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Welcome back, FA Nation! Get ready for this week’s edition of Category Impact! If you’re new to the site or just forget how this article works since last week, let me offer a quick refresher.
Category Impact will offer up anywhere from four to six players that can help you out in a certain category, whether it is stolen bases, home runs, or strikeouts. Some weeks, there will be an added focus on a specific categories, while others will be just players that you will want to pick up, but there will be in-depth analysis detailing exactly what category, or categories, a certain player will be of added benefit.
This week’s feature is…. BATTING AVERAGE!
Yuli Gurriel , 1B HOU – As I mentioned in this week’s fantasy baseball podcast here at Fantasy Alarm, the power hasn’t been there for Gurriel through the early parts of the 2018 campaign. However, he’s hitting a respectable .273 and has logged multi-hit efforts in three of his last five outings. Remember, he was dealing with a hand injury at the beginning of this season and those kinds of injuries take some time to get over.
Even when a player does return, they likely aren’t at a full 100 percent and it takes time for the power to come back. Freddie Freeman didn’t come back blazing hot when he returned from a hand injury. Mark Teixeira missed most of 2013 with a wrist injury and returned in 2014 to hit just 22 home runs after hitting 24 or more in the nine seasons before that year.
Gurriel was a prized fantasy asset last season, hitting .299 with 18 home runs for the Astros last season. Even if the power doesn’t quite come back fully, Gurriel should be hitting right around .300 by seasons end. While the power may not be quite desirable from a corner infielder, there is plenty of value from a high average guy, regardless of position.
Matt Carpenter , 1B STL – Despite hitting a mediocre .250 in March and even worse in .145 in April, Carpenter is showing some signs of a turnaround. He’s hitting just under .260 in May, but an excellent .370 over the past seven days. Over the last two or so weeks, he’s slashing a quality .317/.364/.561. He’s on pace to set a new career high in strikeouts, while experiencing regression in both home runs and walks. The seven-year professional is having the worst season of his professional career, but makes for an excellent buy-low candidate.
Sure, his batting average was well below his career average last season and the early season returns are weak in 2018, but it’s hard to forget that Carpenter hit .270 or better each season from 2012-2016. His BABIP is way down and he’s making hard-contact at a career-best rate (46.1 percent). Things are looking like they are turning around for the veteran corner infielder, making him a great addition if someone jumped ship. His ownership is steadily climbing, but he’s still available in over one-third of leagues.
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Brandon Crawford , SS SFG – There might not be a hotter hitter that is owned in under half of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues than the slick-fielding shortstop out by the Bay. He’s in the midst of a 10-game hit streak, in which he’s logged five multi-hit efforts. The left-hander has also smacked two round-trippers during this current streak, not to mention one stolen base. While he has been the beneficiary of an inflated BABIP, he’s making hard contact more than before, and limiting his soft contact. Additionally, for you Statcast junkies, his launch angle is up from the year before, as is his exit velocity.
Why else could his batting average be up? Well, he’s doing much better against breaking pitches compared to years prior. Last season, he hit just .159 against breaking pitches, but that mark is up to .286 in 49 at-bats ending with a breaking pitch. It’s early in the season, but continued success against fastballs and breaking pitches could translate into a sustained hot streak for the shortstop.
Francisco Peña , C STL – CATCHER ALERT! Yeah, catchers stats count, too! Albeit an uninspiring fantasy career to date, he’s proven effective through his first handful of games as the Cardinals’ primary catcher. With Yadier Molina on the shelf for at least the next few weeks, we’ll get a good look at the 28-year-old backstop. He’s sporting a quality .275 batting average with one home run, two RBI and five runs scored through his first 18 games with the club. The counting stats aren’t anything to write home about, but at least during this hot streak, he provides stability with a relatively high batting average floor for a professional backstop.
There is some regression alert, as he’s making soft contact more frequently than hard contact, and his early season reports show that doesn’t use the whole field. Only 12.8 percent of his balls head out to right field, with a whopping 46.2 percent being pulled to left. However, for the short term, until pitchers get a more conclusive scouting report on the catcher, he’s useful in fantasy formats.
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.