The post could’ve been about Paulo Orlando; but it’s not, so Royals fans need not apply. Well, they can, I don’t discriminate, I regulate every shade of OPS. Anyway this post is about Orlando Arcia, and you should go add him if you need SS or MI help the rest of the season; let’s get that out of the way first. We’ll dive into him (wait and see, it’s a neat trick) here in a minute but just thinking about Orlando makes me wonder why Orlando, FLA doesn’t have an MLB team. True enough, Tampa is nearby (an hour and ten if you’re not driving with Grandpa) and they don’t draw well; the last time I was at a Rays game we spent most of our time playing pool in the cigar lounge, which was decent enough for a cigar bar in a terrible baseball stadium.
Tampa is on the water, so there’s always the beach; Miami is also in Florida (duh), has beaches and they also don’t draw well; but Miami is a swamp with a lot of natives that don’t care much about baseball. Orlando is Disney’s home. They could be the Orlando Mice, or Ducks, or Goofies, or Minnie’s, or Mickey’s (I’d prefer this one the most) or whatever team name Disney wants them to have. The games could be sold as part of one of the thousands of different Disney packages; something for the Dads, right? Do like Skydome and build a hotel inside the stadium, have Disney characters selling concessions; sounds like a win/win to me. Or what they really should do is have the Rays split time between the two cities. I could imagine the Tampa Rays of Orlando brought to you by Disney. Get on it MLB!
Ok, now that I cleared that tangent out of the way, let’s take a look at Orlando Arcia. A Brewers top prospect promoted August 2nd to the big club to less fanfare than I would’ve predicted. I assume because of Jonathan Villar’s spectacular season (I get the feeling Villar is going to be overrated next year) Arcia has been overshadowed; Arcia is a defensive stud and moved Villar and his error party over the third base. The Brewers 2015 Minor League player of the year, Arcia has shown major speed in the minors (13 steals in Rookie ball, 20 at A, 31 at A+, 25 at AA and 15 at AAA this season) since being signed in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic.
Arcia missed 2012 due to an ankle (you can tell I’m thinking a little about football, not actually saying the easier and more informative broken ankle injury) but that didn’t seem to effect his speed. His power is slowly growing although he doesn’t project to have a lot of it. Arcia reminds me a lot of another young shortstop (and Arcia is barely a month into his twenty second year on this planet) named Fransisco Lindor. Lindor came up last year with a very similar speed/defense makeup and has shown more power than was expected. Arcia even has a higher raw power grade than Lindor. Here’s a bit of stretch: He has a brother named Oswaldo, who has been on three major league teams this season but does possess one skill, power, that maybe his brother also inherited.
Arcia came up quietly which only I assume adds to his low ownership numbers (6% in Yahoo! and ESPN) as he’s hitting less than .200 (with a .232 BABIP) so far in his first big league month but don’t let that dissuade you from going after him. In the past week he’s hit two homers, has six RBIs and an OPS of over one. Not everyone comes up on fire; sometimes it takes a month (or longer) for a guy to get going. He goes to Pittsburgh, then home versus the Cubs and on to St. Louis in the next week. Arcia is about to break out like pimples on my nose in high school and if you have the stones add him up.
Another middle infielder that I keep touting in OPS Leagues especially in Ryan Schimpf. He has four homers and an OPS over 1.3 over the past two weeks; how is he still only 19% owned in Yahoo and 12% in ESPN? Are people trying not to win? Don’t let him sit out on the waiver wire a moment longer I implore you.
Lastly, owned in only 1% of leagues, is Angel Jefry Marte. I wrote about him a while back (check here for more backstory on Jefry) but hes been on fire the last week with two homers, a steal and an OPS over 1.500. He qualifies at 1B, 3B and OF in Yahoo and ESPN. If you need fill in help there, and can monitor when he starts, take a chance. He won’t bite.
Just these three fellas this week (stay tuned for Grey’s Buy/Sell for more adds) from me; really, seriously, go get these guys as we only have a month left. If you’re within striking distance, don’t get caught up in name value; get guys who are hitting. Look to add Arcia, Schimpf and Jefry and ride ’em to glory!
