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Let us preface this by saying Holy Scooter Gennett. If you told us before the season that he would be the next person to post a four-homerun game we would have ignored, blocked and laughed at you. Good thing nobody on the planet would and did project that. Let us stop there, however, and make sure you don’t pick up Gennett off of waivers. Let’s dive into actual players you should make room for on your respective squads!
10-team leagues
Odubel Herrera, OF PHI (64% ownership), FAAB Bid - $22 – It was an awful month of May, but Herrera has turned it up of late and is tearing the cover off of the baseball. Over the four games he’s played in during the month of June, Herrera is hitting .529 with seven doubles and two home runs. His 1.824 OPS over the last seven days – which spans four games and 17 at-bats – is second in all of baseball over that span. Herrera is uber talented and now that he’s got it going he should be owned in every format everywhere.
Edinson Volquez, MIA SP (20% ownership), FAAB Bid - $17 – We’re not just basing this add on his no-hitter the last time he blessed the mound, but how he’s pitched over the last month or so. He’s posted four quality starts over his last five outings while especially dominating righties. Righties are hitting just .190 against him on the year, while posting a measly 22-percent hard contact rate. Volquez has emerged as the Marlins ace over the past month and should continue to be that going forward.
12-team leagues
Dinelson Lamet, SD SP (30% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 – Despite his first rough outing on Tuesday night, Lamet is worth coveting. His 6.92 ERA and 5.44 FIP is elevated because of his poor showing against Arizona. Lamet has big strikeout potential as through three starts, he’s averaging 13.15 K/9. He’s been especially good versus RHH, posting a 38-percent K-rate. Lamet benefits from pitching at an extremely pitcher friendly park as we all know, so that should factor into your decision to picking him up as well.
Whit Merrifield, KC 2B, OF (38% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 – Merrifield’s 19-game hitting streak ended Monday night, but he picked up two hits and three RBI on Tuesday which kind of symbolizes what type of player he’s been this season. But he hasn’t just impressed this year; it’s been since the start of 2016. Since the beginning of the 2016, he leads all part-time players in batting average and on-base percentage against left-handed pitching. Merrifield has posted an .840 OPS and a .358 wOBA on the year. Pick him up NOW!
Danny Valencia, SEA 1B, 3B, OF (28% ownership), FAAB Bid - $ 10 – Very quietly, there haven’t been many hotter hitters over the past two weeks than Valencia. Over that time, he’s hitting .409 in a big 50 at-bat sample size. Over that same period of time he’s driven in 13 runs, bringing his season mark to 29. With Jean Segura on the DL, its likely Valencia continues hitting near the top of the order, maximizing his AB’s each and every game. In April Valencia’s wOBA was .249, May rose to .356 and he’s got an eye-popping mark of .600 thus far in June. His multi-position eligibility doesn’t hurt either.
15-team leagues
Mike Folynewicz, ATL SP (21% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8-10 – When profiling Folty, you wouldn’t classify him as someone worth owning in many formats, but when you dig deep, he’s worth it. Other than two starts in which he got torched in, he has six quality outings, including seven scoreless the last time he took the hill. He’s been great away from SunTrust Park, which is seemingly the case for everyone on the Braves staff. He’s allowed just a .287 wOBA on the road while striking out 38 batters over 35.2 innings. As we mentioned earlier, it’s hard to trust anyone pitching at SunTrust, which is why we’re suggesting him in nothing more than 15-team formats unless you’re desperate.
Ian Happ, CHC 2B, OF (21% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6 – We weren’t sold on Happ because of the depth the Cubs have, but Joe Maddon loves him and is playing him nearly everyday. He’s only hitting .235 on the year, but has a 34-percent hard contact rate, so the unlucky at-bats should soon stop and we should see his average begin to creep up soon. Other than his 30-percent K-rate versus RHP, he’s killing them. His wOBA vs. righties sits at .375 with an amazing .296 ISO. As we mentioned previously he strikes out a lot. Until that rate subsides a bit, we don’t suggest picking up in many formats other than 15-team leagues.
Greg Bird, NYY 1B (23% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 – It’s been an awful, awful 2017 campaign thus far for Bird who’s batting average makes our eyes bleed while dealing with injuries at the same time. That being said, what makes this an interesting pickup is what he showed us at the end of the 2015 campaign. During that 2015 campaign, he belted 11 homers in 45 games and notched a .529 SLG, .871 OPS and a .372 wOBA. Chris Carter can’t hit off a tee right now, so Bird will certainly get his job back and play everyday.
*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo
** FAAB bids based on $100 budget
Player News
White Sox recalled C Edgar Quero from Triple-A Charlotte.
The move was rumored last night and is now official with Omar Narváez being designated for assignment. The 22-year-old Quero was off to a strong start in Triple-A, going 17-for-51 with one home run in 15 games. Quero has always been a high contact rate hitter in the minors and has never posted high fly ball rates, which tends to limit his power upside. He should hit for a decent average, but he won’t steal bases and is unlikely to hit for much power right away, which makes him more of a target in two-catcher formats for right now.
White Sox designated C Omar Narváez for assignment.
The White Sox needed to make an opening on the 40-man roster for catching prospect Edgar Quero, so Narváez is the guy to go. He went 2-for-7 with two walks and one strikeout in 10 plate appearances for the White Sox in four games.
Joey Bart (back) is starting behind the dish for the Pirates on Thursday and hitting clean-up.
Bart had missed five games with a back injury, which allowed Henry Davis to make four starts behind the plate. Bart will now return to a near-everyday role and a .275/.370/.425 slash line. Henry Davis will go back to being a backup.
Reds manager Terry Francona said, “It won’t be very long” before Spencer Steer can play first base.
With Christian Encarnacion-Strand landing on the IL with a back injury, there are some at-bats open for Steer at first base, which would push Jeimer Candelario to the bench. However, both Steer and Candelario are struggling to start the year, and you have to wonder whether Steer’s shoulder injury is impacting his swing. The 27-year-old is slashing .120/.185/.220 in 54 plate appearances with one home run and a 14/4 K/BB ratio. Steer is hitting more groundballs than he ever has, but has a career-low zone contact rate so far. We wouldn’t drop Steer just yet, but we have reason to be concerned.
Owen Caissie went 2-for-6 with a solo home run for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old is rounding into form a little bit after a slow start to the season. The Cubs’ third-ranked prospect had off-season core muscle surgery and then was shut down in spring training with a groin injury. He now has hits in five of his last six games and has two home runs and seven RBI in nine games this season. There is no place for him in Chicago now, but if he shows the power many scouts believe he has, he’ll make the decision hard for the Cubs by summertime.
David Bednar threw a scoreless inning of relief for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, striking out two.
Bednar has only allowed one hit in five innings at Triple-A while striking out seven and walking nobody. If the Pirates wanted a reset, it’s happened. There’s no reason for Bednar to remain in Triple-A any longer, and we’d be stashing him in fantasy leagues if you need saves.