The role of a museum is to collect and preserve objects of cultural and historical importance. Often, the contents within remain relatively static over a short period. Everything can’t be great! Over time, though, things do become great and are eventually moved into a museum. Most are small enough to not cause a stir, but there are a select few times when it’s Must See TV. In October of 2012, I remember when the Space Shuttle Endeavour was transported from LAX to the California Science Center via the streets of Los Angeles. A site to behold before arriving at its final resting place. Those feelings I had back in 2012 are the same ones percolating within me now when I see Ryan Zimmerman (41.4% owned – increase of 27.8%) doing his thing. He missed close to three months due to injury, but since his return on July 20th, this is what Zimmerman has been doing: .365/.443/.731 with 4 home runs and 7 doubles in 61 plate appearances. The walk rate is 9.8% and strikeout rate is 18%. The ISO is .365! The hard hit rate is 50%!! There’s obviously going to be regression, but don’t forget that he hit 36 home runs last season and has gone yard 260 times in his career, which puts him tied for 207th all time! Zimmerman will be given occasional rest days and there’s always the chance that he gets sent to the museum sooner rather than later, but until then, you won’t find a better hitter with the combination of power and plate discipline on the waiver wire. TREASURE
Hunter Renfroe (16.9% owned – increase of 14.5%) also missed a good chunk of time due to injury; from mid-April to the end of May. He hit .259 with 2 home runs in June and .183 with 4 home runs in July. So far in August, Renfroe has a .306 batting average and has clubbed 4 home runs. The strikeout rate is only 11.1% over that span, which is a huge improvement upon the 24.4% season number. With that said, the swinging strike rate has been 12%, the chase rate has been 29.7%, and the overall contact rate has been 72.8%. Renfroe is who he is; a .245 hitter with power who goes on the occasional heater. I’d expect some regression. TRASH
Scott Alexander (14.9% owned – increase of 12.1%) saw a big spike in ownership due to the Kenley Jansen heartbeat issue. Well….in two outings since, Alexander has gone 0.2 inning, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, with the loss and blown save, and 0.1 inning, 1 hit, 1 earned run, and a strikeout. In addition, he’s a left-handed pitcher and his peripherals aren’t even that good to begin with: 7.76 K/9 and 4.05 BB/9. With Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling moving to the bullpen, and Erik Goeddel activated from the DL, it’s tough to see Alexander remaining in the closer role. TRASH
Tyler Glasnow (19.4% owned – increase of 9.7%) is someone to keep an eye on. Since the Pirates traded him to the Rays, Glasnow has pitched 3, 4, then 5 innings. He’s given up 1 earned run in each outing. Looking at the peripherals make my Asian eyes turn into fish eyes. Now, granted the sample size in Tampa Bay is much smaller than in Pittsburgh, but there are some nuggets to be mined. The K/9 is 15 vs 11.57. The BB/9 is 2.25 vs 5.46. The xFIP is 1.67 vs 3.46. The swinging strike rate is 16.5% vs 11.5%. He’s throwing the fastball the same amount, but the slider usage is up 2.8%, the curveball usage is down 4.7%, and he’s throwing the changeup 1.5% more. In addition, the Tropicana Field is one of the best pitching parks in baseball. Did I forget to mention that he throws 97 mph? TREASURE
