Greetings and welcome back to the Mike Maher end of summer backyard bash, where we talk about our beloved top 100 hitters. I will be taking a one-week hiatus after this post as I pack up my apartment and drive 1,200 miles north from Fort Lauderdale, FL up to Pennsylvania. That’s right, the true King of the North is returning home to his roots. No more tank tops in January for me for a little while. After my one-week absence, though, I will be back to tell you how good Rhys Hoskins is. You may have heard of him by now. We focused on him last week, so we don’t have to go over him again, even though he has pretty much homered in every game since we talked about him. And for once, that isn’t even an exaggeration. Check out his game log:
Take me on in the Razzball Commenter Leagues for a chance at prizes! Free to join, leagues still open!
But enough about Hoskins. Any more and this will turn into a second straight post about him. Maybe next season I can write a third weekly article that will focus solely on Rhys Hoskins and what he did that week. I’ll make a note of it.
I was going to focus on Nicky Delmonico and talk about what he was doing and what I saw, but he had to go and get hurt before I wrote the post. I suppose that is better than him getting hurt AFTER I wrote the post, though. So, we’ll touch on Byron Buxton instead, since he has been mentioned in comments the last couple weeks while he was heating up at the plate.
I have never had any Buxton stock the past two years, so I have never been burned by him and don’t feel as salty about adding him to the list as others might. I have also never been a huge Buxton fan, even back when he was a prospect everyone was drooling over. However, he has been en fuego lately with an 11.03 PR15. Game recognize game. He’s earned his spot. He is still owned in less than 60% of ESPN leagues somehow.
The important factor here is his SAGNOF value down the stretch, as speed is always going to be the key for Buxton owners. The problem up until now has been that he just hasn’t been able to really hit at all, which killed his value and also killed his playing time and led to him getting sent down for a while in the past. He hit .209 during his first taste in the show, then hit .225 last season. At times, his average has dipped below the .200 mark, and he looked absolutely lost at the plate. His top prospect shine started to fade as impatient analysts and fantasy owners moved on to newer, shinier toys.
It’s easy to forget that he is still just 23 and was called up two years ago, which, in retrospect, was probably too soon. So, he has pretty much been gradually figuring things out at the major league level for the better part of three seasons now. What that does to his overall development remains to be seen, but what is important for fantasy owners is that he is hitting NOW.
Buxton’s 11.03 PR15 is good for the fourth best in all of baseball. During this hot streak, he has also moved up in the batting order, which should only help his value going forward, assuming he continues to hit. Steals and runs are going to be his appeal, so being higher in the order is important for those counting stats. While he will probably never hit for much power on a consistent basis, he does have 10 home runs this season, so you aren’t dealing with a Dee Gordon guy who has NO power. There is some pop in there, but it won’t show up all the time.
At this point in the season, with only a few weeks left and, in many H2H leagues, only a week left before the playoffs begin, what is important is what a player is doing recently and what they can do the next few weeks. Buxton hit below .200 in two separate months earlier in the season. But that is behind us now. He hit .387 in July and is hitting .309 overall in the second half. He has been streaky at times in his young career, so enjoy the ride while you can. Watch him closely because he could turn back into that April pumpkin at any time, but his upside is too high not to utilize right now. I’m not sure why he is still owned in less than 60% of ESPN leagues, but hey, that is their loss.
- Miguel Sano – Sounds like Sano’s shin injury is lingering longer than expected or hoped, and he is going to need more time than the minimum ten days required by his disabled list designation. Owners hoping for some power down the stretch are going to have to wait at least another week.
- Giancarlo Stanton – Do we need to mention him here? I don’t even want to write down any stats because by the time I finish this sentence he will have hit two more home runs.
- Gary Sanchez – Suspended four games for throwing punches, which is easily the coolest way to get suspended. Unfortunately for Sanchez owners, he was on fire at the plate, with a 10.82 PR15 and eight home runs in his last ten games. He is appealing the suspension, but I wouldn’t count on him winning that appeal.
- Rhys Hoskins – I sat on Hoskins all year in a league that allows one minor league spot, and his call-up could not have come at a better time for me. I lost Bryce Harper, Joey Gallo, and Miguel Sano in the same week, and Hoskins and his dingers have saved me in a H2H league. And to think, some of you were questioning the Hoskins ranking last week. Well, how do you like me now?
Complete list of players to hit 10 home runs in their first 17 career games:
Rhys Hoskins pic.twitter.com/UZ1wngG8Eo
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 26, 2017
- Manny Machado – No notes. Just this:
Manny Machado last 30 days:
2 BB (1.6%), 8 K (6.3%), 10 HR (7.9%)— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) August 27, 2017
- Josh Bell – Bell is another guy I never became enamored with as a prospect but who is delivering at the moment. I probably won’t even glance at him in drafts next season, but a 5.49 PR15 with some pop down the stretch will do just fine, especially with all of the injuries lately.
- Yoenis Cespedes/Michael Conforto – Putting these two in the same note because, well, Mets. I can’t recall a team in recent memory that was so cursed with injuries. Of course, there is a reallllly questionable training staff making the calls over there, at least as far as I can tell, so maybe that has something to do with it. If you are ownership, wouldn’t you be asking that staff some questions this offseason? Anyway, Cespedes is done for the year and Conforto probably is, too. Then again, this is the Mets, so Conforto will probably be rushed back to play in meaningless games the last week of the season.
- Carlos Correa – Correa is coming back! He should start a rehab assignment this week and return to the team after playing in the minors for about a week. Great news for the Astros, but better news for Correa owners who need him down the stretch. I am adding him back to the list.
Note: These rankings are considered ROS Trade Value
Mike Maher’s Top 100 Hitters
(Rankings based on 12-team Roto. GREEN = player rising. RED = player dropping. BLUE = new to the Top 100 or Honorable Mentions.)
The Honorable Mentions (Next Five In…)
| Rank | Name | Team | Pos |
| 101 | Eugenio Suarez | CIN | 3B |
| 102 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 2B |
| 103 | Javier Baez | CHC | 2B/3B/SS |
| 104 | Cesar Hernandez | PHI | 2B |
| 105 | Manuel Margot | SD | OF |
Dropped from the rankings: Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Jarrod Dyson, Justin Bour
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Josh Reddick says, “Hello! I’m better than half the hitters on your list!!!”
I have Odor at U and M.Taylor at OF with Dominic Smith on the bench. I might be able to move some things around and drop someone to pick up an interesting FA like: Valbuena, Polanco, Kepler, Y.Sanchez or Aguilar.
Hold or make a move?
@dfrench23:
Hold
Mookie at #7? What am i missing? I benched the Mookster 3 weeks in a row with Thames, Cargo and most recently Parra, and it’s worked out just fine. I know his name is Mookie and he went 2-3-4-5 in most drafts, but at this point of the season, we don’t owe him anything.
@Chucky:
Deep breaths, Chucky! I get your point, but I still love the value ROS. Yeah, he has been slumping, but even during the slump he is contributing in other areas. The numbers are obviously not what people were hpoing for in March, but they are still pretty good. And now that he is hitting 2/3 instead of leadoff with Nunez and Benintendi getting on in front of him, we might see some production boost.
See you out on the gridiron Mike!
@knucks:
See you out there, knucks!
Braun really scuffling as of late hopefully he turns it around but he’s gettin tough to hold on to. I need to drop one of these now that Turner is about to come off the DL..
Braun
Devers
Smoak
Based on your ranking it would be Smoak but I just can’t justify dropping him over Braun at this time. I dropped Myers a few weeks ago and he’s been picked up and dropped by two other teams since then. Who would be your drop? I’m sitting pretty good on steals with Hamilton, Turner, and Buxton so I’m really just needing avg, rbi’s, and runs.
@SMITTY:
The rankings obviously can’t account for your teams, so it isn’t necessarily black and white when it comes to what makes the most sense for your team and your needs. If Smoak fills a bigger need for you, especially with Turner being OF eligilble, then that probably makes sense.
Has anyone noticed that Jean Segura is just flat out garbage? He has reverted back to his pre-Arizona days. Having him at #25 is laughable. He shouldn’t even be in the top 100 anymore as the only value he brought was based on steals. He’s hitting 228 in the 2nd half and 122 in his last 10 games with 3 runs. He’s scored a measly 62 runs all year long! It’s hard to believe so called All Stars like he, and Mookie, will be riding the pine for my team as streamers occupy their year long spots, just so I don’t lose my league the last month! Ugh
Lots of “play it safe” players will criticize your benching of Mookie. After all….he’s MOOKIE! You hit, you run, you score, you play. Mookie has done nothing of the sorts since the ASB. He’s sat 3 weeks in a row for me, and Ive reaped the benefits from all who had better weeks than he did.
@Chucky:
Mookie is still in the top 20 batters YTD despite a slump. Still on pace for 20/20, 100/100.
@Turd Ferguson:
i try not to overreact too quickly to slumps. So, we’ll see.
It took an injury to remove Desmond. Is that the only thing that will bump Odor? Love him but his ranking doesnt seem justified unless its due to position.
@Tellmywhy:
Current slump is not helping his already low average, but he is still hitting home runs, stealing bases, and scoring runs.
This must of been written before Buxton hit 3 Bombs yesterday.
@TTRA1N:
Sure was
On that note, would you drop either or both Pollock and Myers for SantanaD, Margot, Odubel (when off dl), deshields, schebler?
@Greg:
Depends on what you need but probably not.
Nothing on Beckham? He’s been pretty consistently good since being traded
@LeggoPens:
He has been but I am still a little weary. Definitely a strong streaming option, obviously
Wil Myers at 41. Really? What do you see in him that his stats aren’t revealing?
@NewRazzFan:
Even while slumping he is hitting home runs and stealing bases.
@mikeMaher: Last home run was Aug. 12. Only three doubles all month and he’s batting under the Mendoza line since the all-star break with below average runs and RBIs. The three steal game was nice, but can’t anticipate that happening again. Will be interesting to see what he does in September.
I win Bryant, Edwin, Devers, Judge, Bregman, Taylor, Wellington, Rhys, Stanton, and Blackmon in one league. Ridiculous, ain’t it? Haha.
Oh, and Bellinger.
With that being said:
He’s on the DL, comes off Wednesday, who do I drop
RBI R SB AVG OPS HR – K K:9 S+H ERA WHIP W
I am in first with about 11 more drop adds saving for PO (I only have semi’s and finals if I keep first. 78 max season acquisitions (weird for a S+H league but it was league call)
C – Castillo
1B – EE
2B – Taylor
3B – Bryant
SS – Bregman
OF – Blackmon
OF – Stanton
OF – Judge
UTIL – Devers
UTIL – Rhys
B – Carlos Santana
SP – Archer
SP – Nola
SP – Taillon
SP – Happ
SP – Hamels
SP – Chase Anderson
SP – Porcello
SP – Estrada
SP – Maeda
SP – G. Cole
DL – Paxton
RP – Giles
RP – Oh
RP – Ziegler
RP – Parker
RP – McGee
Trade deadline has passed or I would trade.
Thank you!!
@TarmanGotHim: own*
@TarmanGotHim:
Jeez. That is a good problem to have. Santana I guess.