Quick, who leads the Colorado Rockies in hits? How about batting average? And most importantly for this column, who leads the Rockies in OBP?
If you said Troy Tulowitzki or Nolan Arenado, you’d be wrong. If you said Carlos Gonzalez, you’d be really wrong. The correct answer is D.J. LeMahieu. LeMahieu has been one of the Rockies best batters to start the season and, after a bit of a production dip, has started to hit well again. Walt Weiss has begun experimenting with LeMahieu in the 2-hole, which in a decent Rockies lineup, could lead to some runs. I wouldn’t go out of my way to acquire him, but if he is available on the wire or if someone is wanting to deal him, he is worth the look. His .394 OBP is not sustainable (career .322), but even a marginal slide backwards would be serviceable in most leagues at second base.
The sleeper has awakened! Chris Carter has arisen from his slumber, going 2/3 yesterday with 2 homers. This past week, Carter has posted a .522 OBP (fifth best in baseball) with a 17.4% walk-rate. A notoriously streaky batter, Carter looks like he may be primed to go on a run. His OBP in his big 2014 season was a pedestrian .308, and he’s just a hair over that mark so far in 2015 with a .311. That said, the Astros lineup is much improved this year (and should only get better when Correa arrives later this month), so Carter has more to work with. Due to his early season struggles, Carter is available in about 50% of ESPN leagues. I would own him in any format right now.
Delino DeShields. Great baseball name. Know what is an even better baseball name? Delino DeShields, Jr. DeShields, Jr. is getting on base at a .380 clip over 122 plate appearances. With Josh Hamilton now sidelined for another month, DeShields, Jr. should continue to leadoff for a hot Texas Rangers lineup. His numbers will come back down to earth, but I think a .350 OBP over a full-season is attainable. He posted a .362 minor league OBP across parts of 5 seasons, and papa DeShields had a career .352 OBP. I’m not a doctor, but DeShields, Jr. seems like a chip off the ol’ block.
I wanted to be sure to mention Shin-Soo Choo, former OBP-league demigod. Here’s a guy with a career .381 on-base, who in 2013 posted a .423. Now, I’m not expecting him to crack .400 this year, but he does know a thing or two about the strike zone. Choo has put his miserable April in the rearview mirror with an outstanding May. In May, Choo hit .295 with 6 homers, 21 RBI, and 21 runs scored. He had a .254 OBP in April, but got on at a .356 clip in May, and on at a .455 over the past 7 days. I think a .350 OBP is more in line with Choo’s current skillset. ZiPS pegged Choo at a .363 OBP for 2015, which sounds reasonable. Be careful if you intend to trade for Choo though, as he is now playing with a sprained pinky which could require him to miss some time if it becomes more of an issue.
Finally, what would an OBP post be without recognizing the OBP glory that Bryce Harper has wrought upon the world? Harper’s .471 OBP is tops in the game, a whopping 30 points ahead all players not named Paul Goldschmidt (who trails Harper by one point). Harper is doing everything you could want in every conceivable format (except perhaps with the legs), but he is perhaps greatest in OBP/OPS leagues, where he is outpacing the field by a significant margin. Like Grey has pointed out in his daily recap, his HR/FB% is likely not sustainable, so at some point the home run trots will become less frequent, bringing his numbers down some. But, his 20.4% walk rate should help buoy his on-base numbers, which make him one of the (if not the) top options in OBP formats.
