Rushing to coronate the next big thing in fantasy with young players can be risky. Especially given inflation the past few seasons when targeting them. Remember Matt Olson ’s strong finish to last year? It pushed his average draft position to 122 according to NFBC cumulative data. Boring and oft injured Brandon Belt won the National League Player of the Week bashing five home runs with a 1.574 on-base plus slugging percentage in only 30 plate appearances, lasted over 175 picks later in most drafts. To be fair to Olson, he’s a hot streak away from improving his counting statistics, but for now, here’s a look at the two so far this year:
Matt Olson : 47 games, 190 plate appearances, seven home runs, 19 RBI, .238/.326/.417, 42.9 percent fly ball rate, 14.6 home run per fly ball percentage, 50 percent hard hit rate.
Brandon Belt : 44 games, 189 plate appearances, 11 home runs, 29 RBI, .313/.413/.594, 50 percent fly ball rate, 19.6 home run per fly ball percentage, 49.1 percent hard hit rate.
With only one-fourth of the season elapsed, it’s too early to take victory laps. Olson’s been close to what many projected him to be. Also, he could be on the precipice of a power binge which makes him an intriguing target for those seeking home runs. Belt did display this skillset last year, albeit in an injury riddled season, so it should not come as a surprise. In spite of his home park, Belt’s managed to shorten his swing increasing his power and with health, could be on the verge of a career season justifying his truthors through the years.
Intriguing Tidbits
Winning the American League Player of the Week, Boston’s J.D. Martínez . He also slugged five home runs last week with an impressive .567 weighted on-base average while flashing his opposite field power. It’s amazing more teams could not use a bat like his this off-season.
Odubel Herrera had his 45 game on-base streak snapped on Sunday and will attempt to start a new one Monday night against the Braves. During the streak, Herrera slashed a robust .355/.418/.552 in 194 plate appearances dating back to last season. He also leads the National League in batting average (.344) and has four doubles along with four home runs in May in 70 times at the plate.
Mets starting pitchers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have combined for a 8 - 1 record with a 2.37 ERA between them. However, the rest of the staff is 3 - 11 with a 6.37 ERA. Food for thought. Still think they can contend? And, the team still believes in José Reyes . Plus, they may have interest in José Bautista . My work here’s done.
Night Moves
Updating Twitter about once every five minutes hoping for a Khris Davis update has yet to yield results. Team beat writer, Susan Slusser, reported Davis felt “stabbing pain” in his right groin. Not only does this sound uncomfortable, but not fun at all. Oakland’s hinted Davis could land on the disabled list and an official announcement could not come until after lineups lock. To be safe, plan on an alternative for Davis if possible. Yes, he’s hit more home runs than any player since 2016, but in the short term, an empty spot in the lineup stinks. If Davis does get sidelined, the A’s could promote Franklin Barreto or Jake Smolinski to take his place. Stay tuned.
Philadelphia starter Jerad Eickhoff experienced a twinge in his fingertips during a rehab assignment and will be shut down as a result. While the Phillies staff continues to impress so far, does anyone trust Vince Velásquez to stay healthy?
Texas recalled Matt Bush to bolster the bullpen while designating Kevin Jepsen for assignment. The team also announced Adrián Béltre ’s at least two weeks away from returning to baseball activities, plan accordingly.
Both Greg Bird and Billy McKinney transferred their rehab journey to Triple-A in Scranton-Wilkes Barre. No truth to the rumors of the Dunder Mifflin staff attending games, but Bird could rejoin the Yankees soon which could be bad news for Tyler Austin , who leads American League rookies with seven home runs. New York also sent down Clint Frazier who will need a trade to gain any fantasy value.
Keep tabs on Andrew Miller who has been on the disabled list with hamstring problems and sat out on Saturday due to back stiffness. His height can strain this problem along with the fact backs can be tricky.
St. Louis will once again play Tyler O'Neill with Dexter Fowler on the bench. Davis owners desperate for power upside should take a look at O’Neill who launched 13 home runs in Triple-A in only 113 plate appearances prior to his promotion.
With baited anticipation, it appears Álex Reyes will make his next rehab start with Memphis and rejoin the Cardinals rotation on May 29th. If he’s still available, time’s running out. Stop reading and amend this situation. I’m serious.
Milwaukee activated Chase Anderson off the disabled list to start on Monday night. They optioned waiver wire hero, Freddy Peralta in the resulting roster move. Also, they will start Brent Suter on Wednesday.
Burning Questions
How much longer will the Indians give full-time at-bats to Jason Kipnis (.176 average) when they could play Erik González (.222 isolate power) or Yandy Diaz (.421 on-base percentage with 30 walks in 30 Triple-A games)? Will Blake Parker get the next save for the Angels? Spin the wheel of Phillies relievers for the next save as well, Edubray Ramos ? Héctor Neris ? Seranthony Dominguez ? Can Bartolo Colón hold off regression for one more night or will the Yankees play home run derby in Texas?
Be sure to check back on Tuesday morning for Fantasy Alarm’s Round Up for the latest news and trends in baseball to stay ahead of your competition.
Statistical Credits:
MLB.com
Fangraphs.com
BaseballSavant.com