Why fantasy baseball managers should make a move for Charlie Blackmon now

SiriusXM and Fantasy Alarm analyst Jennifer Piacenti joins Yahoo Fantasy's Scott Pianowski to discuss some undervalued players to target in fantasy baseball

Video Transcript

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SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Don't like the look of that fantasy baseball roster? Maybe it's time to look into a trade. I'm with Jen Piacenti of Fantasy Alarm on SiriusXM, and we're gonna try to find some undervalued, underappreciated players. Might be right time to kick the tires on these guys. Jen, how can I help my outfield? Do you see anything of value there?

JENNIFER PIACENTI: I do. I see Charlie Blackmon in Colorado. And I get it. You're looking at the numbers. He just hit his second home run of the season last night. Is this the Charlie Blackmon batting .191?

But I think Charlie Blackmon is someone you definitely want to inquire about. Look, his average exit velocity is the highest of his career, 88.7. His max exit velocity down a tick, but that's OK. His hard hit rate, 46%, highest of his career. His expected batting average is .284. He's still showing the plate discipline. A 14.5% strikeout rate, which is in the 87th percentile of the league and also is a career low.

And he's walking 11.5% of the time, which is in the 73rd percentile of the league and is also a career high. Remember, we all have a little PTSD from last year only being 60 games. Don't panic. At the end of the season, Charlie Blackmon is gonna be a guy you want in your outfield. And I'm absolutely interested in approaching the Charlie Blackmon manager and seeing if maybe he's getting a little anxious.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: And, remember, although we've seen some good scoring in Colorado so far, it's generally the coldest month of the year in April in Colorado. It snowed a few weeks ago in Denver. So when the weather warms up, that's a place where the scoring is just gonna be crazy.

I'm gonna put forth some arguments for a couple of older players, so we're not gonna be ageist on this program. Jed Lowrie is 37. And, look, I get it. He's been well-traveled. He had kind of a messy tenure with the Mets. He's had some injury issues. But his walk-- you talked about walk and strikeout numbers earlier. These stats stabilize early in the season.

And Jed Lowrie has outstanding plate discipline, outstanding contact skills. He walks a lot. And he's got a really good run production numbers. Oakland usually slots him second, third in the lineup. He'll occasionally move a little bit further down. He's a switch hitter. I can't promise you a full season from Jed Lowrie, but when he's on the field, this guy produces.

And because he had maybe a two-week downturn with his hitting, just a little bit of bad luck with his balls in play, I think the market has cooled on Lowrie. And, look, don't go to the Jed Lowrie manager and say you want Jed Lowrie. Say, hey, I see you got some really good depth in the infield. Could I get one of these guys? Maybe he'll come to you with Lowrie. I think it's a great time to take the temperature and see if you can get yourself a value.

JENNIFER PIACENTI: I think that's a great call. Jed Lowrie actually started out the season really nicely, and I think you're right. I'm gonna also kick the tires on one Kyle Tucker. Now before the season, I was of the opinion that Kyle Tucker was actually being drafted too early. In many drafts, he was the first Astro off the board, ahead of Alex Bregman. And I just thought that was too early for someone that's gonna be batting in the seven spot.

However, I have a feeling that the rosterer Kyle Tucker is getting a little frustrated, and suddenly I like him. He's batting .183. That looks terrible. But five home runs and 15 RBIs, and he's stolen two bases. Now I'm guessing the manager is getting a little antsy based on where he drafted him.

Here's the thing with Kyle Tucker. He's hitting the ball hard. He's hitting it well. He's been a bit unlucky. His average exit velo, a healthy 91.4, good enough for the 78th percentile of the league. And though it doesn't feel like it, he's actually striking out less than 20% of the time.

So StatCast says his expected batting average is .279 and his expected slugging is .530. And I don't know about you, but most of the projections for Kyle Tucker had him batting only .260. So this is actually kind of an encouraging sign to me.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: And thank you for giving me Alex Wood and Kyle Tucker last week in your DFS picks. You made me a few extra bucks on the side. A little side hustle.

I'm gonna transition to Charlie Morton. Another 37-year-old, so I'm kind of taking a sympathetic ear to the older guys. ERA over 5, but the peripheral stats say his ERA should be in the mid 3s. And his fastball is at a three-year high right now for miles per hour. So there's plenty of arm left in this guy. We know he has one of the best curveballs in the league.

The Braves offense-- there's probably some managers in leagues who just look at that ERA, they see it over 5, and they're like, oh, Charlie Morton's getting old. Maybe it's time to get off this bus. He's pitched a lot better than the surface stats suggest. It's a great time to inquire about Charlie Morton.