Vegas is approximately a 4 1/2 hour drive from where I live. The drive there is always fun, unless you leave on a Friday night and it seems like all 3.884 million inhabitants of Los Angeles are headed that way as well. Regardless, even with the traffic, the anticipation and excitement are at a fervent level in the beginning. You feel lucky. You’ve got your strategy down. You are going to come back a winner. Then you get there and reality sets in. For some it’s great. For the rest, Vegas would like to thank you for paying for the lights, wages, profits, etc…The ride back is either the Drive of Shame, the longest freaking journey in the history of mankind that has you screaming Are We There Yet? or you are floating on a magic carpet ride and it’s a Whole New World. We are entering that phase of the fantasy baseball season when some owners will start wondering when the fantasy football season starts, while others will be giddy with excitement at their place in the standings. I’m here to say that there’s a ton of baseball to be played. Don’t get too excited if you are on top and don’t give up hope… at least not yet.
In this weekly column, I will highlight some lower-owned players that performed well over the past week (5/22 – 5/28). If I think they can help your fantasy team, Obama will make it rain. If I do not, then they get a whammy. If you are not familiar with whammies, check out old episodes of the game show Press Your Luck.
- Hyun-soo Kim (OF – BAL) – Here was my preseason take on Kim. Unfortunately, Kim struggled during Spring Training and Buck Showalter fell in love with Joey Rickard. Who? Exactly. The Orioles tried to send Kim down to Triple-A, but he did not consent. No means no. Anyways, nice job by Kim’s agent to put in the provision that he couldn’t be sent down to the minors unless Kim approved. So, Kim didn’t play much the first seven weeks of the season, but the inevitable decline of Rickard opened the door for more playing time. Kim has started the last five games for the Orioles and batted second in the last three games. Over that span, he’s accumulated seven hits (18 at-bats), scored three runs, walked twice, and hit his first home run of the season. I think Kim is settling down to playing baseball in the US of A. Always gives me chills and is especially relevant during this Memorial Day.
- Jose Ramirez (2B/SS/3B/OF – CLE) – Nine hits, seven runs, two home runs, four RBI, and two stolen bases. On the season, .309 average, 22 runs, three home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases. Ramirez has been playing every day due to the injury to Michael Brantley. Even when Brantley returns, he should receive plenty of playing time due to his versatility. He’s a great real-life, fantasy, and MLB the Show player. He’s a switch hitter, can play almost every position, walks 8.5% of the time while striking out only 9.2%. He won’t deliver too much power but will steal his share of bases. He’s basically a souped-up Brock Holt.
- Logan Morrison (1B – TB) – 11 hits, five runs, two home runs, seven RBI, and one stolen base. Does it bother anyone else that his nickname is LoMo? Is that the “she has a nice personality” of nicknaming? Anyways, Mr. Morrison has been on fire lately to bring his season average up to .228. The most encouraging development has been the increased playing time due to the Logan Forsythe injury. When Forsythe was healthy, Steve Pearce took most of the playing time at first base against left-handed pitching. Now, Pearce has filled in for Forsythe at second base and Mr. Morrison has been playing first base full-time. In his career, Mr. Morrison actually has a better average against lefties (.248 vs .243 against righties) and is 6-for-15 with a home run so far in 2016. Much of fantasy sports is about playing time and opportunity. With that said, it’s Logan Freaking Morrison and the Rays will probably return to platooning him when Forsythe returns.
- Michael Fulmer (SP – DET) – 7 2/3 innings, three hits, zero earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts in a win over the Oakland Athletics. Fulmer has started to settle in after being called up on April 29th. In his last two starts, he’s gone seven innings in each start and allowed only one earned run with 14 total strikeouts. The arsenal is electric: mid-90s fastball with a devastating slider and changeup. The beard is just as impressive, as he looks like he could kill a bear with his bare hands.
- Christian Friedrich (SP – SD) – Seven innings, three hits, zero earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts for the win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Once a highly-rated prospect in the Rockies organization, the lefty fizzled like many others in the pipeline. Now with the Padres, is a resurgence in the air? I’d bet against that. The arsenal, while diverse, is not explosive. He throws a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. The fastball velocity averages 90 mph though. In a small sample size of 16 1/3 innings, his K/9 is only 6.06, BB/9 is 5.51, and LOB% is 87%. In addition, the xFIP is 5.17 compared to his 1.65 ERA.
Hope you all had a nice Memorial weekend. Good luck this week. You can reach me on the Twitter @Stan_Son.
