Corners Report: AL West Not Much To Report

First base and third base are supposed to be the bedrock of your fantasy roster — a source of steady power, counting stats, and consistency. But in the AL West? It’s been a rotating cast of slumps, rookies, injuries, and desperate platoons. From Rowdy Tellez’s sinkhole slash line to a Luis Urías/Gio Urshela platoon that makes you question your life choices, it’s a minefield out there. If you’re relying on this division for corner help, you’re either in a deep league… or you’ve made some very regrettable decisions. Here are some things that I have done that are less regrettable than rostering most of these characters:

1. Backing my truck into a car at Walmart
2. Writing fantasy baseball articles while at work
3. Rinsing dirty dishes and not washing them
4. Taking laundry out of the basket instead of putting it in a dresser
5. Told a kid Santa wasn’t real
6. Tripped that kid who kicked me in the shin at church

It’s a land mine out there, kids. Let’s look at the AL Worst.

Seattle:

1B: It’s Rowdy Tellez most of the time, and the results are fairly predictable. The slash is .170/.250/.434, with four home runs. Of course, you should just move on and ignore him unless you are in an AL West only league. Then he’s a top five player at first base!

3B: The Mariners are running out a rookie named Ben Williamson. He profiles as a zero power, good plate approach guy, with the defense keeping him on the field for some counting stats volume. That will play in a deeper league, and if the BABIP gods decide to smile upon Ben, he would have some value. Since he’s hitting over .300 at this point, the guess here is that he sticks around. It’s only his third year in pro ball, and the approach should limit deep slumps. I kinda like him, actually; hopefully the Mariners do too.

Rangers:

1B: Jake Burger has been a massive disappointment early, batting just .174, hitting only three home runs, walking only twice against 28 strikeouts. Look, I wish I had said this earlier, but Burger has been a slow starter the past two seasons. He’s a second half guy. So bench him if you can, but don’t cut him if you can sit on Burg for just a bit. The good times are coming.

3B: Josh Jung is hurt often. It’s not like they’re chronic things, he’s just to this point one of those guys who has random injuries often (think Cody Bellinger). He had a neck issue, then came back, and now is missing a few days with a finger laceration due to a shattered bat. I get it, these aren’t chronic issues; it’s not like he’s repeatedly pulling his Dreaded Oblique. And he produces (.282 average, 2 HR, and 2 steals), but has been frustrating. I’m holding, but basically only because third base is shallow.

Josh Smith is the backup here, and between Jung and Corey Seager, he has been a full-time starter. Right now, the average is carrying him at .308, but with an elevated BABIP of .375, the good times will stop rolling. He started fast last year and ended up slightly above an average player. I have him in my TGFBI because I happen to have Jung and Seager, and he’s been helpful. Injury replacement, but probably not the answer to the question of how you won your league.

Astros:

1B: Christian Walker is another guy off to a slow start. Have you ever seen such a lousy first base April? I’m concerned with Walker and am glad I didn’t draft him anywhere. The guy is 34, and has a spike in his strikeout rate and whiff rate. He’s not hitting anything particularly well, but pitchers are attacking him with fastballs. The swing speed is down 2 mph from last year, but is still in the 77th percentile. It’s a weird thing. Like I said earlier, I’m concerned, and he’s validating my “Don’t draft 34 year old guys” strategy right now.

3B: Isaac Paredes was known as “I suck” by Cub fans because, he, well, sucked in Chicago. Right now he’s at .245 batting average again and on pace for 25-30 home runs. The walks are back, and this is the Tampa Paredes all over again.

Cam Smith is playing right field, but is third base eligible. In a dynasty, he’s a hold or buy low. I’m fully invested in Cam as a long term monster. If you’re in a yearly league, I’d call him a classic watch list guy. I doubt he’s a great fantasy asset this season. He was just in college last year! That’s not an insult. If you like bat speed guys, Cam has a 75 mph swing, which would get him a speeding ticket on my drive to work. Great tools, and it will be fun to see him put things together.

Athletics of Sacramento:

1B: Nick Kurtz is up, starting, and has been covered here, and you probably don’t wanna read about him much more. Let’s talk Tyler Soderstrom, shall we? He’s on these outstanding paces:

50 HR

117 Runs

134 RBI

Just keep him and enjoy the ride, and also the added OF eligibility that’s coming soon!

3B: Do I have to write this? Luis Urias and Gio Urshela are in a platoon. Okay, let’s move on. I guess Urias could be interesting if he gets the full time at bats. But he’s hit under .200 the past two seasons. He’s also never had an XBA over .241. Ah, make it stop! Third base is so cringe.

Angels:

1B: Nolan Schanuel probably isn’t going to be your power bat. He’s hitting the ball hard in 3% of plate appearances, a 13% barrel rate, 16% exit velocity, and a bottom 1% bat speed.

3B: Luis Rengifo is the man here.  Who could have predicted that Yoan Moncada and Anthony Rendon would be hanging on the IL together?  Rengifo is off to a dreadful start with 1 HR, 0 SB, and 3 pulled hamstrings.  How did he pull a third non-existent hamstring?  He’s just that good.