Christopher Morel DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays are giving a handful of their regular starters a rest in Sunday's series finale against the division-rival New York Yankees in the Bronx, as third baseman Junior Caminero, utility man Jose Caballero, outfielder Christopher Morel and catcher Danny Jansen are out of the starting lineup. Curtis Mead is starting at third base and batting sixth, Taylor Walls is at shortstop and hitting ninth, Travis Jankowski is in left field and batting seventh, and Ben Rortvedt is doing the catching and hitting eighth against Yankees right-hander Will Warren. Caminero gets the day of rest after starting in each of the team's last 25 games. The 21-year-old prospect has gone just 1-for-16 in his last four starts and is hitting .240 on the season, so it's a good time for him to get a little breather. None of Tampa's replacements on Sunday are particularly intriguing from a DFS standpoint against Warren.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Christopher Morel crushed his third home run of the season in extra innings to help seal the Rays' victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 on Thursday evening. The home run came in the clutch, as the Rays had already scored one run in extras, and Morel delivered the insurance runs to give the Rays a three-run lead as they went into the bottom of the 10th. Morel is enjoying a nice season with the Rays thus far, at least offensively and from a fantasy perspective, slashing .268/.333/.465 with three home runs, 12 runs scored, and 10 RBI in 78 plate appearances. He also has position eligibility at third base, second base, and outfield, only increasing his value for fantasy managers as a bench bat. He continues to be a good plug-and-play when hitters get off days or the opportunity presents itself. Next up for Morel is a three-game series against the San Diego Padres over the weekend.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Christopher Morel went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI in the Rays' 7-6 extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks. His solo homer came in the second inning off Eduardo Rodriguez and leveled the score at 1-1 after a Corbin Carroll homer in the first inning. Morel is hitting .258 in his 22 games this year with two homers, two stolen bases, and a .328 wOBA. He has an alarming 39.7% strikeout rate and will need to get that under control if he wants to stay in the lineup on a regular basis for the Rays. He does have home run and stolen base potential, though, so he remains a fringe roster option in standard mixed leagues. Although if this is the start of a hot streak, he could be worth a look on the waiver wire.