Another week, another trawl through the Razzball Season-to-Date Player Rater, as Dr. Easy and I look for some sneaky-value position players who may be doing better than you think they are, as well as players you may be hanging onto out of nostalgia or inertia or some other word that ends in “-ia”. Paranoia? Melancholia? Pedroia? Suburbia? Fuschia? MIA? Victoria? Amnesia: “Oh ya, I forgot I had that guy!” (That last one actually happens to me all the time.) Here goes!
First Base
Logan Morrison: When sorted by $, the Rays’ LoMo is rated 15th out of 1Bs (84th out of all hitters and pitchers combined). He’s currently 76% owned in Razzball Commenter Leagues (RCLs) (although this could change by the time of posting — see Josh Bell, below). That puts him 5 spots above 100% owned Wil Myers and 24 above 92% owned Hanley Ramirez. His main contribution is in $HR; at $HR 8.5 (32 home runs), he’s sitting 10th out of all hitters.
Honorable mention: Josh Bell: When we started putting this post together at the weekend, we were going to give Josh Bell a blurb because he was a mere 78% owned. As of Wednesday, he’s shot up to 97% owned. Good job, kids! He’s still getting a blurb because, well, there’s a tiny chance he’s still out there on your waiver wire, but… Rated 21st of all 1Bs when ranked by $ value, Bell plays pretty much every day and is hitting .359 in August. He’s positive in every category except $SB. People are noticing you, Josh Bell.
Second Base
Starlin Castro: After missing just over a month with a hamstring injury, Castro’s back, baby! At time of writing, he’s slotted right back into the Yankees lineup, with 6 hits in 4 games already since his return from the DL. He’s 92% owned in RCLs, so hurry. Even when ranked by $, he’s 26th of all 2Bs; when we sort by $/G — which is the best Player Rater metric to use for players who have missed playing time for whatever reason — he jumps up to 20th.
Howie Kendrick: Grey mentioned the other day that Howie has a little hot schmotatoness (totally a word!) going on at the moment, and the Player Rater (I nearly typed “Player Tater”; appropriate for hot schmotatoness, I guess) confirms this. When ranked by $/G (Kendrick has only 252 plate appearances, so best to measure his performance by $/G), Kendrick is 4th out of 2Bs … and a rather amazing 26th of all players. He has a pretty great .347 average; his value lies in $AVG and $SBs, with 10 steals on the season. Right now, he’s 80% owned in RCLs.
Third Base
Matt Chapman: By $/G, Matt Chapman is ranked 46th of all 3Bs. Lately, he’s been playing every day and currently has 10 home runs in 54 games, meaning he’s on pace for 30 home runs over a year — which in this day and age probably doesn’t impress anyone, but if you’re desperate for power, he’s likely available on the waiver wire: he’s only 19% owned in RCLs.
Second Base/Third Base/Outfield
Hernan Perez: Click “add” for 5-category goodness: some middling power; some stolen bases, although fewer than last year. He also gives you positional flexibility. The main issue with him is lack of playing tine, which we don’t understand. He’s only 23% owned – probably due to that very lack of playing time. His $/G 3.2 ranks him above a guy like Todd Frazier (81% owned). So, he’s a good DFS play and batty call.
Shortstop
Freddy Galvis: By $ value, 49% owned Frederick of IronFish is ranked 16th of all shortstops. That’s 3 above Trevor Story (92% owned). He’s fairly mediocre (.256/.306/.398), but he could give you a boost if you’re chasing steals, without hurting you in other categories (SAGNOF!): his $SB of 5.1 (13 on the season) bumps him to 10th of shortstops. Speaking of…
Trevor Story: Here’s where the Story ends: dump his sorry arse already, people. Story is 92% owned but is ranked 250th by $ value out of all players. He’s not even making the… “storied” Rockies park work for him, in any particularly exciting way: he’s hitting only .246 at home and not hitting that many more home runs, either.
Outfielder
Observation: Justin Upton: When on earth did Justin Upton become ranked 15th overall, out of all players (pitchers and hitters), when ranked by $? This is despite Just Dong leaving and Miggy declining, and Castellanos not living up to the hopes placed in him. If Upton were in a better lineup, he could be even better. The Tigers are 14th by runs scored: could it perhaps be due to Upton’s contribution? At $R 6.1, he’s 19th overall; 23rd in $HR; 8th in $RBI. He’s only 61st in $SB, though.
Rhys Hoskins: At time of writing, the Phillies’ outfielder is 97% owned, and that’s probably going to be 100% by time of posting, but you might still have a chance of grabbing him if you click immediately. Of all players (hitters and pitchers), he’s already ranked 8th overall by $/G (he only has 72 plate appearances, so it’s not worth looking at him by $ value). At this point, he’s negative in most values, except for a $AVG of 2.9, which equates to .290. But if the trend of 18 hits, 10 home runs, and 23 RBIs in only 17 games continues, that’s all going to go up.
