MLB Streaks & Trends: Is Joey Meneses a Fantasy Baseball Playoffs Difference Maker?
It’s Saturday, so it’s time to grab your coffee, tea, or whatever your morning/early afternoon beverage of choice is and dive into some notable streaks and trends across Major League Baseball. We are in the most important weeks of the fantasy baseball season, and as long as you aren’t in dynasty or keeper formats, you may see some pretty big names hit the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball leagues. On the other hand, there could be some interesting names that end up being key cogs in your quest to a fantasy baseball championship. Joey Meneses? The veteran Justin Turner? Tyler O’Neill bounce back to end the season? These are a couple of names that should be on all radars and teams, if they aren’t already. As we are about to embark on the upcoming week, be sure to check out our fantasy baseball waiver wire article and stock watch videos for even more content to help boost your fantasy baseball teams. Let’s take a look at some of the notable hit streaks and current trends across Major League Baseball.
Stat Leaders
AVG | OBP | SLG | ||||||
1 | Paul Goldschmidt | .330 | 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | .417 | 1 | Aaron Judge | .661 |
2 | Freddie Freeman | .322 | 2 | Juan Soto | .410 | 2 | Paul Goldschmidt | .613 |
3 | Jeff McNeil | .319 | 3 | Yordan Alvarez | .398 | 3 | Yordan Alvarez | .597 |
T3 | Luis Arraez | .319 | T3 | Aaron Judge | .398 | 4 | Austin Riley | .568 |
5 | Xander Bogaerts | .311 | 5 | Yandy Díaz | .395 | 5 | Nolan Arenado | .567 |
xBA | xwOBA | Hard Hit% | ||||||
1 | Yordan Alvarez | .322 | 1 | Aaron Judge | .455 | 1 | Aaron Judge | 61.1 |
2 | Bryce Harper | .317 | 2 | Yordan Alvarez | .452 | T1 | Yordan Alvarez | 61.0 |
3 | Freddie Freeman | .314 | 3 | Bryce Harper | .414 | 3 | Kyle Schwarber | 54.6 |
4 | Tim Anderson | .302 | 4 | Juan Soto | .413 | 4 | Joc Pederson | 54.4 |
5 | Alec Bohm | .299 | 5 | Freddie Freeman | .398 | 5 | Teoscar Hernández | 53.7 |
Streaks
Hit Streaks | |||||||||
Streak | Player | AB | R | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG/OBP/SLG |
15 | Jonathan India | 59 | 11 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | .356/.441/.492 |
12 | Justin Turner | 46 | 6 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 7 | .435/.481/.652 |
11 | Riley Greene | 45 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 | .422/.490/.689 |
10 | Michael Harris II | 34 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 10 | .441/525/.853 |
9 | Hunter Renfroe | 35 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 9 | .429/.500/.600 |
8 | Ildemaro Vargas | 30 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | .367/.406/.700 |
8 | Alfonso Rivas | 19 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | .421/.476/.526 |
Who’s Hot
Joey Meneses, WSH
Meneses has been electric since joining the Nationals. Since joining the big league club back on August 2, he has the 14th-highest wRC+ (176), 12th-highest OPS (.997), and seventh-best batting average (.350). He’s crushed lefties to the tune of a 1.216 OPS, but he hasn’t been a slouch against righties by any means, posting a .295 average and .842 OPS. He’s hit safely in 11 of his last 12, and he needs to be owned in all formats, as he’s one of eight players to have at least seven home runs and a .300 batting average since August 2.
Justin Turner, LAD
The 37-year-old may not have done much for fantasy baseball managers over the course of the full 2022 season, but he’s performing like a guy that we need to watch down the stretch. Again, the power has largely dissipated for Turner, but he’s hitting .480 with a .720 SLG over his last seven games, and he has an extra-base hit in five of his last six games. Yes, all of those extra-base hits are doubles, but maybe they eventually turn into home runs? Perhaps, but he should provide a solid batting average down the stretch, and those that can set their lineup daily should consider him a must-start at home (.293/.355/.514 with all nine of his homers).
Tyler O’Neill, STL
O’Neill may not have the batting average like Meneses and Turner have over the past seven days, but when you look at O’Neill’s numbers, he’s poised for a productive end of season. Over his last seven games, he has four home runs, 11 RBI, two stolen bases, and an .818 slugging percentage. After a tumultuous first three quarters of the season, things are starting to bounce O’Neill’s way, and this is a great offense to pad those counting stats in a short period of time. If a fantasy baseball manager in your league dropped him out of frustration, he’s a player to pick up immediately.
Who’s Not
Matt Olson, ATL
Of the players listed in this section, Olson is the one I’m least worried about. Yes, he’s been held hitless in his last five games, going 0-for-18 with five strikeouts. However, in the three games prior to that, he went 8-for-13 with one home run and four doubles. Sure, he’s in a bit of a slump, but I have no doubts that he’ll come out of it sooner rather than later. Even with this slump, his xwOBA is still in a great spot, and well above league average.
DJ LeMahieu, NYY
LeMahieu has been ice cold of late, and pretty cold over the last month. He’s 2-for-25 over his last seven games, and if you go back to August 1, he has the 16th-lowest wRC+ and a -0.2 WAR. This slump that he’s mired in is arguably one of the worst of his entire career, and particularly over the last half-decade. He’s a player I’m dropping as we are entering the most important weeks of the fantasy baseball season.
Rafael Devers, BOS
I wrote about it in a daily round up, but it’s been a tale of two seasons for Devers. Prior to the All-Star break and his hamstring injury, he was a frontrunner for the AL MVP award, and was one of the most feared hitters at the plate. However, it’s been a far, far, far fall from grace. Since August 2, he has a triple slash of .189/.258/.333 with a .251 wOBA, 55 wRC+, and -0.2 WAR. The interesting thing is that his batted ball metrics are in line with the first half of the season, so is it simply bad luck or what? Regardless, it’s been a steep decline in his overall production, but you cannot drop Devers under any circumstance. You’re stuck with him, and you have to live with it the rest of the way.
Statistical Credits:
baseballsavant.mlb.com
fangraphs.com
baseballmusings.com
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Related MLB Links:
- Previous Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Targets
- 2022 MLB Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
- 2022 MLB Injury Report
- Fantasy Baseball Daily Round Ups
- Fantasy Baseball Closer Reports