Archive for Jung-ho Kang

By this time next week, several teams in the National League will probably have lineups with a different look. For now, managers are mostly tinkering on the margins. Still, there are a few players who have recently seen their playing time take a turn for the better or the worse.

Arizona

David Peralta made his return to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury. He pinch-hit on Wednesday, but on Friday he started, and Christian Walker was the regular who made way for him. Going forward, Peralta’s presence could impact Jarrod Dyson and Tim Locastro, who had been splitting time in left field. A change in the batting order could be in the works, as Dyson and Locastro have been serving as the leadoff hitters. Peralta has batted exclusively in the third and fourth spots so far this season.
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Early Average Draft Position is such an astounding thing, as typical and interesting draft tendencies are widely reflected in it. Rookies and inexperienced players being taken too high, quality performers being limited because of a smaller market, etc. Also, Josh Donaldson as the fourth third baseman on average? Come on. With that in mind, it makes sense to look at some of those ADP figures and examine who could be a potential sleeper in drafts as the month of March continues to barrel toward the regular season. Those identified as “sleepers” here are based primarily off of their ADP more so than name recognition.

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Let’s get to the injury updates/analysis….

Jung Ho Kang is on the 15-day DL with a left shoulder injury. No official word as to what he hurt, but the way he landed on it gives me some pause. Hopefully it is minor, and he did run off the field afterwards. These impact injuries could be anything in such a complex joint as the shoulder, from a collarbone fracture to a ligament sprain to a labral tear. Yes, non-pitchers can tear their labrum too. Tough timing because he was starting to hit the ball well.

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I ran the 2016 Steamer projections through Zach Sanders’ Fantasy Value Above Replacement system and compared the results to early ADP data. Below I’ve got a player at each infield position that the Steamer projections think are unlikely to live up to their draft day price.

Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore Orioles

Wieters coming off the board as the ninth catcher on average makes little sense. For one, drafters are counting on a big bounce back in health from a now 30-year-old catcher. Wieters has a combined 394 plate appearances in the last two seasons. Staying healthy and getting enough PA to be a relevant fantasy option in shallow mixed leagues will be Wieters’ biggest obstacle this season.

But let’s not forget that he wasn’t that great in his last healthy season in 2013. Per our end of season valuations for that year, Wieters was barely starter-caliber in 12-team mixed leagues. His biggest issue that season was a .235 batting average, which was undoubtedly somewhat affected by some bad luck on balls in play. But since that time Wieters has been striking out more, as his strikeout rate was was a career-high 23.8 percent last year in 282 PA. So even assuming better health and an absence of bad luck on balls in play, Wieters seems unlikely to hit for much average. Steamer has a low-but-reasonable projection for Wieters’ BABIP and a 20.3 percent projected strikeout rate with a projection for his average of .244.

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Middle infield is a position that gamers often have to hold their nose while filling. An increase in playing time for a rookie in Pittsburgh could add a semi-intriguing name to the middle infield waste land. A pair of vastly different outfielders have something to offer gamers in larger leagues. Finally, gamers looking for a possible breakout at starting pitcher who should, at worst, contribute positively in strikeouts could find this mystery man in the desert and on your waiver wire. Read the rest of this entry »