Royce Lewis is batting .321 with 3 homers and 2 stolen bases in his AAA rehab assignment in St. Paul as he recovers from his second ACL tear in as many years. More importantly, he looks healthy and is eligible to return from the 60-day Injured List as this article comes out. If Lewis has not been stashed or drafted in your league, Royce is a worthy pickup as he has 5-tool talent and the ability to stuff the roto sheet. They say the best ability is availability; Royce Lewis doesn’t have the DH spot to fall back on. The only downside to Lewis’ fantasy-friendly profile is that he is essentially the Twins equivalent to former Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin: tremendous talent with elite per-game stats who often struggled to stay on the field. 200 million dollar man Carlos Correa has recently dealt with some plantar fascitis, so the smart money has Correa going on the IL sooner than later, with Royce Lewis looking to take his spot at shortstop for the time being. If Correa doesn’t end up getting IL’ed, Lewis has the flexibility to play third base. Update out of Minnesota: Royce Lewis and Max Kepler will be activated before their game against the Astros. As Memorial Day is upon us, it’s getting late quick in our baseball world.
David Hamilton – Red Sox: May be one of the most highly anticipated prospect debuts this season. Hamilton stole 70 bases in 2022, has 11 homers and 24 stolen bases in about 40 games this year. As he seems to be Major League ready, the only question remains as to where he fits with his major league club. The Red Sox seem to want to see what they have with Enmanuel Valdez (acquired in the Christian Vazquez trade with the Astros), although he is wearing out his welcome with poor defense and has been benched against lefties. Kike Hernandez seems to be more of a clubhouse leader, as he’s struggled on the field. Trevor Story and Adalberto Mondesi are set to return to the BoSox around midseason, but if the Red Sox are serious about giving Hamilton an extended look beyond a September cup of coffee, Mondesi should be relegated to a super-utility player/pinch runner.
Matt McLain – Reds: Called up to the Reds a couple weeks ago. Drafted in the 2021 draft, the Reds have promoted him aggressively throughout his brief Minor League career and has rewarded Reds management with a 12/2/7/.333/.423 line in 45 at-bats. Grey told you to BUY a couple weeks ago and it’s a good sign the Reds have batted him as high as #2 in their lineup. The great home park coupled with a nice blend of power and speed could be a league-winner.
Elly De La Cruz – Reds: While it remains uncertain as to when exactly Elly will get the call, Elly possesses the tantalizing 70 grade power and speed. He’s always struggled with his K% rate, but this month, he’s cut the K’s down to about 20%. Let’s see if these adjustments stick, and if so, Elly should be on the fast-track to the Reds around midseason as opposed to September. If there’s a possibility McLain could be a league-winner, then De La Cruz could be the #1 pickup of the year. Looks like the Reds will have to shop some of their middle infield surplus in the near future for some rotation help and a bridge to Alexis Diaz.
Taylor Walls – Rays: Batting .230 in the past month, but his 12/4/11/.230/.321/12 slash is certainly helping fantasy managers. His defense will keep him in the lineup most days and his 25/25 pace should have him owned in more than 66% of Yahoo leagues, particularly in leagues that allow daily roster moves.
Ezequiel Duran – Rangers: Had a productive 14/6/16/.306/.344 month but unfortunately lands on the IL with right oblique discomfort. Oblique issues tend to linger, so don’t be surprised if the Rangers play it safe with Duran’s timetable, especially after Corey Seager recently returned to the lineup.
Nico Hoerner – Cubs: Returned from the IL but exited last Monday’s game with hamstring tightness. While the Cubs have said the issue is mild, look for Hoerner to not steal at the rate he was running earlier in the year, as to not further aggravate his tender hammy.
Maikel Garcia – Royals: Batting 7/0/10/.286/.345/4 in 77 at-bats. Solid hit tool and speed, but looks like he needs some time to grow into some big boy power.
Ezequiel Tovar – Rockies: Good news, Tovar is playing everyday (shocker for Rockies rookies). Bad news, he’s batting 23/3/20/.226/.274/2 with a poor Statcast profile. Somewhere, Garrett Hampson is looking at Tovar’s everyday playing time with the Rockies and wondering what could have been.
Zach McKinstry – Tigers: Batting at the top of the Tigers lineup of late, slashing 22/4/10/.291/.410/10 in 117 at-bats entering play Sunday. Assured plenty of playing time with the Tigers, this Swiss-Army knife is a nice pickup and hold to see if his gains stick.
Tommy Edman – Cardinals: Must have heard the Razzball comments calling for his head, as he’s picked things up the past couple of weeks with a 11/1/6/.364/.383/4 slash but has still been relegated to the bottom of the Cards lineup. After being a zero the past couple of years, Paul DeJong has come out of nowhere to further complicate the Cardinals middle infield situation, but DeJong seems like a flash in the pan at this point and wouldn’t bet on him being a rest-of-season contributor.
Fernando Tatis Jr. – Padres: Off to a great start with the Padres with 9 homers in 138 at-bats. Interesting how the power returned faster than the plate discipline and other contact numbers, but the Padres and fantasy managers have to be happy with Tatis’ play considering he didn’t have a single at-bat in the Majors last year.
Have a great week!