If you play H2H you are approaching your final~ 5-7 regular season matchups. The most important of them all. By now you should have a good idea of where you sit, and how your chances are looking. Unless it has been a REAL bad year for you, you should be still be able to squeek into the playoff mix. Should. If you have a playoff spot established, you are likely trying to thrust up into the top seeds and secure a heavenly bye week. Wherever you may be in the standings, we are all looking at how we can prepare ourselves for these last couple of months. You are likely checking where you rank in each category, and which ones you may need to address before the trade deadline. The waiver wire will also be churning out some players that will come up big time for some owners. Who will those impact players be? Who will be the “Matt Olsen” or “Rhys Hoskins” of 2018? While he may not contain as much power as those guys, there is someone in mind who I think can make a huge impact for owners down the stretch. As a H2H Categories enthusiast, you know I love me a player who can give me a speed/pop combination. Coming off a suspension, this guy is relatively under the radar at 9.1% ownership on ESPN. If he finishes this season similarly to how he did last year we are looking at a multi category SS on the waiver wire.
Jorge Polanco – SS, Minnesota Twins
Polanco was a guy I was really excited about drafting coming into the year. In 225 second half at-bats last year, Polanco hit .293 with 10 home runs, 7 stolen bases, 15 doubles, 31 runs scored, and 43 runs batted in. A PED suspension put a halt on a repeat effort until now. It may take him a few weeks to get back into the swing of things, but I could see him putting up similar numbers to close out this season. A .270 average with 4-7 home runs and stolen bases a piece is realistic, and would help owners dearly down the stretch. Polanco has slashed .265/.324/.427 through his first 220 MLB games with 17 HR and 19 SB. The Twins may not appear as robust as they did last year, but that is not to say they can’t have a strong 2nd half. They have some solid bats in their lineup, including notorious 2nd half slugger Brian Dozier who has been getting going lately. So far, he has settled into the middle/second half of the order for the Twins. If he can make a strong impact I could see him moving up, but he should be able to put up respectable fantasy numbers regardless. His power/speed combo, and ability to create runs makes him an intriguing H2H fantasy asset down the stretch.
2018: (41 PA) .250/.341/.306, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB
Steamer ROS Projection: .266/.328/.408 with 5 HR, 29 R, 25 RBI, 5 SB in 231 PA
