Players moving at the trade deadline highlight this week’s Week That Was.
Eduardo Nunez: Well, Minnesota is not a great park in which to hit and neither is SF so no great change there. While no one saw Nunez coming this year, there is no question that he arrived. He will now play every day for a Giants team trying to win the World Series for the fourth time in the last seven years. Thus far, Nuney has been money to the tune of a .295 average, 12 dingers and 28 SB. We know the speed is real. The advanced metrics say the average is real (neither contact rate nor BABIP is out of line) and those of us who saw him take Justin Verlander yard in the ALCS a few years ago when Justin was Cy Verlander know the power is real. Those in NL-only leagues should open their FAAB wallets!
Ivan Nova: Could this be the latest Ray Searage reclamation project? Remember what Ray did for former Nova teammate A.J. Burnett? I think he can do the same for Nova. Why? First, Nova’s velocity is back to pre-Tommy John surgery form. Second, Pittsburgh is not in the AL East. The park is friendlier and so are the opponents (it is not fun pitching in Baltimore, Boston or Toronto). Third, Nova already throws those grounders that Searage loves as his 54-plus percent GB rate this year attests. Finally, when the 21 percent HR/FB goes down as it should now that Nova has escaped the AL East, you could have a bargain on your hands. Invest now while you can.
Jay Bruce: Hmmm, I have a lot of friends who are Mets fans so I hope this works out, but I am not so sure. First, his .265 average is way above what he has done the last two years. If he starts to press with his new team, that average could plummet back to the .220s. Second, Bruce has hit only .230 or so over the last 30 days. That does not bode well. Finally, Cincy is a much better hitters’ park than Citi Field so some of those dingers may not leave the yard. In all, I think Bruce will help the Mets more than he helps your fantasy team if you have to blow your whole FAAB budget to get him. Proceed with caution.
Andrew Miller: The only lefty nastier than Miller is his former teammate Aroldis Chapman. Miller’s stats are sick: 77K in 45 innings with a miniscule 0.77 WHIP. When you get down the advanced stats, the numbers are equally scary: 16-plus percent swinging strike rate and a GB rate approaching 53 percent. Move over Cody Allen – you are good but not this good. Invest with complete confidence.
Jonathan Lucroy: Texas scored big with one of the best catchers in baseball. After a down year last year, Lucroy has returned to prominence with a .299 average, 13 HR and 50 RBI. My only concern is that it is tough for a catcher to learn new pitchers, new opposing hitters and concentrate on his offense all at the same time. I like Lucroy much better for 2017 than I do for the last two months of 2016. That said, if you are in an AL-only league, there is no doubt Lucroy will be an upgrade for your team.
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Josh Reddick: Reddick is a player I have liked for a long time. He has now overcome injury and evolved as a hitter as his .290+ average and 10-plus percent walk rate indicate. Indeed, despite all the distraction of trade talks, Reddick has stayed focused and hit .333 over the last week. Oh, and when you add in that any park is better for a hitter than Oakland, you have a potential nice add for those in NL-only leagues. I like Nunez better this year but Reddick makes a nice prize too.
Matt Kemp: Wow, out of the frying pan and into the fire. San Diego is a Dumpster fire and so is Atlanta. Given that Kemp has not changed leagues, his fantasy FAAB value is not nearly that of some of the others above. Yes, he has hit for power but a sub .300 OBP and a nearly 7-1 K/BB ratio says the cliff is near and he could easily fall off in the wasteland that will be Atlanta August baseball. Be careful.
And now the moment you well, may or may not be waiting for, the Baron of Bottom of the Page pontificates -- aka Schultz says: “As the MLB trading deadline approaches, it is always fun to watch major league ball clubs act like their roto-fantasy counterparts. Contenders look to scavenge useful parts from floundering teams while those in free fall look towards the future to invest. From a fantasy baseball perspective, Schultz has long said that the roto owner that remembers the key pieces to trade deadline deals will prosper in future years. Unlike many of our roto-counterparts, MLB GMs predominantly know what they are doing, only the dividends to be reaped from deadline deals don't always come to fruition in the next season.
Just look at the Central Division leading Cleveland Indians. Carlos Carrasco was a key piece to the Cliff Lee trade in 2009. Michael Brantley came to the Indians in the 2008 CC Sabathia deal. In that same year, the Tribe dealt Casey Blake to the Dodgers for Carlos Santana. Corey Kluber was acquired in a deal in which the Indians gave up Jake Westbrook. At the time, no one thought much about the minor league names being shipped to Ohio. Smart roto-owners kept them in mind.
For the immediate future, Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Josh Naylor and Felipe Rivero aren't going to help any roto team. However, those players were key pieces in trades involving Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Mark Melancon and Andrew Cashner. Wise roto owners that recalled Michael Fulmer being the centerpiece of the Tigers' trade of Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets, Adam Duvall going to the Reds as part of a deal for Mike Leake or Sean Manaea going to the As for Ben Zobrist knew to pay attention when the youngsters received the call to The Big Show.
Don't tax 2016 free agent budgets or waste waiver picks on the lesser-known players going to struggling teams. However, keep those names in mind so that they ring a bell when they have value in the future.”
Response: Yeah, what he said. Solid advice!
Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
That’s the first homer for Paris since April 9 when he went deep twice against Tampa Bay and caused everyone to lose all sense of rational thought. The 23-year-old did also single and walk to improve his on-base percentage to .311,, while the homer bumps his slugging mark to .378. There is long-term upside in Paris with flashes that suggest he can be a fantasy option. Fantasy managers should still absolutely looking elsewhere for options up the middle.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.