Chandler Simpson was just sent down by the Tampa Bay Rays in favor of Jake Mangum much to the chagrin of fantasy managers. He was hitting .285 with 17 runs and 19 steals across 34 games. Since his call-up on April 19th, he had more steals than anyone else in professional baseball and more than seven entire teams. But despite the blazing speed and .285 average, Simpson posted just an 85 wRC+, meaning he was performing 15% below league average as a hitter. His OBP hovered around league norms, his slug was nonexistent and fielding was not as good as hoped. This is the dilemma: elite speed plays in fantasy, often disproportionately. Yet in real life, if you can’t hit enough to justify a lineup spot, that speed becomes a tool without a stage. Speed can be scarce especially for those in rotisserie formats. Over the past few seasons, stolen bases have surged across MLB, but true category dominant threats remain rare.
Please, blog, may I have some more?