This article is part of our The Daily Duel series.
Teams continue to call up players plus some veterans have come off the DL in this week's "Newbies" section. It's important to track everyone coming back into their team's lineup, as they could make for sneaky plays in tournament formats if your opponents aren't on top of the latest promotions and players being activated.
Newbies
Grant Green, LAA, $2200 – Green might get a look with his new club now that Howie Kendrick is banged up and the Angels are quickly falling out of the playoff race. A former first-round pick, Green posted a .879 OPS at Triple-A Sacramento while in the Oakland farm system this season. Green has shown decent pop in the minors for a middle infielder, recording 55 home runs over the last four seasons.
Cody Asche, PHI, $2800 – Sooner than later, it should become apparent to the Phillies that Michael Young is not the future of the team at third base. Asche had a .837 OPS with 15 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 446 plate appearances for Triple-A Lehigh Valley of the International League. Monitor the situation to see what Charlie Manuel does with the lineup now that Domonic Brown is back, which could force Asche to the bench in favor of Young.
Kole Calhoun, LAA, $2800 – Calhoun might be the most interesting "Newbie" for me this week given his performance with Triple-A Salt Lake City. He sported an outstanding 32:32 B:KK ratio, and while the 12 home runs don't look overly impressive, that stat came over only 240 plate appearances. He homered in back-to-back games last week and should find his way into the lineup with J.B. Shuck sporting a less-than-average .706 OPS.
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.
Prince Fielder, DET, $2800 – I have to admit, I did a double-take when I saw Fielder's name and cheap price tag. It wouldn't surprise me if this was his lowest price ever on FanDuel. The drop in price is directly related to Fielder's drop in production, not only over the past 30 days (.647 OPS) but more specifically the last 14 days (.602 OPS with one home run over his last 53 at-bats). One of the most durable players in the game, there are no reports of an injury here so it should only be a matter of time before Fielder breaks out of this slump.
Nick Markakis, BAL, $2300 – At first look, I wasn't quite sure why Markakis' price had dropped so much, especially since he has reached base safely in 14 of his last 15 games. However, he has only one extra base hit during that span, which hurts his numbers in the FanDuel format. That being said, Markakis plays in a good hitter's park and he typically slots in somewhere ahead of Adam Jones and Chris Davis, which means he'll score plenty of runs.
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.
Eric Hosmer, KC, $3600 – When playing daily fantasy on FanDuel, it's easy to overlook someone like Hosmer given all of the other viable options at first base. Hosmer had a monster game Monday night, going 3-for-5 with a double, home run and five RBI. His recent success extends past Monday's performance as he's had eight multi-hit efforts over his last 13 games. Ride him while he's hot.
David Freese, STL, $3200 – Entering Tuesday night's game, Freese was on a five-game double streak during which he added a home run and seven RBI as well. Freese appears to finally be working the gaps in the outfield rather than pressing at plate. Most of his advanced stats aren't out of line with what he's done in the past; his K:BB ratio is the best of his career, and while still high, his BABIP is a career-worst .333, showing that he's been a little unlucky to this point.
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