The GTA video game series will always be one of my favorites. I always appreciated the attention to detail, but at the end of the day, they were fun to play. Who doesn’t like carjacking people, “talking” to prostitutes, and causing mahem? Ok, maybe not the greatest game from a morality perspective. Anyways, one of the hallmarks of any of the GTA games was thievery, whether it be cars, banks, or friends, which is exactly where my mind ported to when I saw Greg Allen (29.7% owned – increase of 22.4%) was one of the most added players over the past week. Who? Exactly. I get it. SAGNOF. And since the beginning of the month, Allen is batting .306 and has 7 stolen bases. Here’s the thing, though. That lofty batting average is fueled by a .340 BABIP. The strikeout rate has been 11.9%. For the season, that number is right under 20%. Here’s the thing Part Deux. Allen’s OBP on the season is .285 and the walk rate is 3.6%. And he bats at the bottom of the order. Here’s the thing Part Tres. Allen is a .240-ish hitter. Low walk, low average batter that hits at the bottom of the order. TRASH
Billy McKinney (14.9% owned – increase of 14.5%) isn’t playing like a kid, as he’s hitting .353 with 3 home runs since getting called up on August 18th. The 24-year-old outfielder who bats from the left side looks to have catapulted Curtis Granderson on the depth chart in what is a predominantly righty-heavy lineup. The .409 BABIP and .353 ISO are the numbers that immediately jump out to me. Regression is obviously going to come. When I look at the minor league history, things could get ugly, as he has routinely hit in the low-.200s. Not all is lost, though. There have been instances when he has hit over .300 and the plate discipline looks to be good. Currently the walk rate is 14.6% and the swinging strike rate is only 7% while the chase rate is only 20.8%. Those are elite numbers, but before we crown his ass, it’s only been 12 games and 41 plate appearances. McKinney doesn’t offer any speed and isn’t guaranteed to play every day, but he does have power and has shown excellent plate discipline. I want to say TRASH here because this level is not sustainable. With that said, I’d take a chance to see if it’s real.
Kole Calhoun (61.2% owned – decrease of 7.7%) was a pile of dung pre-All Star break. Then he went ape dung post-All Star break and was the fancy of many. Now he’s in a little slump. Over the last week or so, Calhoun is batting .242/.265/.303 with a 29.4% strikeout rate and .061 ISO. It’s baseball. Up and down. Up and down. Down and Up. Calhoun is still batting lead off for the Angels, who got Mike Trout back recently. He also offers some stolen base prowess. TREASURE
Tyler White (17.1% owned – increase of 13.2%) has started 21 of 26 games since getting called up on July 29th. Since that time, the slash is .337/.389/.687, strikeout rate is 18.9%, walk rate is 7.8%, ISO is .349, and BABIP is .356. He’s hit 7 home runs and driven in 21. The swinging strike rate is 6.1% and overall contact rate is 85.9%. Damn! Mighty impressive. This is a case of letting the numbers do the talking. TREASURE
