RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 12% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: What a wild ride it has been for Tommy La Stella. Through just 33 games, the six-year veteran has a career-high nine home runs and 23 RBI, with a ridiculously good 10% walk rate and just a 6.4% strikeout rate. His contact numbers are through the roof good, and his .255/.352/.564 slash line is getting the job done in all fantasy formats.
Anyone who can walk more than they strike out in this day and age is worthy of attention, and that coupled with La Stella's power surge, and the fact that he's in a lineup with Mike Trout and has multi-position eligibility, makes him an appealing fantasy option in deeper formats.
A word of warning. La Stella's nine home runs certainly don't line up with his 31.4% hard hit rate and 87.1 mile per hour exit velocity, both which rank in the bottom 35th percentile in the league. His power surge won't last forever, and at that point he will probably just be a high-contact hitter with a decent OBP and limited speed.
For now, 12-teamers would be wise to pick him up and ride this thing out as long as it lasts. Just don't expect a full season with this kind of power production.
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