Javier Baez is batting .362 this season versus lefties over 58 at-bats. He’s also been a monster the past week as he’s hit .324 with two homers, six RBI and a .373 wOBA the past seven games. He’s coming into his own and likely qualifies at second base, third base and shortstop. He shouldn’t be on waivers unless you’re in a 10-team mixed leagues. Oh yeah, he hit a homer Tuesday while I was writing this.
Teddy Bears can be creepy.
Felix Hernandez is hopeful of returning from his calf issue on July 20th against the White Sox. He last pitched on May 27th. So much for that being a minor issue that would cost him a start since it’s likely to end up costing him more than seven weeks.
Sandy Leon is a name to keep in mind. The Red Sox are without Blake Swihart behind the dish. They have opted Christian Vazquez to the minors (they couldn’t have done that with Leon without exposing him to waivers). That means Ryan Hanigan, who was activated from the DL, and Leon will be the top-2 dogs with the Sox. Leon is crushing it right now hitting .500 with a homer, nine RBI and eight runs scored in 15 games. Alas, he hit .156 in 2014 and .184 in 2015 in 41 games. All told his slash line as a big leaguer is .237/.307/.313 and that’s the hitter Leon is, not the guy we’ve seen to this point. Still, he’s a potential bottom level C2 option in mixed leagues with playing time.
Tim Anderson is off to a great start in his career, but there are some concerns. Yasiel Puig has been on fire lately but the real question is, how long will it last? J.T. Realmuto is hitting the ball well of late and needs to be started against righties. CHECK OUT THE BIG 3 VIDEO.
Steven Moya has been terrific to this point hitting .301 with five homers and a .616 SLG. The good times will likely dry up soon though. He’s not holding on to what would be a league best 28 percent HR/FB rate. He has even less of a chance to hold on to his .378 BABIP. Third, he’s struck out 24 times in 73 at-bats. That batting average is likely to plummet so caution, and a heavy dose of it, is warranted here.
Daniel Norris was sent to the DL, again, this time with a strained right oblique (earlier this season he was placed on the DL with a non-displaced fracture in his spinous process). The 23 year old lefty has great stuff, but until he can stay healthy is simply doesn’t matter. Buck Farmer has been called up by the Tigers but Matt Boyd will likely be asked to start Saturday. Bear neither any attention.
Jose Reyes returns today with the Mets. Reyes will hit leadoff, and it sounds like he will be seeing a lot of time at third base at the expense of Wilmer Flores, even though he’s hit .315 since the start of June. Reyes didn’t hit at all in the minors with a .176 batting average over 11 games, but the 33 year old should obviously 
be much better than that with the Mets. I worry about his health chiefly, I get the sneaking suspicion that an injury is coming after he’s missed half the season (he’s always seemingly hurt), and there is an open debate as to just how good that bat is at this point. A must add in 12 and 15 team leagues though if you have any need up the middle, and that extra qualification at third base might just make him the ideal final piece on a fantasy roster.
Junior Guerra is a quality start machine at the moment and is surprising everyone. Lance McCullers looks like last season’s version but has to limit the walks to do that. Matt Moore is a talented pitcher and is pitching pretty well. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO.
Jean Segura walked 13 times last season and his four year high in the walk column is 28 walks. So it’s pretty surprising to see him at 20 walks half way through the year. There is even more intrigue than that. Over his last 16 games Segura has walked 10 times. Since the start of May, a 30 game run, Segura has walked 15 times. Way too early for me to think that’s the “new” Segura, but if he is able to keep his walk rate anywhere near that pace his outlook for the future goes up significantly. Huh, look at that. Over his last 30 games, with all those walks, Segura is batting .325 and has scored 21 times.
Mike Zunino has been called up to the majors with great hoopla. The former top-5 draft pick hit .282 with 15 homers and 51 RBI just 69 games at Triple-A. That’s superstar stuff. However, he’s never been anything other than a power bat at the big league level. He’s gone deep 40 times in 968 at-bats, that’s really good stuff, but he’s also hit .193 with a .253 OBP and .358 SLG in the majors. Those numbers stink and are reflective of the hitter he has been. According to Brooks Baseball, Zunino cannot hit anything other than a fastball. In fact, you should check out the link to see just how bad he has been on the slider (.155 average), curveball (.131 average) and the splitter (.067). He can’t hit anything but the hard stuff and is nothing other than a “mistake” hitter. He still has to beat out Chris Iannetta for at-bats. Low level catcher two is he at best. He still has to beat out Chris Iannetta for at-bats mind you.
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 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
Player News
Brandon Nimmo is on the bench Tuesday after collecting nine RBI in Monday’s blowout win.
That must have taken a lot out of him. Nimmo started the Mets’ first 23 games, all in left field, but he’s now sat out versus lefties in two of the last seven contests. José Azócar is playing left field tonight.
Even though the Pirates are facing a left-hander, Alexander Canario is on the bench for a fourth straight game Tuesday against the Cubs.
We’re not really sure whether Canario is any good or not, but what we do know is that his 26 at-bats this season have produced six barrels and four additional hard-hit balls. They’ve amounted to only two hits, but Statcast gives him a .247 xBA and a .726 xSLG. If the Pirates, who have started him twice in 14 games, don’t see any potential there, they might as well put him on waivers and give someone else a chance to take a look.
Guardians transferred RHP Shane Bieber from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.
This opens a spot on the 40-man for Vince Velasquez. It was reported earlier today that Bieber is set to face hitters in Arizona as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery.
Roman Anthony is back in left field for Triple-A Worcester on Friday.
Anthony missed the last two games after fouling a ball off his right foot. Injuries seem to be the only thing that can slow down the game’s No. 1 prospect. He’s hitting .313/.451/.588 in 102 plate appearances this season.
Gary Sánchez said the wrist injury that put him on the IL Monday has been lingering for weeks and was bothering him most when he swung the bat.
It sounds like this could be more than a 10-day absence for Sánchez, who is currently wearing a brace on the wrist. Maverick Handley is backing up Adley Rutschman in his place.
Guardians selected the contract of RHP Vince Velasquez from Triple-A Columbus.
Velasquez is back in the majors 23 months after hurting his elbow and requiring surgery. He was off to a nice start for the Pirates in 2023 before the injury, amassing a 3.86 ERA in eight starts. Alas, his results in Triple-A this year have been a far cry from those; he had a 6.00 ERA and an 11/16 K/BB in 15 innings over four starts. He should be able to provide some length tonight if the Guardians need it after being blown out and throwing position players the last two days.