Greetings, weekend warriors. Your resident creeper, J-FOH, is unavailable this week due to either a mani/pedi or macaroni, I’m not quite sure. Bad phone connection. But whether he’s tending to some fugly nails or an empty stomach, fear not. I’m here to fill the void, minus a hundred hyperlinks or so. So let’s get to it. First up is Preston Tucker, one of the hottest schmotatoes in the land. Over the past week, he’s produced a .381/.409/1.048 triple slash with 4 homers, 8 runs, and 6 RBI. That’s a 1.048 slugging percentage, not OPS. Pretty Bryce Harper-esque. At home, where he’ll be playing six games this upcoming week, he’s managed a .291/.351/.523 line, and he’s crushed right-handed pitching to the tune of .296/.359/.585. The four righties that he’ll be facing – Garrett Richards, Jered Weaver, Rubby de la Rosa, and Jeremy Hellickson – aren’t exactly a fearsome group to contend with. As of right now, Tucker is owned in 11.2% of ESPN leagues. Like Chris Tucker in The Fifth Element, he won’t outshine the studs, but he should be a valuable role player.
Here are a few other bonus creepers for the week of 7/27 – 8/2:
• Jonathan Schoop (14.8% owned) – This 23-year-old middle infielder for the Baltimore Orioles has been tearing the cover off of the ball at home this season (1.265 OPS), where his team plays seven games this week. Why isn’t he universally owned? Well, it might have something to do with the ridiculously small sample size (26 PA) that I was using above, but this kid does have some serious pop (23 homers in 164 career MLB games).
• Chris Coghlan (5.9% owned) – While J-FOH is doubling down on the finger and toe nail polish, I’m doubling down on his creeper recommendation from last week. Coghlan has smacked 2 homers and stolen 2 bases with a .368 batting average since Monday, and the week’s not even over yet. Great call there, J-FOH! This week, Coghlan gets to feast on the underwhelming Colorado Rockies staff during a three game homestand before traveling to Milwaukee and facing four straight right-handed starters in the friendly confines of Miller Park.
• Aaron Hicks (5.4% owned) – The switch-hitting Hicks is a sneaky, under-the-radar power/speed threat (2 homers and 2 steals in July) who excels at home (.855 OPS) and against left-handed pitching (.847 OPS). The Twins play six games at home this week, three of which are against left-handed starting pitchers. The only Mariners pitcher that they’re scheduled to miss during a four game series next weekend is Felix Hernandez. Timing is everything.
• Frankencatcher – If streaming catchers is your thing, J.T. Realmuto (8.2% owned) has been on fire in the 2nd half (.348/.375/.609) and is one of the few catchers in MLB who will contribute the occasional steal as well (4 SBs this season). Chris Iannetta (2.0% owned) has gone deep twice in the past week and plays each of his upcoming six games on the road (.734 OPS). Robinson Chirinos (2.1% owned) and the Rangers enjoy a 7 game homestand this week, where he has enjoyed some success this season (.260/.333/.438).
