5 Players to Keep an Eye On in Fantasy

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It’s about to be Week 6 in Fantasy Baseball, and after the first 5 weeks you tend to get an idea of what you will have to do for the rest of the year. If you are better than 3-2, then you might make a few small trades but nothing major. If you are under .500, then you need some help, and here are some players that will could bring you up in the standings.

1. Steven Souza Jr., OF, Tampa Bay Rays

Souza is a guy that reminds me a lot of a young Mark Reynolds. He happens to strike out a fair amount, but he will also hit you a ton of home runs in return. He currently has hit five home runs on the year along with a .221 average.

While these numbers may not stand out, keep in mind he is only 26 and has the potential to improve throughout the year. It still happens to be very early in the season, so remember that there is time for him to bring that average up to a more respectable number on a young Rays team.

2. Mark Canha, 1B/OF, Oakland Athletics

Canha, like Souza, is a rookie who has a ton of pop in his bat. He has five bombs right now and a respectable .255 average.

If he gets enough playing time, he could challenge Devon Travis as another Rookie of the Year candidate, winding up with 20 homers with 75+ RBI.

3. Carlos Martinez, SP,  St. Louis Cardinals

If you take out Martinez’s last two forgetful starts, his ERA would be somewhere in the 2-2.5 range. That’s incredible for one of the more unknown starters on the St. Louis Cardinals’ rotation.

I would suggest waiting another week to pick him up just to make sure he can bounce back to performing like he did with his first four starts.

4. C.J. Wilson, SP, Los Angeles Angels

Remember when Wilson was a Cy Young contender? Those days seem like a long time ago, but through his first few starts, he is looking like he might be ready to bounce back to becoming the old C.J. Wilson.

With an ERA of 2.70 and a WHIP of only 1.05, he is looking a lot like he did when he carried the Texas Rangers to the Fall Classic in 2010 and 2011.

5. Tom Koehler, SP, Miami Marlins

I’m not going to lie, I picked him as someone to look for because I am a fan of his. He is 2-3 with a mediocre ERA of 5.18, which may make him seem like he is not worth watching, but in his two wins, he has looked practically flawless. In 7.1 innings against the Washington Nationals, he didn’t give up a run (granted in his last start against the Nats, Bryce Harper went deep three times off of him) and against the Braves he gave up two runs in 5.1 innings.

He may not look like a waiver wire stud right now, but give him time and in a week or two, I would be shocked if the Marlins righty couldn’t turn it around.