Padres Looking For ArraEZ Fix

The San Diego Padres make a major big boy move on Friday acquiring Miami Marlins second baseman and back-to-back batting champ Luis Arraez. Luis batted .354 in 147 games in 2023 and .316 in 144 games in 2022. The .354 was the highest season average for a player since 2010 and my dude holds an extremely impressive .324 career average. In other words, the guy can hit. We all knew that. He was batting .432 at this time last year and there was a whole will-he won’t-he drama of if he could actually hit over .400. Remember that? Me neither. Regardless, Arraez is currently slashing a respectable .299/.347/.372 so far this year, and while he’s striking out more than usual and has yet to hit a home run we can totally blame that on the Marlins being awful, right? In the midst of a six game hitting streak, looks like he’s well on his way to his fourth straight season batting over .300. The Padres know exactly what they’re getting here and he’ll likely slot in the leadoff spot in front of mashers like FTJ, Machado and, uh, Cronenworth. Should be a major boost to his counting stats so Luis owners rejoice. It’s not often you get traded to a place sunnier than Miami.  The return in the trade is not entirely finalized yet, but at the moment presumably headed to South beach will be RHP Woo-Suk Go, and three outfield prospects: Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella. I’m not going to pretend to know who any of these players are but Woo-Suk Go and Dillon Head sound like some things I could get into. Go currently holds a 4.38 ERA at AA, and a 10.9 K/9. Yeesh. It’s hard to see him in a MLB uni any time soon but the Marlins ARE fairly terrible. So you never know. Head and Marsee were both top 10 prospects in the Padres farm system, with Head likely being the centerpiece return in the deal, he’s hitting .237 with a homer and three steals this year and he’s still just 19 years old. Marsee hit .274/.413/.428 with 46 steals in 2023 so that’s also something. Finally, Nathan Martorella is hitting .292 with two homers and three steals to start 2023 and was awkwardly pulled for a pinch runner last night when the trade news hit. Is that necessary? They could at least let him score first, no? It’s obviously hard to grade this trade with the return prospects being so raw but it’s certainly surprising to see the Marlins selling off assets so quickly. Either way this should be a big boon for the San Diego line up and Arraez owners as well. ArraEZ come, ArraEZ go I guess!

Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:

Fernando Tatis Jr. – 3-for-5, HR (7), 3 RBI. Holy moly he molly whopped this one! Rizz ’em with the FTJ-ism, Fernando! No wonder ABBA wrote a song about you. If I was half as cool as FTJ I probably wouldn’t be blogging on a Friday night.

Jake Cronenworth – 2-for-5, HR (6). Manny Machado also homered (5). For what it’s Cronenworth, Jake’s got an impressive .516 slugging percentage with 9 doubles and is hitting .400 in the past week with 3 ding dongs. I thought it was crazy to bat him third over and over but I guess that’s why I’m not Mr. Manager. Or even just Manager.

Dylan Cease – 6.2 IP, 3 hits, ER, 8 K, 4th win. He got rouged up by the Phillies last week but Dylan has looked every bit the Ace the ‘Dres traded for this offseason. SD making moves! You love to see it. Will never Cease to amaze what leaving the White Sox can do for a guy. A 2.55 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 48/14 K/BB. This is your life now, too, Luis Arraez.

Joe Ross – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, ER, 4 K. Ugh, why can’t I quit Joe Ross. Quit trying to making Joe Ross happen, it’s not going to happen. He gets the Royals next week and that outta crush my dreams.

Trevor Megill – 1.0 IP, K, SV (2). Is it Megill? Is it Payamps? Is it Uribe? After a month of speculating, I’ve come to the realization that the Brewers closer is, dot dot dot…Devin Williams. These three will likely continue to get save chances until Williams returns making all of them rosterable, unfortunately.

Hayden Wesneski – 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Definitely Hayden’s best outing of the year, striking out a career high eight Brewers and pitching into the sixth for the first time this year. The numbers are awfully pretty you guys (0.54 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 14/3 K/BB) but I’m going to need to see him go five innings in back to back starts before I even consider streaming him.

Christopher Morel – 1-for-4, HR (6). All hail the mushroom king! Spring has sprung!

Cal Quantrill – 7.2 IP, 3 hits, 9 K, 1st win. Not only was this the best start for a Colorado starter all year, it was Quantrill’s best start in three years! It was also the first time all year the Rockies haven’t trailed in a game which is mind blowing. We give the White Sox a lot of flack for rostering the team they’re rostering but this team looks just as bad, at least Chicago has injuries to blame.

Ryan McMahon – 2-for-5, HR (5). Two homers hitting close to .400 in the past week. He’s also got a nice homestand coming up. I wouldn’t start him, and neither would most MLB teams but you do you.

Oneil Cruz – 1-for-4, HR (4), 2 RBI. The Cruz Missile hit some absolute lasers last night including this 111.7 mph shot. His BABIP would suggest he’s been a tad unlucky, and to be honest, my entire fantasy season is relying on this being the case.

Cole Irvin – 6.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 4 K, 3rd win, ERA at 2.86. His third straight scoreless outing! Lucky for Cole, and Cole owners, everyone on the O’s pitching staff seems to be going on the IL. Oh no, don’t jinx him!

Hunter Greene – 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, ERA at 3.12. Now that’s more like it! Against the Mighty O’s no less.

Elly De La Cruz – 2-for-4, SB (19). The highlight of this Elly game was not his 19th, (NINETEETH!) stolen base or the prospect of a 40-90 season yet it was this interaction with my other soulmate. Best friends! Please let it be so.

Ryan O’Hearn – 2-for-5, HR (5). Just keeps hitting baseballs. That’s a six game hitting streak and did I mention he bats in the heart of the best lineup in baseball? Maybe when he gets to 10 home runs you’ll pick him up?

Craig Kimbrel – 1.0 IP, 3 K, SV (8). Strikes out the side for The Kimbrel. Craig converts save opps almost as spectacularly as he blows them.

Trea Turner – 2-for-3, run, SB (10). Was doing awesome Trea things on the base paths, scoring on a wild pitch from second but ended up leaving the game with hamstring soreness right after. Well, at least I got to experience a moment of joy before the dread set in.

Yusei Kikuchi – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, ER, BB, 7 K. Lisa Loeb’s favorite player dominated the Nats through six leaving with the lead only to watch his bullpen give up seven runs. More like Yu-dont-sei. Yeesh, sounds like the bullpen owes him an edible arrangement. Still, the stats don’t lie 2.72 ERA, 1.16 ERA, 43/9 K/BB. Mmhm. He needs to be owned everywhere at this point.

Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Nah though.

Luis Garcia – 1-for-1, 2 runs, HR (2), 3 RBI. Grey told you to BUY him a few weeks ago and how is he still in a platoon? He’s slashing .300/.344/.456, you have no better options at this point, Washington. His high BABIP and almost 10% barrel percentage suggest some power is on the way as well.

Aaron Civale – 4.2 IP, 6 hits, 7 ER, BB, 5 K, ERA at 6.14. Gosh, things started out so well between us, too. Same as this start, he held a 9-3 lead going into the fifth, I lit a stogie, put my feet up, and reclined in my favorite vegan-friendly leather chair. That’s when it hit me. I mean, Baty hit it. Four more runs in the fifth, and say goodbye to the win, Michael! Outside of the 7 ER runs he actually looked fairly okay but I’m still scared as hell of his start against the White Sox next week. That’s got all the makings of a trap game and I don’t trust Civale right now. Are the Rays like bad now?

Jose Quintana – 2.2 IP, 10 hits, 8 ER, BB, 2 K, 3rd L. Okay well, Civale was rough but at least I didn’t start Quintana.

Brett Baty – 3-for-4, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI. Who’s your Baty!? The ultimate Baty call! BB got the Mets on the board with a 3-run shot in the 2nd, his first ding dong since March! Then piled on with a 420+ footer off closer Jason Adam (1.0 IP, 2 hits, ER, K, SV (2)) in the ninth. The post-post-post-post hype prospect is slashing a respectable .271/.340/.385 and .333 in the past week but the power hasn’t been there until Friday night. Not ready to fully buy in but I’m watching him closer than Baby Reindeer. That is, with my jaw dropped, and under my blankets in the fetal position.

Randy Arozarena – 1-for-2, HR, 3 BBs. Randy mashed a 450 footer, yum! His first hit in five games, so he really needed this one. I guess someone is feeling those City Connect unis!

Marcus Stroman – 5.1 IP, 3 hits, ER, 5 BB, 3 K. FIVE WALKS!? In NYC City, that’s like so much elevator time in the elevator. Woof.

Reese Olson – 5.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. The numbers look fairly attractive if not a little boring, 2.70 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 31/13 K/BB. But hey, at my age you’re probably marrying attractive but boring. Time to settle, folks! And if you take out that pummeling in Pittsburgh he’s even more elite-looking. I like his start at Cleveland but StreamONator hates it, who do you trust: man or machine???

Jason Foley – 0.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER. This couldn’t have gone more unspectacularly for Foley. Anthony Rizzo with the walk off win! You hate to see it! Foley allowed four straight hits and the 1.54 WHIP is a tad scary but probably not enough to lose his lock on the closer job…yet. Alex Lange do be lurking though!

Riley Greene – 3-for-4, run. TIL that the acronym TIL means “today I learned”, also that Riley Greene is also the name of a popular British country singer. Also, there are British countries singers. I learned a lot of things today to be honest. Back to Riley, is Greene my favorite color now!? It might have to be! That’s a six game hitting streak, and Riley’s hitting .435 in that stretch with two tanks. He could have some decent counting stats to pair with that average if the Motor City Kitties offense wasn’t so lethargic. Still, I’ll take what I can get!

Jose Soriano – 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, BB, 3 K, 1st win. The Angels could use a bright spot and unfortunately, it looks like Jose Soriano is about the best they’re gonna do for now. He’s been more good than bad the walks are frightening though. He gets the Pirates next week and I could see considering the prospect of maybe thinking about mulling over the possibility of contemplating whether or not I should review the option of potentially picking him up. I still don’t know for sure though!

Nolan Schanuel – 3-for-4, 2 runs, HR (3). BUY. He’s actually hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games (ELEVEN), he’s batting .400 with 2 homers in the past week it’s a wonder we’re not talking about him more. One of the weirdest stories I read in the offseason was Nolan’s training schedule where he refused to sit down because he thought standing all the time would strengthen his legs. Welp, lucky for him with this talent depleted Angels team he shouldn’t have to sit often.

Hunter Renfroe – 1-for-3, HR (3). Mashed a game tying homer in the fifth and I honestly had no idea he was on this team. Probably because he’s slashing .155/.228/.298.

Salvador Perez – 1-for-3, HR (8). Sally’s got 30 RBI! That’s almost his age! What I wouldn’t do for 30 RBIs right now.

Brady Singer – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 8 K, ERA at 2.45. The Royals are looking pretty legit to me, guys and four girl readers (hi mom!). It’s KC’s time to shine now! If Taylor Swift shows up at a game, that’s our signal to add all their players!

Michael Lorenzen – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Probably his best start of the year, especially considering his opponent is a wagon like I just mentioned. Lorenzen gets a real cherry of a matchup in Oakland next week so it could be a good time to jump on the Lorenzen wagon, too.

Chris Paddack – 6.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, 3rd win. Outside of striking out 10 White Sox back on April 22, Paddack has been mostly underwhelming but looked pretty good Friday night and has now won three in a row with a 2.00 ERA and 18/2 K/BB in that stretch. I’m kind of baffled he’s so available. Baffled, ya’ll! He gets the Mariners next week and the Twins can’t lose. You know what to do!

Tanner Houck – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 3rd L, ERA at 2.18. What the Houck! Tanner has been the victim of some bad defense and worse run support. He still looks pretty filthy and am starting with confidence versus Washington next week.

Jhoan Duran – 1.0 IP, 2 K, SV (2). Threw just 11 pitches. Two of which were 103 mph! Absolute cheese-mo. Sweet sassy molassy! You’re telling me this guy was hurt for a month?

Ronel Blanco – 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, ERA at 2.09. Still waiting for the wheels to fall off here as his outings seem to get progressively worse, but not bad by any means, don’t get me wrong. A start a Yankee stadium next week will be a true test.

Josh Hader – 1.0 IP, BB, 2 K, SV (3). I would ask you to guess how many saves he has but I already typed it out.

Joey Loperfido – 2-for-2. He was a BUY! Big lede BUY even. I mean, Houston prospects are obviously a different breed and he’s in the strong side of a platoon at the moment but yeah I’d probably add him everywhere.

Josh Rojas – 3-for-4. BUY. I wanted him to mention him last week but he’s so boring I fell asleep and forgot but now he’s hitting .338 and leading off and he did steal a base and hit a home run this week so you have my permission to add if you must.

Sonny Gray – 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, 4th win. Sonny Graaaay, racking up, tons of Kaaaayss. On his way, to winning my fantasy leaaaaguuueeee! Can you tell me how to get, Sonny Gray on every teeeeaaam!

J.P. Sears – 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, 1st win. Wait, the A’s have won how many in a row? How many more before I have to take them seriously?

Vidal Brujan – 3-for-4, RBI, 2 SB (2) slashing .298/.377/.447. With the Arraez trade this opens up tons of PT for Vidal who is even more post post post post post hype than Brett Baty! Maybe it was just that Rays team he wasn’t vibing with? The allure of Brujan has always been that game changing speed, the .476 average is the past week is nice and all but I need to see more two SB games before he’s worth me rostering him. Run, Vidal, run!

Brent Rooker – 1-for-3, HR (6), 2 RBI. Dime store Rooker! Just ignore the batting average. I told you not to look!

Gavin Stone – 6.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 5 K. Again the stones you’ve had to have had (past future perfect participle English majors?) to start Stone here. Although I say that and Ronald and Austin have less homers than Mookie combined. Regardless, Stone was dealing and he’s got a date with the pathetic floppy fish Marlins next week so he could be worth grabbing.

Ronald Acuña Jr. – 2-for-5, HR (2). Game tying home run in the eighth. Talk about due! He’s going to have a tough time getting to 40 but if anyone can do it… it’s Tildaddy.

Austin Riley – 2-for-5, HR (3). I took Riley with my second pick in one league I’m in. Bo Bichette with my first. Don’t ask me how I’m doing. Austin’s .725 OPS leaves a lot to be desired, luckily he’s got five months left to fix it.

Teoscar Hernandez – 1-for-3, HR (7). Dodgers/Braves is turning into a pretty good rivalry here. I mean, it’s not Kendrick dropping a devastatingly savage take down of Drake less than an hour after Drake goes ham for seven minutes on one of the best rappers alive, but it’s still pretty good. This might be the best rap beef in 20 years. Even if they are faking it, we’ve got a second Drizzy child exposed and literal death threats. Also, So. Much. Hate. The game has never been better! What a time to be alive!

Andy Pages – 4-for-5, RBI. Pages and pages later, the story ends with a walk-off single in the 11th inning!  That’s front Pages news! The rookie is batting .400 over the past week with a nine game hitting streak and two homers in that stretch. If that doesn’t jump off the Pages for you, dude is also playing every day in the Dodgers lineup i.e. in other words most of the time he’s batting with runners on base. Runners like Mookie Best, Shohei, Freddie, and Uncle Oscar. This is your cheap buy into this Dodgers offensive feast and Andy’s a real Pages turner. No, not Justin. Grey told you to BUY. So many times. I don’t understand how he’s so available. So borrow a Pages from the waiver wire and go add him as ASAP as possible. It’s time to turn the Pages of your fantasy season! Hopefully, we’re on the same Pages now. How long before I run out of puns? I got Pages of ’em!

Thanks for reading! Questions? Problems? Complaints to management? Advice, small gifts or large bribes? Please leave it in the comments below. Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy baseball continues next week, all week long!