It’s now the middle of August. If your kids are back in school, and you’re a work at home person, congratulations! If you, like me, have a driver coming up, condolences! Good luck and enjoy the insurance bill.
I’m currently in the Smokies, doing our last ditch summer trip. With the dreaded work week starting Monday, it was time to grab the upside of a trip to the most visited National Park.
You guys, there’s still seven weeks left this season, fewer if you’re missing the head-to-head playoffs. It’s time for urgency. You’ll miss this all offseason; get out there and make some moves.
Here are some guys who’ve had a hot week that could help, and some who you can cut loose in order to do so:
Matt Shaw is fifth on the player rater at third base in the past week. This isn’t going to be a fluke. This seems like a classic case of a rookie with pedigree who struggles, then adjusts, and then performs much better. If you submitted yourself to the tedium of watching Shaw in April, he used this weird inverted foot stance and a huge leg kick. Doesn’t take Tom Emanski to figure out that’s a lot of moving parts.
He’s simplified the swing, and in the past seven days, he’s smoking the ball with three home runs and a slugging percentage over 1.000. He’s eligible all around the infield except first base and might be available. He could help teams needing that boost.
Kyle Manzardo has had a great week, guys. .462/.588/.1000 plays. The past month, he has hit .343 with seven HR, bringing his total to 20. Here’s the guy to look for if you need a first base boost. Only 13% owned on Yahoo, take off with the Manzalorian.
What makes me excited for him is the reduction in strikeout rate. In the past month, it’s down to 24%. While that’s not exactly Wade Boggs, it’s enough to maintain a league-average batting average and some good pop. So get him. It’s not like Paul Goldschmidt is going to get his power back, or Michael Busch will hit lefties. Go with the hot hand at this point.
Honor Roll
Luke Keaschall (eligible at 1B in Yahoo for some reason. I guess he looks at 1B when he throws there from 2B.) has come up and dominated in Minnesota. Do we have another Nick Kurtz this season? His profile is not flukey. The strikeout rate, chase, whiff, and walk rate, all those are top 5% in the league. He did have a .373 OBP in the minors, but no power. Well, he did have that one home run down there, which is more than I got in my career. You gotta try it though, in case it’s real.
Transfer Students
Eugenio Suarez predictably has struggled in Seattle, hitting .119 with one HR the past two weeks. Bummer. He was due for a cooler, though, gotta hold and see if he can shake it.
His teammate Josh Naylor is actually the top rated 1B over the last seven days. He’s stealing bases. You look at Naylor and do not see a sleek running threat, right? Weird, but enjoy if you ignored me saying he might be droppable.
Nurse’s Office
Nolan Arenado is in rehab, the shoulder kind. Maybe September? Alec Bohm is in the same situation with his ribs.
Alright, I gotta go hike and hope it doesn’t rain like it did yesterday! Enjoy, and thanks for reading. And may your teams not slide down the mountain of your standings in the final weeks.
