Well I fought the off mayonnaise malaise, survived and I’m back! Large, in charge, and ready to finish off the 2016 season on a high note. There’s still five weeks left in the season and it’s slim pickings out there but consider some of these guys and they’ll take you to the promised land like Moses (topical!). So let’s dive right in.
Looking at the last two weeks OPS it’s time to get back on the Randal Grichuk train. Choo-choo! Grichuk was a popular sleeper going into the season after finishing last season on a high note; he’s had an up-and-down first full season in the majors as he’s been sent down a couple times. The Cardinals need his help if they want to make the playoffs; his ownership has sunk to only 27% in Yahoo and 22% in ESPN. Since being recalled from AAA he has five homers, 11 RBIs and an OPS of 1.205! That’s good! Not so good? He’s walked once. Ah well, you can’t walk them all, or something like that. He’s gets Oakland at home then travels to Milwaukee and the Reds; loving those matchups for the week ahead. I’ve added him where I can and expect some power, no walks (obviously) and a decent OPS to finish out the season.
Movie side note #1: Grichuk even spells his first name the same as the Clerks character; that was one of my favorite movies growing up, and it’s just sad that every Kevin Smith movie was worse than the last until they are all just turds now. Clerks > Mallrats > Chasing Amy > Dogma (though my wife would disagree that Chasing Amy was better, but I digress) > Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (which, with all the cameos, was pretty decent) > Clerks 2 (why? who wanted this? IMDB has a listing for Clerks 3 – please, please, please don’t do it) > everything else by Kevin Smith.
No segway here (except for the one your dad is riding on his vacation to Palm Beach; who thought these were cool again?) so you say you want some OPS with your steals I suggest trying Keon Broxton on for size (see if they have him in a size L at Kayne’s newest popup store). In the last month he has a 1.002 OPS, five homers, 10 steals, 13 Runs, 13 RBIs. He’s trying to be the best Keon, well better than Keyon Dooling (shout out to my Mizzou Tigers) and Keon Clark (shout out to my U of Illinois peeps!) at least. The next week Grichuk gets the Cardinals at home and then heads to Pittsburgh. 27% owned in ESPN and 30% in Yahoo he’s worth a look fo’ sho’ fo’ sho’.
When I started this column Jung Ho-Kang was a part of it but now he’s on the DL until at least the second week of September; if you can stash him he was starting to come around and he could have a good final three weeks. I mention him more so to get to…
Movie Side Note #2: Kang the Conqueror (which would be a great nickname for Jung-Ho by-the-by) is an awesome Marvel villain; he’s just a bad ass with a blue face and powers I can’t even begin to describe, so I won’t. Suffice to say he’d be a great Guardians of the Galaxy enemy; alas he’s owned by Fox and can only be an enemy of the X-Men or Fantastic Four. The X-Men just cashed in their Big Blue Bad Guy card with Apocalypse and the Fantastic Four should be shelved indefinitely so if you want a good recent Kang story I suggest looking here.
Thanks for indulging my comic nerd side; it’s totally cooler than the fantasy baseball nerd in me(sarcasm). I don’t know how I have a wife; at least she doesn’t know about my samurai sword and kimono collection (yet).
If you’re looking for some catcher help look no further than Mike Zunino. His hype machine has been off the rails for a while now, which makes it seem just right that he’s finally producing some decent numbers. Three homers over the past couple weeks with an OPS of 1.004 and an OPS over one with nine homers on the season in only 77 ABs. Facing Milwaukee and the Yankees at home and then onto Chicago to face the White Sox looks mighty appealing. His 7% ESPN and 9% Yahoo ownership numbers means he’s available in your league most likely.
Ryan Schimpf (that is one easy name to misspell) is back on fantasy radars after his second two homer game in the last two weeks; how he is only owned in 8.6% of ESPN and 14% of Yahoo leagues is a mystery to me. Well it’s not a mystery, people obviously aren’t adding him enough. Mystery solved! He’s hit more than 20 homers in the minors multiple times and if you need some second base help and want to get in on his next two homer game now is the time to make the add. He has an OPS of 1.044 and 14 RBIs over the last two weeks; qualifies at second base, and goes to Miami, Atlanta and the Dodgers. Not playing in Petco; take Schimpf and run with him (well maybe not with him as he’s probably faster than you even if he only has one steal on the season).
The stretch run is here, don’t give up, don’t every give up! I hope your weekend starts great, finishes even better and you’re all in first place come Monday (that’s actually what I hope for myself but I’ll throw a little sunshine your way too, because I like you like that. Well not like that, but, you know, we’re cool). If you have any lineup issues, thoughts on any of the guys I mentioned, stuff like that, let me know in the comments.
