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2016 Fantasy Football Previews
Robert Kohnfelder has been previewing the 2016 fantasy football season by taking a look at the top fantasy weapons in each of the NFL divisions over the the last several weeks, and here are links to the divisions he has previewed to date:
Robert recently published his early June position rankings as well:
Matias Wonder took a look at some under valued and over valued players according to current ADP rankings this week:
Early ADP Check: Overpriced and Underpriced
Robert Keeley ranked his early quarterback rankings for Dynasty leagues as well:
2016 Fantasy Football Dynasty Quarterback Rankings
Wade Davis out with forearm injury
The dreaded forearm injury. The precursor to Tommy John in some cases, has found another victim, and this time it is Royals closer Wade Davis. The Royals placed Davis on the 15 day disabled list on Monday, and the Royals think they have caught the injury before it caused any damage to his elbow ligament, according to reports. Here’s more from Royals beat reporter Jeffrey Flanagan from MLB.com:
Jeffrey FlanaganVerified account@FlannyMLB
Ned says Wade Davis injury wont need an MRI. Strain in a different part of forearm away from ligament. #Royals
So, based on that report, the thought is that he should be back in two weeks after the All Star break. Until then, Kelvin Herrera should hold down the closer role in Kansas City, with Joakim Soria maybe getting a chance or two as well.
Roto Roundup
I was pretty happy when I drafted Reds first baseman Joey Votto in the second round of my NL only redraft league back in March. I thought I was getting the 2015 version of Joey Votto. Instead, I got a hitter who had trouble making contact for the first time in his career. He was having trouble dealing with the defensive shifts team played when he was at the plate. He started the season hitting .229 in April, .200 in May, but has since turned his season around, as he hit .319-.466-.549 in June. He has continued his hot streak in July as well, including Tuesday afternoon, where he went 1-1 with 3 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI in the Reds 9-5 win over the Cubs. Votto is now hitting .260-.392-.463 with 14 home runs. 48 runs scored, 42 RBI and 6 stolen bases. His walk rate has begun to tick up, while the strikeouts have dropped, over the last two months, so it appears he is back to the Votto we all thought we were drafting in March, and he is on pace 27 home runs and steal 11 bases. Something tells me he could reach 30 bombs this season. Or, maybe it is just wishful thinking.
Remember how bad Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton looked at the plate in May? He was one of the worst hitters in the game, hitting just .173-.287-.373 with 31 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances. He still isn’t hitting for a high average, but he is making more contact and hitting for power once again. On Tuesday, he went 3-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in the Marlins 5-2 win over the Mets, in Jose Reyes’ return to the big leagues. Stanton is hitting just .226-.320-.464 with 17 home runs, 37 runs scored and 45 RBI, but he is striking out around 33% of his plate appearances, so that number will have to come down for Stanton to start meeting fantasy expectations placed upon him in the beginning of the season.
The concerns over the bone spur in Steven Matz’s left elbow may have been overblown as he limited the Marlins to 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk and 6 strikeouts in 7 innings in the Mets loss to the Marlins last night. The fact that he threw 100 pitches tells me he should be fine heading into the All Star break in just over a week. Matz was left with a no-decision, as the Marlins scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to break up a tie game. Matz is now 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and an excellent 85-19 strikeout to walk rate in 89 innings this season.
Sticking with the theme of hitters showing signs of turning around their seasons after a slow first few months, Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is doing just that. He started the season hitting .169 in April and .238 in May, hitting 4 home runs in each month. After missing a few weeks in June due to injury, Tulo finished the month hitting .263 with a .632 slugging percentage in 41 plate appearances. His hot streak has continued in July, and last night he went 1-3 with a solo home run, and is now hitting .239-.319-.473 with 15 home runs, 27 runs scored and 40 RBI in just 251 plate appearances. He appears poised for strong second half, and should approach the 30 home run mark for the first time since 2011, assuming he can stay on the field.
The Dodgers sent rookie starter Julio Urias back to Triple A on Tuesday night and will call up Hyun-Jin Ryu to start on Thursday night to take his spot in the rotation. Urias had his moments, but did struggle in several of his eight starts in the big leagues. On Monday night, he lasted just 3.1 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in the Dodgers 7-5 win over the tough Orioles lineup. In his eight starts, he went 1-2 with a 4.95 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.54 WHIP and a 44-17 strikeout to walk rate in 36.1 innings. We could see him again in September, but it could be in a relief role depending on whether Alex Wood can return later in the season, and how Ryu and Brandon McCarthy fare in their return from injuries.
Fantasy Rundown
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