It’s all fun and games when the lights go off and the special things in life glow under different color light. Laundry detergent, player names, and the puns that are associated with them… and believe it or not a good ole bottle of Hennessy. So now that we have concocted that cocktail and images in your head, let’s move onto the Fantasy Baseball portion of this relationship. That being Marcus Semien. I am going to be the first to admit that I really like the idea of this guy on my team after last season’s output, as he produced 27 HR’s and 10 steals. Not the elite of foot by any stretch of the SAGNOF imagination, but the 27 taters from a middle infield spot takes a lot of gleam off the cube. So why now? Well, his season was derailed by injury and he only still has 86 at-bats on the year. Ignore all the other facets, he is not going to hit for average and not going to score a ton of runs in the A’s lineup, but he has 7 steals in those 86 at-bats. (He only had 10 last year in 586 at bats, remember I just said that.) So he has gone from a once every 60 plate appearances per steal guy to one every 10. I am by far no mathematical genius, but that looks like a gigantic difference. Since he returned from the DL, he is hitting 30 points above his career average, which is only .230, but still, .265 is better then .230. The steals are what we want and that’s why we here. So with the expectations of him not slipping out of the lineup now that he is returned he could easily be a cheap source (8.6% owned in ESPN leagues). With the way that the middle infield spots turn over and the trade deadline around the bend stats at any chance are better then none.
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Catchers to Cheat Against:
| Name | SB | CS |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Vogt | 46 | 7 |
| Willson Contreras | 44 | 20 |
| Tyler Flowers | 42 | 9 |
| Russell Martin | 40 | 9 |
| J.T. Realmuto | 39 | 18 |
| Miguel Montero | 38 | 2 |
| Francisco Cervelli | 35 | 9 |
| Brian McCann | 34 | 7 |
| Salvador Perez | 34 | 14 |
| Kevan Smith | 34 | 1 |
| Mike Zunino | 34 | 9 |
| Jett Bandy | 33 | 7 |
| Derek Norris | 33 | 8 |
| Matt Wieters | 32 | 11 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 31 | 6 |
| Caleb Joseph | 31 | 8 |
Pitchers to Stream Against:
| Name | SB’s | SB Opps | OBPa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Pelfrey | 18 | 125 | .345 |
| Jake Arrieta | 16 | 153 | .311 |
| Yu Darvish | 16 | 170 | .285 |
| Julio Teheran | 16 | 178 | .331 |
| Jaime Garcia | 15 | 157 | .318 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 14 | 150 | .359 |
| Tyler Glasnow | 13 | 104 | .405 |
| Corey Kluber | 13 | 113 | .251 |
| Mike Fiers | 12 | 151 | .311 |
| Jon Lester | 12 | 146 | .306 |
| Jimmy Nelson | 12 | 174 | .310 |
| Edinson Volquez | 12 | 146 | .342 |
| Gerrit Cole | 11 | 162 | .301 |
| Jason Hammel | 11 | 183 | .333 |
Zach Granite – The original seven blocks of granite are from Fordham, the eighth now resides in the posh suburbs of Minneapolis. Two steals and hits in four straight. Whether or not the Twins start to trade for major assets for the stretch run could determine his future fantasy usefulness. Calling Vince Lombardi for a motivational speech…
Rajai Davis – The Majai of steals has 1o steals in his last 105 plate appearances. The infield dirt in Oakland is made of 100% people mover.
Alex Gordon – Way down on the ownership trough and likely so. Batting only .205 on the year. Last 15, batting .36 with 66% of his steals in that span. The Royals are going to be fun down the stretch. It’s got the “We Are Family” vibe but on an “All in the Family” type comedic sense.
Mallex Smith – Get him in the Wednesday lineup if he starts versus Ubaldo.
Wilmer Difo – Same for his wednesday start against Jimmy Nelson or if you like outfielders instead on the same team Brian Goodwin look like great streaming options.
Brad Hand – Maurer and Buchter are gone and he looks to be the only one I would trust there. Maurer and Buchter become fodder for a suddenly deep KC pen.
Tyler Clippard – Doing his best imitation of a useful pitcher in order to get traded to a contender in a made for TV baseball game. Swarzak is in the ready five.
Keone Kela – Is back and watching Claudio go all Sam Dyson just with a Walker, Texas Ranger vibe.
