Welcome to the scrap heap. Where all of the discarded and disregarded players have landed due to poor performance, injury, or just simply disrespect. This week we are going to do a good ole Buy or Sell focusing on names that are owned in less than 50% of leagues. Maybe we strike it right or simply strike out. Whatever the outcome will be, at least we are in this together. Without further ado, let us jump in like a Carter Capps jump fastball.
Paul Dejong
Illinois State State Biochemistry graduate and 2019 NL All-Star (I know you come to Razzball for this depth), Dejong had been a pillar of the Cardinals infield since 2017. After struggles in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Dejong was sent to AAA to figure things out. The Cardinals have pulled this move before with struggling hitters and as with many things St. Louis, it just seems to work out. Prior to his demotion, he was hitting a paltry .130 with a single home run in the first month or so of the season. Since his return, he has hit .297 with four dingers in just eleven games. That there is quite the turnaround.
The question we look to answer is whether to buy or sell the rest of the season with a meager 15% ownership rate in Yahoo leagues. Well comparing the before and after we see Pauly’s strikeout rate dropped five points while his exit velocity has jumped eight points. Now we have to take the small sample size with a grain of salt as the 30% barrel rate is not sustainable and the schedule has been more than favorable. Granted, at this point, I have to think he would have no problem taking on Greg Maddux or Randy Johnson. Although that analysis is weak as they are both in their mid to late 50s. I digress. Last thing we will discuss is his plate discipline. Same small sample caveats, but Dejong has been more patient waiting for his pitch and then making more contact when the pitch does come in the zone. Better contact, better discipline, better results. While we cannot expect all-world play, I do believe we can re-buy Paul Dejong as if he is the 2018-2019 version of himself.
Verdict: Buy
Seth Brown
2015 19th rounder, Seth Brown has certainly worked his way to the majors and a spot in the Athletics hearts with a full-time gig in 2022. Previously he has been shuttling between AAA and the majors for the past three years. He has certainly responded with a season trending towards 25+ homers albeit with an average in the ..230s. Remember this is a guy playing at the vast Coliseum. I mean put this guy in Great American Ballpark and enjoy. Bringing us back, Brown has been making even more noise of late with a .344 average and five big flies over just the past two weeks.
Owned in 41% years of Yahoo leagues with a recent 13 point jump, are we riding the wave or in for the long haul? Well for starters, Brown has not made much progress this year against lefties and is merely hitting .161 against them. During the last two hot weeks, he had three hitless games of which two were against lefties and the other against Dylan Cease. So we have firmly established that Brown is a platoon bat, but maybe he is figuring things out enough against righties to be worth the hassle? While the numbers are good, this reads as simply a hot streak as that is Brown’s history. He may go cold tomorrow demonstrated by the fact he had had separate 25 and 17 game homer-less streaks just this season. Be ready to cut anchor at the first sign of decline.
Verdict: Sell
