Ever since the Tampa Bay Rays selected Tim Beckham (41.6% owned – increase of 31.8%) with the number one overall selection in the 2008 MLB Draft, it’s been a headache for the city and the organization. Young girls flocked from all over to see him. The increase in the number of tourists strained the infrastructure. The paparazzi were everywhere! Even when the organization denied that David Beckham was not bending balls around posts, it was deemed as #Fake News. Pictures of Tim Beckham were tweeted and sent to news organizations all over the world to provide visual evidence that it was indeed not David. Regardless, conspiracy theorists alleged that the pictures were doctored and/or David was wearing an elaborate mask. Finally, in June of this year, the Rays finally took the necessary steps to alleviate themselves of the problem by trading two prospects to the Miami Marlins for Adeiny Hechavarria and, finally, trading Tim to the Baltimore Orioles for a pitcher. Like a lion freed from the cages at the circus, Tim has been wreaking havoc. In eight games with the Baltimore Orioles, he’s batting .500/.515/.938 with three home runs, three doubles, and a triple. Now, there’s a lot of ugly to his game, as he strikes out 30% of the time and has a swinging strike rate of 16%. With that said, he’s moving to a better park for hitting and he’s been batting sixth in a potentially potent lineup. I’ve seen mention that JJ Hardy will supplant him when he returns. In best Nancy Kerrigan voice, Whhhhhhyyyyy????? Anyways, Beckham obviously isn’t going to continue hitting at the torrid pace that he’s on. There’s just too much swing and miss to his game. But there’s a ton of upside. TREASURE
Take me on in the Football Razzball Commenter Leagues for a chance at prizes!
Alex Bregman (83.7% owned – increase of 20.8%)
I’m old enough to remember when people were discussing whether or not to drop Bregman. Good times. Man, I’m looking at his numbers and….I knew he was balling but I didn’t realize just how good his numbers are. .273/.356/.478 with 13 home runs, 59 runs scored, 43 RBI, and 12 stolen bases with a 10.5% walk rate and 14.8% strikeout rate. The ISO is .205 and BABIP is only .296. Swinging strike rate is only 6.5% and overall contact rate is 85%. Before I spew some “special sauce” onto my keyboard, I’ll stop. He’s only 23 years old! Uh….uhhh….uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……time to buy a new keyboard. TREASURE
Jonathan Villar (60.7% owned – decrease of 10.9%)
I was high on Villar coming into this season. The power/speed combo was too alluring. The funny thing is he’s exactly the type of player I usually eschew due to high strikeout and swinging strike rates. Anyways, I thought he turned a corner and would improve. You win some, you lose some. I wish I was wise like Odysseus when he sailed by the Sirens. I don’t think I need to go too deep into Villar. Contact rates are down, he’s chasing more pitches outside the strike zone, and swinging strike and strikeout rates have rocketed up. The ISO is only .119. Those are all terrible numbers, but what’s worse is lack of playing time. Erick Sogard and Hernan Perez are platooning at second base in his place. In poker, it’s often said you have a chance as long as you have “a chip and a chair.” Well, Villar ain’t got either. TRASH
Zack Godley (69.6% owned – increase of 7.6%)
I don’t understand Godley’s ownership percentage. Oh, those are ESPN percentages. In RCLs, it’s 97%. I still think that’s 3% too light. Does that mean 3% of Razzballers are atheists? Or are they so religious that owning Godley would be on the same level as using the Lord’s name in vain? I respect it. Godley has a K/9 of 9 with a BB/9 of 2.67. He gives up 0.71 home runs per nine innings, which is excellent. As in ninth-best in all of baseball! It makes sense then that he’s a ground ball pitcher (55.8%). He also limits hard contact (29.1%). That’s all fine and dandy, but this is when he elevates to the heavens: swinging strike rate is 14.1% and he gets batters to chase 35.7% of pitches outside the strike zone. For perspective, the swinging strike rate puts him fifth in MLB. The four pitchers above him are Kluber, Scherzer, Sale, and Tanaka! The O-Swing % is fourth-best in MLB. Tanaka, Wood, and Sale are the only other pitchers with a better rate. TREASURE
