Carlos Santana finally seems to be showing signs of life in the past week. Despite a league-leading 35 walks, his .328 OBP is merely average. I’m confident that he will continue to approach his typical ~.370 OBP going forward. He’s not hitting as many line drives as you’d like to see, but this seems to be one of those situations where his BABIP should improve somewhat dramatically. On a different note, I was blown away by this year’s Riot Fest lineup. Anybody going this year? It was definitely a good time last year. Anyway, here are some other guys on my mind and what it means in OBP leagues:
How about Brian Dozier this year? He had always posted a great OBP in the minors, so maybe I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am at his current .368 mark. I don’t believe he’ll continue to walk at a 15.8% rate, but he could continue to post a double-digit walk rate and an OBP above .330.
Now that Carlos Quentin is back, you should pick him up ASAP.
In 142 plate appearances, Ben Revere has three walks and a .284 OBP. How come so many SAGNOFs seem determined to destroy your OBP?
Matt Adams currently has a 2.5% walk rate, which is contributing to his mediocre .314 OBP. Unfortunately, his .335 mark from 2013 could be on the high end for what to expect from him this season…
My hero, David Ortiz, has been reaching base at a 50% clip the past couple weeks. That’ll do Papi, that’ll do.
Yasiel Puig never ceases to amaze me. His .398 career OBP isn’t getting enough attention. He’s quietly cementing his place as a top fantasy guy and he still has room to improve, given his age.
Yes, it’s only 57 plate appearances, but I’m hopeful that Rickie Weeks could post at least a .330 OBP going forward. He used to consistently post an above-average OBP, so he may not be completely done yet. Or he may be. We’ll see…
Dexter Fowler continues to post a solid OBP. He’s still available in a lot of leagues, so he could be worth an add, especially in leagues without slugging.
For better or worse, I’m starting to believe in Ike Davis for the millionth time. If you need a decent bat against righties, and the usual group (Seth Smith, Matt Joyce, etc.) are all owned, he’s probably worth an add.
Yes, Kurt Suzuki has a .394 OBP. No, he won’t keep it up. Next question?
There’s no reason why Chase Utley can’t continue to post a sky-high OBP while healthy.
Please pray with me to the fantasy baseball god(s?) that Joey Votto will be alright. I don’t think I could write an OBP article knowing that he was on the DL.
You can find Tom Jacks on Twitter @votetomjacks. He spends far too much time praying for the Cubs, planning his next concert, and wondering if there’s an instrument that could ever rival the theremin (there isn’t).
