I once dated a girl named Claire Voyance in grade school. It was going decently well for a while until she started to tell me how our future together was going to unfold. It was a little hurtful to hear her tell me about the long nights writing about fake baseball and how the kids of Vlad Guerrero, Dante Bichette and Al Leiter would be names to pay attention to in the 21st century. It was at this point that I should have started to listen to her a little more carefully, and I sure wish I was with her now (Sorry Kerry, as if she is reading this). Claire, on the other hand, knew that I was going to be 125 words in and remind me that clairvoyance isn’t an actual thing. With that knowledge, I have to just look at the collection of games, starters, matchups and trends to bring you Week 11.
Runs/SB’s
Amed Rosario, SS/OF, CLE-47% rostered in Yahoo- Rosario has been doing it all as of late. He has played in 15 straight games in the 2-hole. He has 11Runs and 2SB’s with a .400 average over that time as well. With JoRam, Rosario, and Bobby Bradley are crushing over the past 2 weeks, look for Rosario to continue passing GO and collecting $200.
Jonathan Villar, 2B/3B/SS, NYM-46% rostered in Yahoo- Even with McNeill coming off of the IL, it is apparent that Villar needs to stay in the lineup. Since June 1st, Villar has a .343 average, 8 Runs and 1 SB over 39 PA’s. Mets play 8 next week against the Braves and Phils.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Walls, SS, TBR-3% rostered in Yahoo- Walls has seen plenty of action against both righties and lefties. His speed is what is going to play going forward, and it appears that Tampa is going to keep giving him the green light despite being caught 40% of the time. Luckily for most, we don’t play in a Net SB league.
HR/RBI
Abraham Almonte, OF, ATL-1% rostered in Yahoo- Almonte has been getting regular AB’s and playing LF with Ozuna out of the picture. To make it even a little more appealing, he has been hitting as high as cleanup in this lineup. Since June 5th, he has a hit in all but 3 games. Not the biggest power threat in baseball, but with 8 games on the schedule and hitting in the middle of a dangerous lineup, you could do worse.
Jonathan India, 2B/3B, CIN-39% rostered in Yahoo- What does India and a spicy curry dish have in common? Both extremely hot and will give you the runs. Luckily for us, we will also get the HR and RBI. 10/2/6/1/.311 over past 2 weeks. Should stay in the lineup even when Moose returns.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Belt, 1B, SFG-21% rostered in Yahoo- Brandon Belt is my kryptonite. Each year I see the Statcast data and I keep expecting the major breakout. Each year I am disappointed. Where is Claire Voyance when I need her. Either way, he has been hitting the ball extremely well this year, even if his average isn’t a true representation.
Wins
Brett Anderson, SP, MLW-2% rostered in Yahoo- This is going to have to be a trust fall exercise. While it’s easy to look at Anderson’s up and down season, I want to take his last game and expand on that wonderful outing. His sinker was getting easy ground-balls and had great location, while his change generated a 39% CSW. He gets to face the D’Backs and the Rockies (away from Coors) in his 2-start week. Trust Fall
Ross Stripling, SP, TOR-9% rostered in Yahoo- Stripling is now getting stretched out and appears ready for his upcoming Week 11 matchups vs Mia and the Orioles. Over his past 3 starts he has compiled 15.1 IP, 15K’s, 2.93ERA 1.17WHIP. I see a couple W’s on the horizon.
Jake Odorizzi, SP, HOU-14% rostered in Yahoo- Odorizzi pitched well on Wednesday as part of a piggyback set with McCullers’ return from the IL. Next week Odorizzi should be the lone recipient of the 2-start week vs the Orioles and the Tigers, both win-able matchups.
Speculation and Saves
Gregory Soto-DET-19% rostered in Yahoo- Even with the return of Fulmer from the IL, I would place my “trust” in Soto. Fulmer appeared in Wednesdays game and got the save, but not without giving up 2ER along the way. We all know, SAGNOF
Lucas Sims, CIN-47% rostered in Yahoo- Another week, another Sims recommendation. Of course as soon as I mentioned him last week, he enters in the 6th inning. David Bell is making this messier than it should be. Leave Sims in the 9th, or at worst the 8th if matchups dictate. Either way, he is most likely to get the 9th inning, and the Reds have won 8 of their last 10.
There are only 40+ days left before the trade deadline, so now is when to pay attention to the potential moves that teams could be making. Here are a couple names to pay attention to if the closer is moved:
Ari: Taylor Clarke
Pit: David Bednar/Kyle Crick
LAA: Mike Mayers/Steve Cishek
Col: Carlos Estevez
