitter. In fact, last season, when he saw three or more pitches in an at-bat, his average dropped to a weak .224. He also swung at 38.9 pitches landing outside of the strike zone, which put him inside the bottom-12 in baseball in that regard. However, so far in 2014, he’s taken great strides, which has helped him rank 10th overall on ESPN’s Player Rater. His chase rate has dropped a whole 10 percent, his swinging strike rate is down over five percent and he is walking three percent more of the time. He has really impressed me with his growth at the plate, and the power has always been real, as he’s currently on pace for 40 home runs. Now, I’m not sold he will hit that many, but assuming he stays healthy, he’ll be a lock for at least 30. Puig also has the speed to swipe 20 bases, making him an elite player in fantasy today.
Risers
Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers- One of my new favorite things to track is the HR/SO ratio of Martinez. As of right now, he has launched 12 homers and only whiffed 11 times. That is absolutely insane. The guy is one of the smartest hitters in baseball, making him a lock to hit over .300 once again. In fact, the last time he failed to hit .300 was back in 2008. Batting between guys like Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler will provide Martinez with ample RBI opportunity all season long, and while his current pace of 40 home runs won’t come to fruition, 25-30 is going to happen. I’m not looking to sell the veteran, I’m looking to buy.
Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves- Teheran tossed his second complete game shutout of the season against the Brewers on Tuesday night, striking out eight batters. He’s always been good, but Teheran is inducing more ground balls this year, jumping from 37 percent to 40. And for as bad as the Braves offense has been, they do have one of the best defenses in baseball behind him, having two studs in Andrelton Simmons and Jason Heyward. His curveball is much improved from last season, which has helped him get out of some jams. It’s also helped his strand rate improve from 80.9 to 86.5 percent. Teheran doesn’t have the same strikeout upside as the top tier pitchers, but a top-20 finish among the position is very possible.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
