Tim Beckham was a perfect 4-for-4 Friday night at Camden yards with his fourteenth home run of the year. He’s now homered in back to back ball games. Welcome to Baltimore, Timmah! Where everyone hits everything. Beckham’s bomb came off Tiger’s ace Justin Verlander in the second inning to tie the game at one. He added base hits in each of his next three trips to the plate. Sure, his .279/.331/.453 slash is nothing to write home about, but that was with Tampa. Let’s leave the past in St Petersburg and let’s look at that slash line for Beckham since arriving in Baltimore: .688/.688/1.375! Much nicer, right? And that 2.063 OPS? Unreal! OK, so maybe I’m having a little too much fun with small sample sizes but the truth is Tim Beckham is a hot little crab cake right now! He’s 11-for-16 in his last four games with three doubles and two homers. He’s also scored five runs with four RBI in that stretch. As long as J.J. Hardy is sidelined, Beckham should see playing time every day and you need to ride him while he’s hot. Also, for a player in the midst of a career year in Tampa, playing in the friendly Camden confines and in a much stronger Orioles line up should only help his production. He’s out there in about 85% of leagues, if you’re in need of a hot middle infielder, there are few bending it hotter than Beckham right now.
Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:
Todd Frazier – 2-for-4, HR (18). I was upset at first, but in the end I must admit I am happy Frazier ended up with the Yankees. I say this as a very thankful Rafael Devers owner.
Jaime Garcia – 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. This is the third team he’s started for in his past three starts. That’s got to be some kind of record, right? Regardless, if you expected his debut with the Yankees to go better than this then, well, I really don’t know what you were expecting. He’s still Jaime Garcia.
Sean Doolitte – 1.0 IP, 1 hit, K, SV (5). Practically everyone got a new closer at the trade deadline, except for you and your fantasy team, who likely probably lost anywhere between 1-4 closers with all the trades. Well, you may be in luck because there’s saves out there on waivers and few are in a better situation than Doolittle to get save chances. Grey told you to BUY and grabbing Doolittle is about as good an add for saves at this point in the year as you’re going to get.
Daniel Murphy – 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI. It’s funny to say Murphy was in a mini-slump as he’s slashing .333/.382/.563 on the year, but whatever funk he may have been in appears to be over. Universe normalizing.
Howie Kendrick – 2-for-3, 2 runs, SB (9). Moving from Philadelphia to Washington is about as good a line up upgrade as it gets and Kendrick is feeling it. He’s gathered 10 hits in just five games since joining the Nats with a homer and a steal. He’d brag about batting in front of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy now, but Kendrick would rather sit down, BE HUMBLE!
Asher Wojciechowski – 5.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, BB, 5 K, 2nd win. Hey look! It’s another Reds rookie pitcher! Woj held the Cards to just three hits for his first career win and it likely gave him another shot to show off his stuff next week in San Diego. I might possibly starting thinking about maybe perhaps the possibility of considering the prospect of streaming him there.
Tommy Pham – 2-for-4, run, SB (15). You need steals? You need average? You need home runs? I got you, Pham!
Bruce Rondon – 1.0 IP, 2 K, SV (1). Shane Greene saved the previous two games so Rondon got the chance last night. These are not the saves your looking for.
Justin Verlander – 7.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 10 K, 7th win. Kate Upton says she doesn’t find Kanye West or Jay-Z attractive and as a person who looks more like Verlander than he does Jay-Z or Kanye, I am okay with this being a “news” story.
Justin Upton – 2-for-4, Grand Slam HR (20), 4 RBI. Jupton finished off a July batting .322, and I feel like Justin has a way of accumulating all his stats in a single month. As an owner, let’s hope that month didn’t just end.
Kevin Gausman – 7.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, BB, 8 K. Kevin “Heckin'” Gausman, where has this guy been all year?! After giving up 8 ER to Chicago back on 7/14, Kevin has strung together four straight quality starts allowing just 2 ER in 27.2 IP with a 32/9 K/BB in that stretch. He’s rocking a 2.93 ERA since the all star break after posting a 5.85 ERA pre-break. Razzballers, if he keeps this up, this is a player you are going to want on all your teams next year. His first half stats will hopefully skew his ranking so hard you’ll be able to land a could-be ace in the later rounds. I know it’s still just August, but don’t forget about him in March!
Chris Taylor – 2-for-3, 3 runs, HR (14). Don’t look at the BABIP! Don’t look at it! Just look at the pretty .316/.383/.545. Look at the 14 home runs, 52 RBI, 13 steals, and 60 runs in just 90 games. Focus on that. Mmmm. Yes. Who says he can’t keep this up?
Yu Darvish – 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, BB, 10 K, W. Y Yu mad? Is it because the team with the best record in the league traded for the best available pitcher at the deadline? Oh, okay. Yeah, I’d be kind of mad about that, too.
Amed Rosario – 1-for-3, SB (1). BUY. Wowza! Look at the wheels on the rook! This kid’s gonna be a star! Ha-cha-cha!
Jacob Faria – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Jacob is rocking a 2.81 ERA and 67/24 K/BB through just 11 starts. I am confident if the entire Rays clubhouse got the stomach bug they’d still have some awesome pitching prospects to call up and win them some games in the interim. Why don’t I own Faria anywhere? Is it because of who I am as a person? Don’t answer that.
Brandon Woodruff – 6.1 IP, 7 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1st win. So many debuts! So many first career wins. It was a pretty special night, you guys. Brandon is so fresh and so prospecty he’s not even in the ESPN player universe yet! I might recommend you pick him up, but you can’t! Moving on!
Orlando Arcia – 2-for-3, 2 runs, HR (10). Orlando has 10 homers and 10 steals with a .282 average through the first 100+ games. That may seem “Meh” to you, but these 15-15 guys are exactly what I’m striving for on draft day. They are my fantasy gluten free bread and margarine.
Arodys Vizcaino – 1.0 IP, 1 hit, BB, SV (4). Grey told you to BUY. The 2.50 ERA and 42/13 K/BB, not to mention the four saves, indicate that he’s the new closer in Atlanta. That means the flaming bags of poo he keeps finding on his door step most likely belong to Jim Johnson. Sorry, Jim!
Giancarlo Stanton – 2-for-4, 2 HR (35), 3 RBI. Including a 477-footer that broke the record for something. Even in the wildest chapters of my Giancarlo fan-fiction/erotica, did I imagine getting such a epic season for “Mike Drop.” I attribute it to the supplements I’ve been secretly slipping in his protein shakes. Vialus for testosterone enhancement. Helps the libido. Add inches to your home runs. Watch your dingers soar!
Nicky Delmonico – 3-for-5, 2 RBI. More young’ns! How exciting for all of us. Nicky is 6-for-16 (.375) with one homer and five RBI in his first four games with the ChiSox. He’s also quickly becoming super BFFs with Yoan Moncada. They did hot goat yoga together last week. The pair are practically inseparable. Delmonico slashed .262/.347/.421 in AAA and the Sox are committed to playing the kiddos so he might be one to watch over the next few weeks if he can get hot.
Carlos Rodon – 7.2 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 11 K. Oh, hello there! Here’s the pitcher I drafted way too early last year. Rodon looked filthy last night and watching this start part of this was a very generous strike zone but the other part of it was his stinky, stinky cheeeese. I just hope he doesn’t do this every time out so I can still own him everywhere next year. He gets a tough match up with Houston next week but could be worth an add if you are feeling dangerous.
Eduardo Nunez – 2-for-5, HR (3). Mitch Moreland was the hero in this one with the pinch hit walk off homer in the 10th but Nunez has been on another planet since arriving in Boston. Doode is slashing .469/.500/.875 in seven games with the Red Sox and has added 3 homers, 3 steals and 11 RBI. Sweet sassy molassy! Tell me again why the Giants traded this guy? So they could add Pablo Sandoval off waivers? Wait. Tell me again?
James Paxton – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, BB, 7 K, 12th win. His seventh win in a row! You are an ace now, dawg!
Bartolo Colon – 9.0 IP, 9 hits, 4 ER, BB, 5 K, 1st win. Oldest geezer to record a complete game since Nolan Ryan in 1992! But Nolan Ryan did it in a blizzard, uphill, and was 15 years older than Colon at the time!
Manuel Margot – 2-for-5, HR (9). Hey, I remember you! I wrote my first post of the year about Margot. Then he got hurt, then he came back and then we all sort of forgot about him. Well, he’s back. He’s been back and he’s slashing .280/.318/.433 and leading off for one of the worst offenses in the league and he’s a BUY. Do with this information whatever you please!
Carlos Asuaje – 2-for-4, 2 runs, HR (2), 2 RBI. He doesn’t really hit homers. He doesn’t steal bases. But if you need average and OBP! Pick him up if you hate yourself.
Blake Treinen – 1.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, BS (3). Blew the save but not really because he came into this game in the seventh with the bases loaded. Who’s fault is that, really? What did you expect? He was still a BUY and he is still probably most likely the A’s closer.
Anthony Banda – 6.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1st win. Oh boy! The Giants offense will do wonders for a young pitchers confidence.
Nick Williams – 3-for-4, run, RBI. Back to back three hit games for Slick Nick and he’s hitting .300 with 2 homers over the past two weeks. With Aaron Altherr exiting last nights game with an injury, there should plenty of playing time for Nick and his .923 OPS to show us why the Phillies offense is so sad this year.
Brian Dozier – 3-for-5, 2 HR (19), 2 RBI. Don’t sleep on Dozier!
Brad Peacock – 6.0 IP, 9 hits, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 10th win. When you give up seven runs and still get your tenth win, that’s when you know your offense got your back.
Tyler White – 4-for-5, 3 runs, 2 HR, 5 RBI. That Tyler White power is some good ol’ fashioned hometown community power! Wait–that’s racist!
Yuli Gurriel – 3-for-3, HR (14), 3 RBI. You go, Gurriel! All up in your Gurriel like, what? The Astros scored 16 runs on 18 hits and that’s even more impressive when you consider Jose Aluve, George Springer and Carlos Correa were all out with injuries. This is a good baseball team, folks.
Thanks for reading! Questions? Problems? Complaints to management? Advice, small gifts or large bribes? Please leave it in the comments below. Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy baseball continues next week, all week long!
