It’s late at night. You’ve got about a half an hour before the bar closes. This is when s@#! gets real. Are you desperate enough to go home with anything that walks? Animals included. Are you content to pleasure yourself? Did you hookup the night before? Do you just want to hit up Taco Bell and pray to the porcelain god? We are approaching that time in the fantasy baseball season. Many of trade deadlines will be here, so things about to get real son. Prepare yourselves.
In this weekly column, I highlight some lower-owned players that performed well over the past week. Whammies are no good. Obama making it rain is muy bueno. Watch old episodes of Press Your Luck if you are not familiar with whammies…
- Michael Bourn (OF – ARI) – 11 hits, five runs, one home run, five RBI, and three stolen bases. Like Jason, Michael just will not die. The 33-year old has been playing everyday and batting in the two-hole against RHP. Against lefties, he’s being slotted in front of the pitcher. Like the Bourne movies, I used to be a fan but the most recent iterations are vomit-inducing.
- Jayson Werth (OF – WAS) – Seven hits, six runs, three home runs, and seven RBI. The 37-year old is having a pretty nice season, as he’s slugged 16 home runs. He’s walking 12% of the time and striking out 22% of the time, so he’s still showing the ability to control the strike zone. His hard contact and soft contact rates are better than his career averages. In addition, he’s brought his HR/FB rate back up to 13%, after middling in the 10% range the past few years. Werth is primarily batting in the two-hole, but will occasionally bat fifth. Regardless, those are two prime spots in the batting order. For you daily folk, Werth crushes LHP (1.098 OPS), while having a .678 OPS against RHP. He’s also a little better on the road than at home.
- Chris Owings (SS/2B/OF – ARI) – 13 hits, four runs, five RBI, and three stolen bases. It took Owings a while to get going after returning from the DL, but he’s been red-hot in August (.346/.370.519). Owings has a good approach at the plate, as he primarily goes up the middle (41%). His pull and oppo percentages are identical at 29%. He’s not going to hit many home runs (3.6% HR/FB), but he does have a high of 12 home runs in Triple-A. The speed is legit, as he has a high of 20 stolen bases in the minors, but don’t expect Billy Hamilton-esque production. Owings is a solid player with no huge splits, but he bats low in the order and the shortstop position is surprisingly deep this year.
- Chad Green (SP – NYY) – Six innings, two hits, and 11 strikeouts without issuing a walk for the 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at home. Wowzers! They should of gotten rid of that A-Roid guy sooner. At least the Yankees finally realized that they needed to pivot and start retooling the roster. Hanging on to old guys is cool when you are winning championships. Not so good when you stink and those $1,000 seats are collecting bird poo. Y’all know I have a need for speed and Green throws a mid-90s fastball. He complements that with a slider, cutter, and occasional changeup. He’s posting a swinging strike percentage of 12.8%, which is helping him attain a 10.8 K/9. Granted, it’s a small sample size of 33 1/3 innings but things are looking good so far. The ERA is 4.05 but the xFIP is 2.79.
- Homer Bailey (SP – CIN) – Six innings, three hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts in a win over the Brewers in Milwaukee. That was the third start since returning from Tommy John surgery. Full disclosure, I’ve never been a Bailey fan. He’s always had the arsenal, but he could never harness it enough for my liking. Case in point, in nine big league seasons Bailey was only able to achieve a K/9 over 8 two times. In 14 2/3 innings in 2016, he’s posting a 12.89 K/9. If you think that’s sustainable, then you probably think Donald Trump has a chance to be President of the United States. Wait….I guess anything is possible. How bout this one? The BABIP is .429. If you think that’s sustainable, then you probably think the Kardashians are naturally beautiful. Ding ding ding! I wonder what comes next. Hmmmmm….
Thanks for reading and good luck this week. You can reach me @Stan_Son.
