Since returning from the All-Star break, no hitter has scored more points than Joey Votto. Votto-D2 (for you Star Wars geeks) has 10 hits, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, 8 walks and a stolen base to give him 39 points over 7 games. On the season he now has 265 points which puts him in the top ten first basemen, where he has quite the company. He’s currently on pace for 30 ding dongs, 10 stolen bases and a .300 batting average. But what I really hope is that he has a son name Otto.
A guy with the name Rougned Odor must have had to deal with his fair share of name calling. It sounds like something you’d smell in the bathroom of a hardware store. With 37 points, however, he places just behind Votto. Let’s not forget that Odor is just 21 years young. While I’m not super excited about him, I am curious.
Don’t look now but Robinson Cano has gone from suck to blow. Or blow to suck. Whichever one means he was awful and lately he has been better. But I still don’t trust him. If I own him, I’m probably trying to take advantage of this hot streak to sell him. Especially in redraft leagues. A couple good games is not nearly enough to convince me that he’s going to tear it up the second half, and if this recent mini surge was enough to bait a league mate into some sort of preseason Cano-like deal, I’m in. Heck, I’d take 75 cents on the dollar!
What do you get when you combine a train with a cyclist? Shin-Soo Choo Choo. In the last week he’s batting .538 with 34 points. He’s on the waiver wire in my league and I have no intention of changing that.
After Alex Rodriguez, who already has 20 home runs and 247 points, the next biggest fantasy surprise at 3B has been Mike Moustakas. After years of hype, he is finally contributing. Batting .296 with 10 homers and 217 points, Moose finds himself in the top 10 amongst 3B. Top 10 means he should be starting in all leagues. He’s even outpointing Kris Bryant, Evan Longoria, Matt Carpenter and Xander Bogaerts. The interesting, yet not surprising fact, is that Moustakas has a lower owned percentage that every player I just listed. Even the strikeout king, Chris Davis, is owned and started in more leagues than him. That’s absurd. In leagues that subtract points for strikeouts, I don’t even think Davis should be owned.
And while I’m discussing strikeouts let’s say a thing about or two about Kris Bryant. Only Davis, Chris Carter, Joc Pederson an Steven Souza have more strikeouts than Bryant. But all of those players also have more home runs. Bryant is just a rookie and I’d rather own him out of all of them, but this isn’t the year to own him. Except in keeper leagues where you will be able to keep him. In my league we can only keep 5 players and Bryant wouldn’t be one of them. I traded him a few weeks ago. This is likely going to be a controversial statement, but I’d probably trade Bryant for Kyle Schwarber. However you could probably get Schwarber plus another player. I really like him in points leagues.
The only batter in the top 65 (based on points) with more than 100 strikeouts is J.D. Martinez. With 27 home runs, 107 strikeouts and 253 points he barely makes the top 30. What’s my point? Strikeouts are the cancer of fantasy baseball points leagues.
It looks like Clayton Kershaw is tired of all the talk questioning whether Max Scherzer or Chris Sale was new number one starting pitcher. In his last 3 starts he’s pitched 26 innings, given up 0 earned (or unearned) runs and struck out 38 hitters. That is the definition of awesome. Not to mention a shitload of points. The only pitcher hotter than Kershaw right now is his teammate Zach Greinke. Combined it feels like they haven’t given up a run since Spring Training.
Speaking of Greinke. What the f-ck is this business of him missing his start this week because his wife is giving birth. Ever hear of FaceTime? This could actually cost me a win. Hey Rudy, does the Stream-o-Nator account for expected childbirths? How about hangovers, family illnesses or religious holidays? Can you imagine unknowingly starting Lebowski in your fantasy bowling league on Shabbos. It would be a disaster. It’s 2015, this are the types of warnings I’d like to know about when setting my weekly lineup. Do fantasy bowling leagues even exist? Is that a light bulb I see floating over my head?
The pitcher I really regret not owning is Jose Fernandez. I say that because he was obtainable this season due to his injury. He’s only going to get better.
For those of you sitting in last place with little hope of a playoff run and are considering making some season-ending trades, I say go for it. In leagues that allow you to trade players for draft picks, I say do it. Having extra early round picks is a great thing. If you can get your hands on Manny Machado, that would be great too. I really like Manny. With 21 homers, 14 stolen bases and 283 points, he’s slowly approaching the top 3B. I think he gets there in 2016. He said he’s just Manny being Manny. Carlos Correa is another guy I’d love to get my grubby little hands on.
I think next week I’ll take a look at rookies. However I am reserving the right to change my mind…
