Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a safe and sane Independence Day, and that you are finding a way to stay cool if you’re in an area where summer is hitting in a fast and furious manner. We still have a couple weeks before the All Star Game, so if your fantasy teams need a little TLC, why not take a moment to check in with them and make sure you’re doing everything you can to make a successful second half push? As we do here, let’s take a moment out of our week to check in on a handful of names that might be relevant in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues. This week, we’ll look primarily at players whose ownership (using CBS sports data) has risen significantly of late, but who are still around 10% owned or less.
NL
Xavier Edwards. It’s hard to be optimistic about the likelihood of Edwards being a big fantasy contributor since he doesn’t profile as a power guy at all, but he serves as our lede this week due to his recently acquired deep-league currency that we like to call Opportunity. The Marlins have mercifully given up on their disastrous three-month Tim Anderson experiment, and Edwards is back on the big league roster with playing time available in the middle infield. (And while we’re at it, we should also mention that Vidal Brujan is in line for regular second base playing time in Miami with Otto Lopez hitting the IL). Edwards is a 24-year old switch hitter who, as already mentioned, won’t hit many homers. He does have some speed, however, and was hitting .330 with a .376 OBP when he was recalled, so we’ll see if he can do anything with his current chance to impress.
A.J. Puk. I’ve grabbed him in a couple leagues, how ’bout you? The Marlins bullpen has never been one of my favorites, but since everyone who’s ever watched a baseball game seems to think Tanner Scott will be traded imminently, why not take a flier on Puk? Well, there are likely several reasons, including the fact that Puk may not even immediately be handed the closer role if and when that happens. Also, he can be a bit inconsistent, to say the least. Oh, and he has a 1.60 WHIP and 21 walks versus 30 strikeouts. This blurb is being written by someone who is so desperate for saves in a couple leagues that she has Tyler Kinley in at least one active lineup, so keep that in mind. Okay, let’s get right to the good news: Puk hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last six appearances since June 17th, and what really stands out to me is that he has 10 Ks in the 7 2/3 innings that he’s pitched in those outings.
Rowdy Tellez. For those of you who (wisely) enjoy the RCLs here at Razzball Nation, has this ever happened to you? You put a guy who you wouldn’t even roster in a deep league in your RCL lineup as a one-day stream, then get busy with stuff, and two weeks go by and you suddenly realize that you’ve had that “one-day” player in your lineup the whole time when you could have upgraded him about ten times over? That happened to me recently with Tellez, who really shouldn’t be in a mixed league lineup, but who may be in the deep league conversation (and who I keep forgetting is on the Pirates). Hmm, in the middle of me writing this blurb, Tellez went and had three hits (including his second homer in three games) on Wednesday, so maybe he’s trying to tell us that he might indeed be worth a stream even in a standard league. If you’re in need of power, he’s probably worth keeping on eye on since the combination of the weather heating up and Tellez being quite hot himself could lead to more good fantasy things.
Tyrone Taylor. Taylor has quietly been quite productive for the Mets lately; yes, his CBS ownership doubled, but it was one of those deep-league special one to two percent doubling. His homer on Wednesday was his third in seven games, which is worth noting for a 2% owned player, in my opinion.
Obligatory Ben Gamel sighting report! Staying in the Mets outfield, it’s time for this season’s Ben Gamel blurb. Honestly, it does seem like I’ve done one of these a year for about a decade, and once again the 32-year-old Gamel is in the big leagues and, as I type anyway, getting at bats. He’s with his seventh team, this time the Mets, and with Harrison Bader ailing a bit Gamel was in the starting lineup both Wednesday and Thursday. It’s hard to imagine there will be fantasy help here in even the deepest leagues, but if you happen to play in one where every single at bat might matter, know that Gamel has worked his way on to the Mets outfield depth chart after a nice run at triple A.
Yonny Chirinos. Went from 2 to 3% owned. Please just pick up a middle reliever instead!
AL
Derek Hill. So far it’s looking like Hill will mostly be an outfield option against lefties for the Rangers, but so far so good in terms of his recent promotion back to the show. He hit two homers in two days last week, which likely accounts for his rise from 0% to 4% owned. He was having a huge year in the minors, firing on all five cylinders when it comes to 5×5 roto stats. I’ll be placing a bid on him in my AL-only league this weekend in the hope that he can throw some desperately needed counting stats my way.
Carlos Carrasco. Can’t say Carrasco is on my direct radar these days, as I don’t believe I’ve rostered him on a single team at any point all season, so I was ever so mildly intrigued to see his CBS ownership had jumped from 4 to 9% over the past week. Why, I wondered, were folks flocking to add a 37-year old with a 1.36 WHIP and just 61 Ks in 76 innings to their teams? Well, he’s had three decent-to-good starts in a row, the most interesting aspect of which were his 17 Ks covering those 17 innings. He gets the Giants next, so maybe there are worse ideas than giving him a chance in deeper leagues.
Hunter Renfroe. I haven’t checked in on Renfroe in a while, but am doing so now after seeing that his CBS ownership recently went up by 50%, from 4 to 6 percent. There’s nothing new to see here, but Renfroe has been getting fairly steady playing time in right field for the Royals, so those looking for very deep league power (and not much else) may want to check in on him as well.
Daniel Schneemann. Schneemann’s recent ownership has actually more than doubled, going from 4 to 9%. Another real life utility guy who is playing enough to enter the fantasy radar in deeper leagues, Schneemann has now played multiple games at second, third, and short, in addition to 15 OF appearances, for the Guardians. I’m wishing I’d grabbed him when he was available in my AL-only league as his numbers have been just good enough to provide a little deep league help (9 runs, 3 homers, 12 RBI, and a steal in 23 games), particularly if your league has a low threshold to gain positional eligibility.
As always, thanks for reading, feel free to drop a question or comment below, and best of luck to you and your teams!
