Closing Time: Dietrich, Bradley, Cingrani and other notable names
Derek Dietrich entered the 2016 season without an everyday role for Miami, coming off a miserable spring (3-for-34). He made the most of his limited early opportunities, however, collecting nine hits in his first 27 at-bats. When the Dee Gordon/PED news broke, Dietrich found himself with a path to regular playing time and, well ... so far, so good.
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Dietrich was batting lead-off for the Marlins on Monday and he went 3-for-5 with a triple, one RBI and a run scored. He's now slashing .407/.467/.630 for the month and .333/.417/.603 for the season with 10 extra-base hits in just 72 plate appearances. Dietrich cleared the fence 10 times in 250 at-bats last year, so the pop is real. We probably shouldn't expect him to hit for average over the long haul, but he did flash on-base ability in the minors, so he's not the worst choice to hit at the top of the order.
Fantasy-wise, Dietrich's most appealing trait if probably the fact that he's eligible at 2B, 3B and OF. He shouldn't lack for at-bats over the next two-and-a-half months, and he offers decent power numbers from a variety of roster spots, including middle-infield. His positional flexibility makes him a useful bench piece in deeper leagues and the premium lineup spot is a huge plus. Dietrich is available in pretty much all leagues as of this writing.
• Jackie Bradley Jr. kept his streak alive, hitting safely in his 15th straight game, going 3-for-5 against Oakland with a wall-scraping grand slam. Bradley has delivered back-to-back multi-hit performances and he's homered in three of his last five games. He's raised his season slash from .222/.271/.315 to .303/.353/.550 during the streak. At 26, it's perfectly reasonable to expect a breakout year from Bradley — his current numbers aren't out of line with his career minor league stats (.294/.391/.460). He isn't likely to maintain that ridiculous .377 BABIP over a full season, but there's a lot to like here, beyond the 5X5 stats. Bradley has lowered his K-rate in every big league season. Add as needed. He remains unattached in 57 percent of Yahoo leagues.
• Julio Urias continued his dominance of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on Monday, firing another 6.0 scoreless frames for Oklahoma City, striking out four. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 16 innings, lowering his season ERA to 1.50. At this point, it's almost tough to argue that the 19-year-old is being challenged. You might recall that Urias tossed six no-hit innings in his previous start. There's been talk that the Dodgers might call up the flame-throwing left-hander to assist the 'pen, so be prepared to add.
• Carlos Beltran is like a thousand years old (39) and clearly isn't the fantasy asset he used to be. But he still managed to take Chris Young deep twice on Monday, his fifth and sixth homers of the season. Beltran is one of the all-time binge players, a fun guy to own when he's healthy and rolling. Not surprisingly, he's widely available in Yahoo leagues.
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• Mike Fiers encountered little resistance from Cleveland on Monday, cruising through 7.0 innings, allowing just three hits and one run. His season got off to a rough start, but he's been plenty good in three of his last four starts.
• Ketel Marte delivered one of the season's better stat lines, facing Matt Moore and the Rays. Marte went 4-for-5 with three runs, three RBIs, two doubles and his first homer of the season. He's a guy known more for speed than pop, so don't expect another home run anytime soon. Just appreciate the fact that he's on a nice run at the moment, with four multi-hit games in his last seven.
• Tony Cingrani shut the door for Cincinnati on Monday — not emphatically, exactly, but he shut it. He allowed a lead-off double to Jung Ho Kang before retiring the next three batters on a pair of groundouts and a liner to center. It was his second save over the past four days, and his first of the traditional enter-in-the-ninth variety. Cingrani is your committee head in Cincy.
We should note that the Reds have also called up minor league reliever Layne Somsen, who was off to a terrific start at Triple-A Louisville (0.86 WHIP, 15 Ks in 14.0 IP). Considering the current state of that team's overworked and under-talented bullpen, perhaps we should all file away Somsen's name.
• Doubleheader alert: San Diego and Chicago were washed out on Monday, so the teams will play two on Wednesday. Check your league's free agent pool for any available Cubs and Pads who might be useful. This is an early opportunity to pick up bonus games, to help you reach season limits.
