Corner Report: Alec Bohm Is NOT Lou Gehrig And Terrific Twos

I tried and tried and tried to come up with a theme this week, and just couldn’t.  I feel like George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Scott Lynch all wrapped up in one fantasy article.  So, instead, I just posted a bunch of guys and then stole an idea from a colleague.

Alec Bohm:  I’m about to drop the Bohm on you right here.  He’s having what some might call a breakout season.  He’s 27, plays for a good lineup, and let’s face it at 6-5 and gorgeous hair, Bohm just looks like he should be a ballplayer.  Right now, he has 32 RBI, which is on pace for 160 on the season.  Of his 32.4 value on the Rater, 13.3 of it are due to these RBI.  If you were to normalize this stat he’d be lower than first, probably in the bottom part of the top ten.

I think Bohm is the bomb, but not quite as big a bomb as all this.  He’s a good player who will continue to be good but not first rated overall good.  I”m quite sure he’s not a .360 hitter who’s going to get 160 RBI.  In other words, no, we shouldn’t expect Lou Gehrig numbers, but if you have a believer in him go right ahead.  Just remember that a .444 batting average with runners in scoring position is probably not going to sustain.  Career year, probably.  Has he reached his peak this season, also probably.

Josh Naylor:  Naylor is the sailor to higher heights!  I hesitated ranking Naylor in the top 20 due to playing time concerns and platoon at bats lost.  He’s now on pace for well over 500 at bats, so he’s free to rake as much as possible.  40 HR and over 120 RBI is a solid pace along with 80 Runs and a .271 AVG.  I don’t see anything unsustainable here except the HR.

So far, Naylor has no holes and has underperformed his metrics so far, even.  What a great pick if you happened to nab him late.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride, he’s for real.

Paul Goldschmidt:  For a long time Paul was good as gold, but this year is more Schmidt than golden.  I told you guys to pass on guys over 35 not named Freddie Freeman.  Goldschmidt has had a negative dollar value on the season.  Negative 4.7, to be exact.  It seems like his swing and miss has spiked this season against breaking balls.  Now, that could be an adjustment that just needs to be made, or it could be that the bat speed just ain’t what it used to be and he’s cheating on fastballs and getting fooled, so he misses.

It’s really concerning to me for one of my longtime favorite guys to draft.  He didn’t have a month like this last season or the year before.  Time will tell if this is just a bad slump, or is this the inevitable march of time rearing its ugly head.  I’d deal him for just about anyone with a positive value at this point.  Ryan Mountcastle, Jake Cronenworth, and Vinny Pasquantino are all guys with lesser name values that I think will do better than Goldie going forward.

By the way, he’s hitting .202 while on pace for 10 HR, 55 RBI, 75 runs which seems really high, and while I’d take the over, I’m still bearish.

Max Muncy:  Max Muncy.  That Funky Muncy.  Muncy has been beasty, boy, this year so far.  He’s on pace for 40 HR, 100 runs,  and 120 RBI.  Somehow, someway, Muncy is also hitting .255.  Normally, the player rater gives him a solid negative in that stat.  This year has been a positive 2.6.  I would like to remind everyone that the past two seasons have been .212 and .196.   I know he’s good in like real life and stuff, but average is a category in our game.  I’d look to sell high on this guy and just bank the stats.

Note:  In an OBP, SLG, OPS leagues he’s going to continue to be valuable.  I just don’t think the average is going to stay where it is.

• I’m gonna steal my guy Bunt Single’s stacks idea.  You can read Here.  Here’s been the best 1b/3b stacks according to the player rater

Reds:  Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer $68.6.  This is just an insane start for Elly with his near 100 SB pace and .928 OPS.  46.6 of the value is Elly.  He’s only behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts for the season and he’s making anyone who took the gamble on him look intelligent.  Steer is just along for the ride here.

Orioles:  Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson:  $55.8.  In my linked article Bunt Singles talked Gunnar, so let’s focus on Mountcastle.  He’s a top 10 1B that people think is just a bad corner infield option.  The Castle has pop though!  In this new era, a .289 BA is almost elite, and the 30 HR pace shows that park factors aren’t always death knells to a player’s value.  You got him after pick 200 and are reaping the benefits if you did.

Guardians:  Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez $53.3:  Been a rough start for Ramirez and I’ve long wondered if his decline would happen soon given his body type and lack of old man bat skills, plus a reliance on speed.  Wait, this is supposed to be a complimentary section.  I guess I don’t see this holding as the Statcast sliders for Jose are all blue except that he never strikes out.  I’m guessing you’re thrilled with Naylor and not Jose;  but our rater has Ramirez as 3 dollars more valuable.  Math is math!

Phillies:  Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper $53:  Nothing to really talk about here, Bohm isn’t going to keep this up, but Harp should raise his .240 AVG soon enough and is still on a 40 HR pace.  Maybe see if you can buy him low.  I could see some owners dealing these two guys for each other, actually.

Let’s go, that’s a solid effort here if I do say so myself.  Have a great week everyone!