Fantasy Baseball Dumpster Diving: Week 2

THE BABIP GAME

It’s early. Remember that. Less than two weeks in. The normal caveats, therefore, still apply.

There are eight men in baseball with a BABIP of .500. No one had a mark of even .400 last season.

Don’t get too excited about anyone on this list since there is a massive fall for all. Be especially concerned with guys like White and Hazelbaker who are living totally off a hot start without any background to draw on.

Here are the players who haven’t been producing hits at all (other than homers that don’t count in BABIP). These men are in line for a big week soon to help to get this number back up to a legitimate level.

THIS AND THAT

Billy Burns it out of the lineup again Friday in favor of Coco Crisp. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s not even getting a chance to DH as Chris Coghlan is in there also meaning that Billy Butler is on the bench too. Though 10 games Burns has 25 at-bats, Crisp 28. Burns has a .280/.308/.280 slash line which stinks, but it’s not like Crisp is doing anything (.214/.267/.429). It’s been a disaster for Burns owners. It’s like the A’s forgot that Burns hit .294 last year with 26 steals and 70 runs in just 125 games. Vexing. Don’t give up on Burns, Crisp is bound to get hurt, but if you’re in a 10-team mixed league I can’t tell you that you have to hold on to Burns.

Danny Espinosa is batting .130 with a .174 SLG at the moment for the Nationals. I don’t know if the Nationals really want to call up Trea Turner this early, but if Espy keeps performing like this it might not be much longer before they are forced to make a move. If you’re into the speculative game, now is the time to add Turner. He could be up soon, has a nice approach offensively, and could steal plenty of bags. Think Elvis Andrus.

Daniel Murphy has been on fire. He has an .880 SLG this season. He’s never had an .880 OPS in a season before.

Gregory Polanco continues to walk. In 10 games he’s been issued 12 free passes, none intentional. He walked just 55 times last season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is starting again Friday for the Tigers. He’s the man to own behind the plate with James McCann on the shelf (ankle). Salty is limited, but he does average 20 homers and 32 doubles per 162 games played.

Travis Shaw’s hold on the starting spot at third base for the Red Sox is growing strong by the day. Turns out all you folks that suggested Pablo Sandoval was being sent to the DL cause he is fat, well, you’re wrong. The Panda’s shoulder is an issue and it’s possible he might require surgery.

Trevor Story has a remarkable seven homers, 13 RBI and 11 runs scored in 10 games. He also has 17 strikeouts which is almost as outrageous as the first three numbers. His strikeout mark leads baseball.

Blake Swihart has been demoted with Christian Vazquez being called up to catch. The Red Sox have a 5.40 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this season and it sounds like Swihart is taking the blame for it. Um, Red Sox, Swihart isn’t a good defender. Everyone knows that. Vazquez is better with the glove, duh. Vazquez has a .267/.347/.393 slash line in the minors and had a .617 OPS last season in 55 games with the Sox. He isn’t a better hitter than Blake. Swihart, by the way, was batting .278 with a .391 OBP this season. By my count there are only four catchers in baseball, other than Swihart, who are batting .278 with a .391 OBP. Swihart will spend some time in Triple-A learning the outfield. He may or may not be back soon, though if you’re looking to replace him Christian isn’t a good option.

Walks… I’m a big fan of them. The following list of players, heading into game action Friday, had yet to walk a single time. This is not a group you want to be part of: Wilson Ramos, Nick Castellanos, Omar Infante, Matt Kemp, Asdrubal Cabrera, Nori Aoki, Justin Turner, Andrelton Simmons, Neil Walker, Kevin Pillar, Alcides Escobar and Michael Taylor. Speaking of Taylor, his hot spring has completely vanished as he’s batting .138 with a .271 OPS through seven games.

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).