Roto Roundup: Henderson Alvarez, Ryan Braun, Wil Myers and others

Happy Easter to all Fake Teams readers! The Roundup is a little late this morning, as I didn't get to it until this morning. Let's take a look at what happened on Saturday.

Wil Myers breaks out of slump

Rays outfielder Wil Myers has struggled at the plate to start the 2014 season, but he filled up the box score on Saturday vs the Yankees. Myers went 3-4 with a walk, double, two home runs, four runs scored and four RBI in the Rays 16-1 thrashing of the Yankees. Myers was hitting .192 with no home runs and four RBI coming into the series, but is now 6-10 in the series with two home runs and seven RBI.

Myers is now hitting .262-.338-.410 with two home runs, 9 runs and 11 RBI in 61 at bats thus far. Hopefully, he is over his early season slump and his power starts to appear on a more regular basis. Myers has the potential to be a 30 home run hitter as soon as this season.

For more on Myers and the Rays, check out DRaysBay, SB Nation's Ray's fan site.

Jonathan Villar flashing power and speed

Astros shortstop Jonathan Villar wasn't in our top 12 fantasy shortstop rankings in the preseason, mainly due to the fact that he doesn't hit for a high average, and only helps in one category: stolen bases. Well, Villar is trying to change that perception in the early going of the 2014 season. Last night, Villar, who bats ninth in the Astros order, went 2-3 with a home run, double, two runs scored and a stolen base in the Astros 4-3 loss to the A's.

Like mentioned above, Villar won't hit for average, as he is hitting .212-.293-.442 with three home runs, eight runs, six RBI and four stolen bases this season. The Astros struggle to score runs, so Villar should continue to get the green light on the base paths and could hit double digit home runs as well. I see 35+ stolen bases and 10-12 home runs in a full season of at bats.

For more on Villar and the Astros, make sure you check out Crawfish Boxes, SB Nation's Astros fan site.

Henderson Alvarez flirts with second no-hitter

The Marlins might be the sleeping beast in the National League East if starters Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez can show some consistency on the mound as the season goes along. They aren't ace quality starting pitchers, but both could be #2-3 level starters. In his last start of the 2013 season, Alvarez threw a no-hitter in his last start of the 2013 season vs the Tigers, and last night, he nearly duplicated the feat. Actually, he was two outs away from a perfect game.

Henderson allowed a one out double in the ninth to Mariners catcher Mike Zunino and finished with a  two hit complete game shutout. Alvarez walked none and struck out four in the Marlins 7-0 win over the Mariners. Alvarez needed just 90 pitches to complete the shutout, a game in which he induced an astonishing 17 ground ball outs. He is now 1-2 on the season with a 2.66 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a 14-7 strikeout to walk rate in 23.2 innings. Alvarez is inducing ground balls at a 57% rate so far in 2014.

Round'em Up

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is still dealing with a thumb injury, an injury that may bother him all season. But, Braun can still fill up the box score from time to time. A few weeks ago, he hit three home runs and drove in seven vs the Phillies, and last night, he went 3-4 with two home runs, four runs scored and three RBI in the Brewers 8-7 win over the Pirates. His second home run was the game winner off of Pirates closer Jason Grilli. Braun is now hitting .292-.319-.600 with 5 home runs, 15 runs, 13 RBI and two stolen bases in 65 at bats. If you are worried about Braun's thumb injury, now might be a good time to deal him to an owner willing to take on the injury risk.

One of the biggest surprises of the 2014 season so far has been the pitching of Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle. Buehrle tossed seven scoreless innings vs the Indians on Saturday afternoon, giving up just four hits, walking three and striking out three in the Blue Jays 5-0 win. Buehrle is now 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a respectable 19-5 strikeout to walk rate in 28 innings. He isn't a strikeout pitcher by any means, as he pitches to contact inducing ground ball outs, but is prone to the blow up start from time to time.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has struggled at the plate thus far in 2014, but he had a nice night at the plate on Saturday night. Kemp went 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in the Dodgers 8-6 win over the Diamondbacks. Kemp is now hitting .209-.320-.488 with three home runs, seven runs and RBI and two stolen bases in 43 at bats. He is striking out in 32% of his plate appearances thus far, but is taking walks at a 14% rate as well.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols is closing in on 500 career home runs after hitting #498 last night in the Angles 5-2 loss to the Tigers. Pujols went 1-3 with the home run and a walk, and is now hitting .282-.354-.608 with six home runs, 11 runs and 14 RBI in the early going. It appears he is over the foot injuries from last season and he might just duplicate his 2012 season stats in 2014, something I did not think he could do in the preseason.

If you own Cubs prospect Javier Baez, you can feel a sense of relief as he was activated from the disabled list today. This from Carrie Muskat from MLB.com:

Good news from @IowaCubs Javier Baez is back in lineup and DH today. Has been sidelined with sore left ankle

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) April 20, 2014

Hopefully he can hit better than he did before the ankle injury.

Braves outfielder Justin Upton is off to a hot April once again in 2014. Last season, Upton hit 12 home runs and drove in 19 runs in April. After going 3-5 with a home run, two runs and three RBI in the Braves 7-5 win over the Mets, Upton is now hitting .333-.419-.603 with six home runs, 14 runs and 12 RBI in 63 at bats thus far. If he can hit better in the months after April this season, he could put up a monster season at the plate for his owners, but he has struck out in more than a third of his at bats this season.

Fantasy Rundown

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