Welcome back to Perception Vs. Reality. Baseball is in full swing as we sprint towards the middle of May. The sample sizes are becoming clearer and there is not such a big jump each week in the player rater which we are going to take a look at. A couple of the players that struggled early such as Trea Turner and Jose Ramirez are starting to creep up the player rater board as they are looking like themselves and then there are some surprises that we are going to get into. Let’s start with a player who isn’t a surprise performer, but health is always an issue.
Outfield
A.J. Pollock – The home runs have slowed down for Pollock but he is still slugging multiple hit games on a regular basis. Pollock comes in at #3 on the player rater and the talent is there as long as the health is. If you could guarantee me 600 at bats from him there is not a lot that I wouldn’t trade for him. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I think that there is value in trading for him. Pollock has already stolen 8 bases so if you’re struggling in that category, he might be worth giving up a power bat for because he doesn’t lack in that department either.
Nick Markakis- Nick Markakis comes in at 30 on the player rater and that seems kind of low for the season that he is having. He’s slowed down over his past two games, but in the four games before, he was 11 for 16 with two home runs and 6 rbis. Even if Markakis is coming back to Earth, he’s still a valuable fantasy asset because of how great Atlanta’s offense is hitting the ball. I’m not looking to deal him unless I’m clearly winning the offer.
Eddie Rosario – After a somewhat slow start to the season, Eddie Rosario is starting to look like the player at the plate that he was last season. Rosario has four straight games with multiple hits, bringing his average to over .290. He’s not walking a lot this season, so I would keep your pants on if you’re in an on base percentage league, but with four stolen bases already, he looks to be a decent speed contributor as well. Rosario is #25 so far on the player rater.
Second Base
Cesar Hernandez – The Scott Kingery hype has quieted down to a nervous whisper for the 2018 season and Cesar Hernandez looks like the middle infielder to own. Hernandez is on pace for a career high in home runs and stolen bases this season and is sitting at #55 on the player rater. He’s even more impressive in on base percentage leagues as he is creeping towards .400.
Third Base
Maikel Franco- We are going to stick with the Phillies for our last player of the week. Maikel Franco has started off the month of May hot with two home runs already. That follows up the 4 that he had in the first month of the season. Franco is much improved in the batting average department as he sits at .279 for the season. Franco hit in the clean up spot of Monday, and if he is somehow able to do that more often instead of batting 6th, that would be very beneficial to his value. Keep an eye out for where he is hitting in the batting order in the coming weeks.
