I’m not blaming the newly instituted 10-Day DL, but 2017 has seen it’s fair share of players hitting the disabled list. It’s been frustrating losing players each week, and the waiver wire has been extremely thin. I am anxiously awaiting the Super II deadline with the hopes of snagging a prospect that can help me instantly. There are a names out there such as: Franklin Barreto, Amed Rosario, and Yoan Moncada. Moncada looks primed to have the biggest impact, but there’s no questioning Barreto and Rosario can be solid additions not only to their Major League teams, but to all fantasy teams. While we waiting patiently for the arrival of Minor League Maestros, what player(s) should we be targeting in the meantime? With the injuries to Logan Forsythe, and recently Justin Turner, the Dodgers have penciled in Chris Taylor to the starting lineup. While Forsythe started his rehab assignment at Rancho Cucamonga, the Dodgers saw Turner hit the DL with a hamstring strain. For Taylor, this means he will stick around the lineup and see daily at-bats while playing third base. He’s been on an early tear, and this week, I want to focus on the pleasant surprise of the waiver wire in “That’s Amore!” Will Chris Taylor Continue Seeing At-Bats?

The former Mariner came over to Tinseltown during the 2016 season. Accumulating only 291 at-bats in his first three seasons, Taylor showed the ability to hit Major League pitching, but as with numerous young players, strikeouts piled up. Fast forward to 2017, Taylor has been on a tear accumulating a slash line of .338/.454/.588 in his first 80 at-bats. The power numbers have been a warm welcome as he’s hit five home runs to go along with 16 RBI and 16 runs scored. The home runs have been a head scratcher as Taylor hit a total of 23, in the minor leagues, through 1700 at-bats. Only once, during the 2013 season through A and AA, did he reach eight home runs. While looking through his minor league statistics, it’s easy to see why the power has been a surprise as it’s never been his calling card. What can we attribute this fast start to? During his 2015 season with Seattle Taylor’s strikeout rate was at an undesirable 30.4%. Early into 2017, he’s managed a reasonable 23.7%. This is a steep improvement for a player that only saw 61 2016 at-bats. On the other side, his 17.5 walk percentage is the highest it’s ever been at any level of professional baseball. I’m not suggesting these numbers will stay afloat all season, but the full season of Triple-A baseball may have allowed Taylor to make the necessary adjustments to Major League-ready pitching. Having nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (23) is a positive sign pointing to more playing time.

Taylor’s plate discipline has been one of his greatest improvements in his fourth stint in the Majors. From 2014-2016 Taylor’s O-Swing% sat at 23.63%. This season, he’s shown the necessary discipline managing a 14.9 O-Contact% at pitches outside the zone. This is the type of adjustment that is needed to see consistent at-bats. Looking at contact percentage at pitches inside the zone, he’s seen an increase from 81.9% (2014-2016) to 88.6% this season. His overall contact percentage has been bolstered as well, making contact at nearly 89% of swings. For me, the number that sticks out the most his is overall Swing%. Early on, from 2014-2016, Taylor was a tad anxious swinging at 47.23% of the time. This season, he’s lowered that number to 38.9%. His advanced plate discipline is directly correlated to his hot start, and with the Dodgers being no stranger to injuries, Taylor’s stated his case to get at-bats on a consistent basis.

Taylor’s stock is rising in fantasy baseball. With own percentages are 15.7% (ESPN), 21% (Fantrax), and 32% (Yahoo). This number is only going to rise further with his hot start. While the Dodgers are getting second baseman Logan Forsythe back soon, Taylor will shift over to third base with Justin Turner hitting the disabled list this past week. In most leagues, Chris Taylor has multiple position eligibility at both second and third base. With Yahoo being the odd ball, where Taylor also holds additional eligibility at shortstop. Given the multiple position eligibility, Taylor automatically becomes an intriguing target. Even as a utility filler, it’s hard to come by a free agent acquisition that has had as much success as Taylor.

What can we expect moving forward? While I don’t expect the power to last into the summer, the fact that he’s already hit five home runs makes it easy to see him reaching 15 home runs as the floor. I see his ceiling being 20. Certainly, the at-bats will need to stick if he’s to reach even 15 home runs. Turner’s hamstring injury will shelve him for at least two weeks. Assuming it takes a little bit longer, Taylor should at least double his at-bats that he’s currently seen. Even after the Dodgers return to full health, Taylor could still get consistent at-bats if he continues to hit. Yasiel Puig is exactly what we’ve seen, and if he continues to play mediocre baseball, the Dodgers can platoon the hot bat in right field. There are numerous ways to find Taylor at-bats. This is assuming he loses playing time down the road. If you’re looking for a hitter on a hot streak, don’t be timid with grabbing Taylor. Waiver wires are made for playing the hot hand, and no hand has been hotter than that of the Dodgers infielder.

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(Click the RED link to listen)

Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show: Join guest host Andrea Lamont, and Kyle Amore live on Monday May 15th, 2017 from 7-9pm EST for episode #87 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio. We are a live broadcast that will take callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. We will be previewing the coming week’s key matchups and discussing key fantasy information.

Our guest this week is Lenny Melnick. Lenny is fantasy baseball pioneer, current FSWA Hall of Famer, and the host of his daily podcasts on lennymelnickfantasysports.com Mon-Fri at 9am EST. He also co-hosts a show every Sunday morning from 7-10am EST with Craig Mish on the fantasy sports station on Sirius.

You can find our shows on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section. For Android users go to “Podcast Republic,” then download that app, and search for “Major League Fantasy Sports Show”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Click the RED link below to listen)

Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show: Join Corey D Roberts, and Kyle Amore live on Sunday May 21st, 2017 from 7-9pm EST for episode #88 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio. We are a live broadcast that will take callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. We will be previewing the coming week’s key matchups and discussing key fantasy information.

Our guest this week is Kevin Bzdek. Kevin is a writer with majorleaguefantasysports.com. His articles focus on bullpens and publish every Friday.

You can find our shows on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section. For Android users go to “Podcast Republic,” then download that app, and search for “Major League Fantasy Sports Show”

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