Red Light, Green Light: Eric Young Jr.

A forearm injury to Todd Helton has reshuffled the Rockies lineup and has opened the door to more playing time for Eric Young Jr. Our friend EY2 could be the poster boy for SAGNOF and fantasy baseball owners have the opportunity to cash in on his increase in playing time, even if it is only temporary. Grey told you to BUY him in this past week’s Buy/Sell. Let’s take a closer look at the Rockies outfielder and how his speed can help your squad for at least the next week or two.

Green Light…

Eric Young Jr., OF | COL – Over the past week, EY2 has accumulated 3 runs and a steal, not including his stats from Sunday’s game. On the season, he’s got 8 runs and 2 steals to go along with a .288 average. You can count on a nice amount of runs and steals from him with this recent increase in playing time.  He’s owned in less than 2% of ESPN leagues, but should be a starting outfielder and the leadoff hitter for a Rockies team that has been clicking offensively. This pickup is all about opportunity. Without playing time, EY2 isn’t anything special.  He’s a career .268 hitter with some speed.  But with an everyday job and the leadoff spot, EY2 becomes very interesting and perhaps very useful. It’s worth noting that the Rockies are currently third in MLB in both steals and steal attempts. In just 174 AB in 2012, EY2 scored 36 runs, stole 14 bags, and hit .316.  While his average was likely aided by a BABIP of .367, the runs and steals should be there and he makes a nice add in most formats if you have an outfield slot available and the need for speed.

With almost a month’s worth of data to view, we can start to look at which teams are running and which teams are controlling the running game.  The following tables do not include Sunday’s stats: