Adam Lind, 1B (TOR)–Lind was optioned earlier in the season after a sluggish-start to the season, but has reemerged as a viable fantasy player in both mixed and AL-Only leagues. Since returning to the Blue Jays lineup on June 25, Lind has connected for three home runs and seven RBIs in just over a week’s worth of action. Over that span he has three multi-hit games and has been receiving regular playing time, which was hard to come by before being demoted. Although it is unlikely he ever returns back to his 2009 production when he hit 35 home runs, hitting in the five-hole in the Blue Jays offense should result in plenty of fantasy value as long as he continues to hit.

Tyler Colvin, 1B, OF (COL)–Playing time was tough to come by early in the season for Colvin, but the Rockies could no longer turn their heads on his production. Since given regular playing time Colvin has been on an absolute tear and is currently sitting on a .302 batting average with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs. In his previous 10 games Colvin has connected for three home runs and has driven-in 14 RBIs which should give him the playing time needed to be a regular in fantasy lineups. Colvin has shown flashes like this in the past as a member for the Cubs when he hit 20 home runs in 2010 in 358 at-bats, but failed to get the playing time in 2011 finishing with just 172 at-bats. At this point, the Rockies can’t afford to take his bat out of the lineup, so expect to see him continue raking for the Rockies making him a must-start in NL-Only leagues and a serviceable option in mixed leagues.

Yasmani Grandal, C (SD)–Although Grandal has played in just five games since being promoted from Triple-A, he has made an immediate impact in the Padres lineup. Since June 30, Grandal has hit four home runs with five RBIs and a .300 batting average. He has recorded a hit in four out of the five games with two multi-hit games. There is no way he continues to hit home runs at this pace, especially hitting in the spacious Petco Park for half his games, but his power stroke is for real. In 56 games for the Padres Trilpe-A affiliate Grandal hit six home runs and drove-in 35 RBIs with sporting a .330 batting average. He was lucky enough to play his first two series’ in Colorado and Arizona, which have hitter’s ballparks, but expect him to continue swinging a hot bat now that he is in the lineup for good.

Salvador Perez, C (KC)–Perez made an immediate impact last season after being promoted in the second half of the season finishing the season with a .331 batting average and impressed fantasy owners throughout all formats. He suffered a knee injury in Spring Training that sidelined him until late last month, but since returning he has picked up right where he left off. Through 35 at-bats this season Perez is hitting .371 with three home runs and seven RBIs and has recorded at least one hit in every game that he has played thus far. It is hard to imagine that he will sustain a .371 batting average, but this rising star is definitely someone to target in fantasy leagues.

Alexi Amarista, 2B (SD)–There are few bright spots in the Padres lineup these days, but Amarista is definitely one of them. Since June 20 Amarista has compiled five multi-hit games and has driven-in 15 RBIs despite not being known for his power. He is sitting on a .290 batting average, which he can easily sustain for the remainder of the season, but it is the lineup around him which will limit his potential. With scarcity at the middle-infield position Amarista can be a solid pickup for those in NL-Only leagues and a decent bench player in deep mixed leagues moving forward.

Andrelton Simmons, SS (ATL)–Simmons was known throughout the minor leagues as a defensive shortstop, but since being promoted to Atlanta Simmons has been swinging a hot bat. He is currently sporting a .311 batting average with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 103 at-bats for the Braves. He has now hit six home runs between the majors and Double-A, which has easily surpassed his home run total from 2011 which was one home run. He is not known for his power to say the least, but the Braves lineup is good enough to help him be productive in terms of fantasy. As long as he continues to get on base he will have plenty of chances to scores runs and keep his batting average around the .300-mark.

Matthew Beck is a Fantasy Sports Columnist for Rotoinfo.com. If you have any questions or comments feel free to e-mail him at matthewbeck@rotoinfo.com.  Also follow him on Twitter @MatthewRBeck for up-to-date Q&A and fantasy information.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2012 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Fantasy Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.