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Thursday Fantasy Pickup: Kendrys Morales, DH, Royals

Coming off a 22-homer, 106-RBI season at age 32, Morales certainly looked like he had plenty in the tank heading into this season. Most of the first two months of the 2016 campaign appeared to dispel that notion however, as the veteran's average sat at .191 as recently as June 5.  Morales awoke from his slumber at that point and hasn't looked back. He's raised his average 64 points since that date, while hitting safely in 15 of 18 games over that span. That stretch includes a pair of three-hit and four-hit efforts, along with four homers, four doubles and 16 RBI.

Morales sports one of baseball's hottest bats over the last five games in particular, during which he's hit .650 (13-for-20) with a double, two homers, five RBI and five runs. The month of June has seen him generate a .386/.440/.590 line overall, salvaging a season that looked beyond repair at one point. While the majority of Morales' offensive numbers are still in rehabilitative mode, they're firmly on the road back to getting in line with his career averages. His strikeout rate remains a tad on the elevated side for his standards, as his current 19.2 percent figure is his highest since 2012, but his hard contact rate is encouragingly up to 37.9 percent, which matches his previous career high with the Angels in 2009. He's held on to some favorable spots in the heart of the Royals' order as well despite his struggles, as Morales has hit either third (once), cleanup or fifth in 57 of the 71 games he's appeared in.

Given his track record and ascension back towards his solid career numbers, he currently makes for an appealing option in virtually any format.

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