Well, I knew the 2020 season would be weird, but I guess I really wasn’t expecting it to be quite so grueling. Filling in for injured players, COVID list players, and players not playing due to other teams’ COVID outbreaks has been from exhausting to downright impossible in my deeper leagues. Carry on we must, though, as MLB continues to seemingly defy the odds and keeps checking games off the calendar. This week, we’ll look at some NL names who may be of interest to those of us in the deep-league world.
Andres Gimenez. It’s not easy to make decisions in an upside-down world, but I decided over the weekend that I’m all in on Gimenez until he gives me reason not to be. He’s young, he’s fast, and he got a drag bunt base hit literally as I was writing this blurb. He should play second base for the Mets for now with Robinson Cano hurt.
Jake Cronenworth. In nine games for the Padres, he’s hitting .333 with a couple of homers. He qualifies at 1B and SS in most leagues, so if you’re desperate to plug, say, a Paul deJong-sized hole in a deep league, Cronenworth might throw a few stats your way.
Chad Kuhl. Considering rostering a Pirates starting pitcher without a set spot in the rotation who’s coming off Tommy John surgery and has a career 4.30 ERA/1.41 WHIP seems crazy, but welcome to 2020. He’s looked great so far, for what it’s worth, allowing just two runs in nine innings over three appearances (one start), with 12 Ks and 3 walks.
Erik Gonzalez. Fun fact, Gonzalez was set to be an everyday member of the Pirates infield in 2019, but a fractured clavicle last April quickly tanked his season. He’s played in 10 games for the Pirates this year and has an impressive 7 RBI in those games, and should continue to see at least semi-regular playing time, especially in light of Phillip Evans’ terrifying collision/season-ending injuries.
Tanner Rainey. While Sean Doolittle has looked lost all season and Daniel Hudson has had at least one disastrous outing in 2020, Rainey has quietly been pitching lights out in the Nationals bullpen, including 9 strikeouts in 6.2 innings. While Hudson may right the ship quickly, I’m keeping an eye on Rainey not just for the rest of 2020 but for next year and beyond as well.
Chris Owings. The seemingly unnecessary signing of Owings was maddening in a typically Rockies way, but in the deepest leagues, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, I suppose: Owings is off to a .296 start in 11 games, with a homer and a steal.
Chadwick Tromp. A completely under-the-radar guy with an absolutely ridiculous name who gets off to a surprisingly good start will almost always warrant mention here at Rolling In The Deep — so hat’s off to Tromp, who has two homers in seven games while helping fill the void left from Buster Posey’s 2020 opt-out decision. I’m not sure he’ll hit another two for the rest of the season, but given the number of catchers that have gone down this year, some of us are scrambling for anything we can get out of the position.
