It’s that time of the week again boys and girls. Time of the week, not time of the month you adsfasdfsaf;kjh!!!! Random tangent in 3…2…1…When we are young, we can’t wait to get old, yet when we get old, we yearn to be young. When it’s that time of the month for women, they can’t wait till they don’t have to deal with that anymore, yet when they don’t have to deal with that anymore, they yearn for that time of month to appear. Or maybe not. I guess if I knew that for real, that’d be a problem. Whatever. I just wanted to post my favorite GIF…
And….we’re back. If you’re not familiar with this column, I highlight some lower-owned players that performed well over the past week. It’s good when Obama makes it rain and bad when you see the whammy. If you are not familiar with whammies, go watch old episodes of Press Your Luck.
- Travis Jankowski (OF – San Diego Padres) – 12 hits, 11 runs, one RBI, and six stolen bases. Since BJ, uh, I mean Melvin Upton was traded, Jankowski has been manning centerfield for the Padres and batting leadoff. He has 24 stolen bases on the season and has a minor league high of 71, so the speed is legit. He’s walking 14% of the time (bueno), but striking out 26% (no bueno). He has decent contact rates and utilizes the whole field. The strikeouts do concern me, but he’s playing everyday and batting at the top of the lineup. SAGNOF. In this case, it truly doesn’t have a face because I didn’t post a picture.
- Eddie Rosario (OF – Minnesota Twins) – 14 hits, seven runs, two home runs, six RBI, and one stolen base. Eddie!!! What have you done for me lately? I miss that Eddie Murphy. Such a shame that the only Eddie young kids know is the Nutty Professor Eddie. Such a travesty. Anyways, Rosario has been straight ballin’ since getting recalled. In addition, Byron Buxton, who had been taking playing time away from Rosario in centerfield, was demoted to the minors. Straight Cash Homie? While the playing time should be there, I do have some concerns with Rosario. His contact rate is in the 70% range and he has a 16.3% swinging strike percentage. His strikeout percentage is 22.5% and he only walks 2.6% of the time. He also struggles against LHP (.229 average on 48 at-bats). He has a little pop and will steal a few bases, but I’m more inclined to fade him.
- Nick Markakis (OF – Atlanta Braves) – 10 hits, five runs, two home runs, and eight RBI. Markakis is basically a left-handed version of Martin Prado. The Braves must have a hard-on for high batting average players that don’t do much else because they had Prado from 2006-2012, then went limp for a few years before finding Markakis in 2015. Markakis used to slug 20+ homers and drive in 100+ RBI back in his Baltimore days, but those days are long gone. Plus, he plays for the putrid Braves so counting stats will be few and far between.
- James Paxton (SP – Seattle Mariners) – 8 1/3 innings, five hits, one walk, and six strikeouts in a win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County, which is an hour south of Los Angeles, but who’s counting. The start before that, Paxton only allowed one earned run in eight innings against the Boston Red Sox. Now, he did take a liner off the elbow, so he’s day-to-day, but I’m all for lefties that throw upper-90s. Reminds me of my love for Danny Duffy. I’m not going to be a link whore and self-promote my prior touts of Duffy before he broke out, but you are more than welcome to Google it and give me props. Should I set up a Go Fund Me thing-a-ma-jig or something? Anyways, it’s been mentioned that Paxton has started throwing his curveball more, which could explain much of his success, but the big elephant in the room has always been about his control. Since the start of July, he’s only walked more than one batter in one start.
- Luis Severino (SP/RP – New York Yankees) – 4 1/3 innings, one hit, one walk, and five strikeouts pitching in relief and getting the win against the New York Mets. The important news is that Severino is returning to the starting rotation. His early stint was not a successful one, but there’s reason for optimism. The FIP is at 4.79, while xFIP is at 3.69, compared to his 6.02 ERA. The BABIP is at .321, so there’s room for that to come in. The main thing for me is the arsenal. He throws a mid-to-high 90s fastball and complements it with a slider and changeup. Remember, he’s still only 22 years old. The gopher ball has been an issue for him, as he’s allowed eight on the season and righties crush him (.903 OPS). While the upside and potential are there, I’d be reluctant to count on Severino to help you when it counts the most.
Thanks for reading and good luck this week. You can reach me @Stan_Son.
