Wily Peralta:   Friday, Wily Peralta got the win in his first relief appearance since being booted from the rotation.  The Milwaukee righty sure did not sulk.  He toed the rubber for two hitless innings, striking out 5 in the process.  Many have said for quite some time that Peralta should be a reliever.  They had good reason.  Peralta has the classic fastball/slider two pitch repertoire of a late inning reliever (indeed he has thrown those two pitches over 90% of the time this year).  Oh, and as a starter, his average fastball velocity was in the 95.5 range.  In relief Friday he was averaging over 97 mph.  Peralta may have found his calling.  Now, is it that far-fetched to think he can overtake Knebel and be closing soon?  No.  Should we be investing cheap? Yep!   

Chris Taylor:  Don’t look now but Chris Taylor is for real.  Friday night, Taylor went 3-4 with a run and RBI to up his average to .346 and raise his OPS way over 1,000.  Oh, and with the injury to Justin Turner (you can say it “again”), Taylor will continue to find his way into the lineup.  The question now is how much of this hot hitting can be sustained?  Well, he will not post a 4 digit OPS.  However, let’s look at the signs he can continue to be very productive.  First, his BB rate has gone from 6% last year to 16% this year.  Clearly, he is seeing the ball well and has matured as a hitter.  Second, he had success in the show at the tender age of 23 hitting .287 in 180+ plate appearances back in 2013.  Third, since starting in low A in 2012, Taylor has hit .290+ at every stop along the way.  Finally, he is making hard contact at a much greater rate than before.  All in all, this is a guy on a good team, at the right age (26) to break out and is doing just that. Buy!

Tyler Flowers:  Tyler Flowers went 2-4 with a dinger, two runs and an RBI Saturday night.  Don’t look now but Flowers is hitting .349!  Yes, .349.  He will not soon be mistaken for Rod Carew or George Brett but he will also not be the first catcher to hit his offensive peak at 30 or 31 years old.  From 2009-15, Flowers never hit above .241.  Then in 2016, at age 30, things clicked.  Flowers hit .270.  This year, his maturity at the plate is really showing through.  His BB rate is up over 11%.  His contact rate has jumped from 68% to 76%.  Oh, and he has gone oppo almost 1/3 of the time (the highest level of his career).  Yes, the .440 BABIP will come down but so what?  If Flowers hit .280 with some pop over the remainder of the season would you make a profit on what he would cost right now?  The answer is yes.  Should you chase that profit?  I do not need to answer that do I?

Jonathan Lucroy:  Lucroy went yard Saturday, finishing the contest with his average at .272.  Before you say that .272 is ok but not spectacular, consider this – Lucroy finished April hitting a sorry .206.  Why the improved fortunes?  Well, first Lucroy is a good hitter hitting in a hitters’ park so April was the anomaly.  Second, Lucroy was very unlucky in April posting a BABIP barely over .200 (as opposed to the .340 in May).  Third, Lucroy is actually making more contact this year (up well over the super elite 90%) and cut his strikeouts by 2/3.  Yes, this guy can hit.  If you own, hold.  If you are in a league with an antsy Lucroy owner who is susceptible to claims of a Chirinos platoon, well, you know what to do!

Yangervis Solarte:  Unlike Lucroy, Solarte is not enjoying May.  Indeed, April showers have brought Solarte ice cold freezing rain rather than May flowers.  Saturday, the Padre keystone went 0-4 dropping his average to .226.  Attention: buy low opportunity!  Solarte is a switch hitter who has never hit below .260 in the bigs and who has increased his dinger output each year.  So what is the problem?  First, he has been incredibly unlucky in May posting an absurd BABIP well under .150 (that is less than half of what it should be).  No one is that unlucky.  A correction is coming which means profit is out there in them there hills.  Oh, and guys who play both 2b and 3b are more valuable than ever with all the time your players are spending on the DL in 17.   

Gio Gonzalez:  Last week, we wrote “Gio Gonzalez twirled 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball striking out 5 on Sunday.  On the year, the Nats lefty boasts a sweet 2.47 ERA.  However, there are warning signs.  First, his K/BB sits under 2/1.  Second, his BABIP is a lowly .243 which screams “caution, beware of the correction fast approaching”.  Third, he has an unsustainable strand rate of almost 90%.  Fourth, as if you needed more proof, his groundball, swinging strike and first pitch strike rates are all down from where they were last year – a year in which he posted a 4.57 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.  Sell!”  You sold right? No? Oh Geez.  Gio went out this week and gave up 12 baserunner and 4 ER in just 5 and 2/3 innings of work.  Well, you have been warned twice.  The rest is up to you my friends. 

And now, the moment you likely have not been waiting for -- Schultz says: “Shrewd practitioners of the rotisserie-arts are well versed in determining undervalued veteran talent. Long time readers of this little segment of The Week That Was should be familiar with Schultz' Tony Gwynn Theory that espouses that the best time to acquire a perennial .330 hitter is when he's hitting .200. Let someone else own the Mendoza line while you reap the benefits of the surge to a batting title. (If Schultz weren't intellectually lazy, he would have updated this theory to the Ichiro Theory many years ago - c'est la vie).  

One prime candidate for Tony Gwynn Theory consideration sits at the heart of the Detroit Tigers lineup. In April, Victor Martinez sluggishly crawled to a .218, 1 HR and 12 RBI start to the 2017 season. In May though, he's already out to a .360, 2 HR, 11 RBI. Although his .270, 3 HR, 23 RBI doesn't look that impressive in the overall scheme of things, V Mart is a career .300 hitter who is benefiting greatly from the return of J.D. Martinez. If you have your utility spot open, a healthy V Mart is an unquestionable asset.

A bit further north, reports of the demise of Joey Bats may be a tad premature. When Jose Bautista managed to hit 1 home run in April, nervous nellies looked at his .172 batting average and rushed to conclude that the 36-year-old outfielder was done. Well Chicken Littles, the sky does not quite appear to be falling just yet. In May, the Toronto slugger has not only slugged 6 homers, he's hitting .300 to boot. Health is always an issue with Mr. Bats but it doesn't appear that he's ready for the roto-nursing home just yet.

Oh yes, as to last week's difference of opinion on Jose Berrios - I'm going to say that 2 hits, 1 walk and 11Ks over 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball against Colorado this week means Schultz 1 - Overlord 0.”

Response:  As much as I hate to ever lose to Schultz in anything, I do enjoy the “overlord” title!  Oh, and the analysis of VMart is solid.  Follow it.