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 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
Matt Davidson, ARI, $2400 – The Cody Ross hip injury has opened up a good opportunity for Davidson, who will push Martin Prado to the outfield. Davidson is a decent prospect at the hot corner who has at least 20 home runs over the past two seasons in the minors. The MVP of this season's All-Star Futures Game, Davidson won the Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby as well. The power here is legit and he'll move into a lineup and ballpark that's more than conducive for offense.
Andrew Lambo, PIT, $3000 – Looking for an offensive spark, the Pirates decided to call up Lambo, who was promptly placed in the starting lineup Tuesday night against Adam Wainwright. He's an interesting player in that he turned 25 on Sunday and doesn't come with a ton of pedigree. That being said, any player who hits 31 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A is going to be noticed. Lambo was originally a fourth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers who was banned back in 2010 for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance. He has had both shoulder and wrist issues in the minors, which both could have hampered his development. Lambo will strike out a lot (25 percent this season) but if he makes solid contact, watch out.
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.
Jean Segura, MIL, $3000 – With everything that has gone wrong in Milwaukee this season, Segura and Carlos Gomez have been two of the brighter spots. In a position that has been relatively thin this season, Segura leads all shortstops in batting average (.312) while ranking second in stolen bases (35) and runs (63) and fourth in home runs (12). He hasn't homered this month yet, which may account for the drop in price, but he has hit safely in nine straight games. Segura also has four stolen bases over his last five games, a category he's been incredibly efficient in this season (35-for-43, 81 percent).
Pablo Sandoval, SF, $2400 – Sandoval is in something of a fierce slump, holding a 1-for-19 mark at the plate over his last six games. If there is anything of a silver lining over that span, he has walked four times against only three strikeouts. A notoriously bad-ball hitter, Sandoval has been moved down in the lineup to help him snap out of his current funk. Sandoval shouldn't slump too much longer and he's hitting in a good RBI spot with Hunter Pence and Buster Posey in front of him.
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.
Justin Smoak, SEA, $3400 – After struggling at the plate for most of his MLB career, it appears Smoak may finally be somewhat breaking out this season. He's a former first-round pick and was one the key piece in the Cliff Lee deal years ago, so the pedigree is here. It's hard to ascertain if Smoak will be an everyday player going forward or the left-handed part of a platoon at first base. He's up to a .945 OPS vs. right-handed pitching this season which includes 13 home runs over 221 at-bats. Another split that's not a shocker is that he's hitting better on the road (.869) than at Safeco (.777). Using those splits, you know when you should plug Smoak into your lineup.
Adrian Beltre, TEX, $4800 – After some guy named Cabrera, it's hard to argue that there's been a more valuable third baseman in daily fantasy than Adrian Beltre this season. Beltre clocks in at third atthe position for runs (69), batting average (.322), home runs (25) and RBI (72). Even with an 0-for-3 performance on Tuesday, Beltre still has an 1.217 OPS over the last week. More impressive yet are his 10 multi-hit performances in the past 15 games.
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