I don’t know about you but wow what a week of some exciting finishes lately in these games. If you were fortunate enough to be able to stay awake for last night’s game between the Mets and Giants I mean it can’t get much more exciting than that right…Have a day Joc Pederson! He doesn’t look like he is having any fun at all with his new fresh hairstyle and all. Well, today we are going to touch on some third basemen who are on the rise and some that might be due for a fall in our latest Bull and Bear edition. I love all the comments and questions so keep them coming and let’s get to some players at the hot corner…
BULL MARKET THIRD BASEMAN
Eugenio Suarez, Mariners
I think if you are rostering Suarez you already are relegated to the fact and aware of his subpar batting average so let’s get that out of the way. It sucks, no getting around it, however, there are some signs he is getting more comfortable at the plate. His walk rate has gone up after last year’s dip which is a good sign and when he does make contact he is barreling up the ball and is at the 98% in barrel rate which is outstanding. He is batting 5th usually in the Mariners lineup and although the Mariners record is at 16-20 I feel they are a better team than that and will eventually make a move so I think the opportunity will be there for Suarez to drive in a lot of runs very soon. I’m interested in seeing if Suarez can get his average up to around .245 with 30 HR and 90 RBI’s I believe that is definitely on the table for him as we have seen in the past he is very capable of doing that and more. (See 2018-2019). I think I would be giving him a shot right now over veterans like Matt Chapman, Justin Turner, and Josh Donaldson for example…
Hunter Dozier, Royals
Dozier is becoming quite versatile as you can also play him at 1B and OF as he moves around for the Royals quite a bit. Dozier is hitting the ball well in May and is striking out a lot less than he did at the beginning of the season. Dozier loves to pull those balls down the 3B line and wouldn’t be surprised if he rewards his fantasy managers with a season like he had in 2019 .279 avg 26 HR 84 RBI 75 Runs. He’s a very useful player right now and is doing what you thought someone like Jake Cronenworth was going to do for you and is not at the moment. Dozier seems to be overlooked so grab him if you can. I think the arrow is pointing up on Dozier and you will be happy you did.
Brendan Donovan, Cardinals
The kid from South Alabama certainly has that look about him that he belongs on the field. He can play anywhere and the Cardinals certainly see something in him as they moved him up in the order to the 2 hole replacing their prized prospect Nolan Gorman in that spot. I think Donovan is not going anywhere anytime soon in that lineup and he is putting the ball in play consistently and creating opportunities to score when he is on the field. He has great plate discipline and has more walks than k’s and with the low batting averages around the league, this guy is not hurting you in that department one bit. I really like what I see and I think the Cardinals do too.
BEAR MARKET THIRD BASEMAN
Justin Turner, Dodgers
I wish I could say I see something trending in the right direction for Turner but I just don’t see it. He has had multiple games with 2 k’s in the last 6 games and although occasionally he will break through with a multiple hit performance he will follow that right up with an O’fer the next couple of days and just doesn’t look comfortable. I would definitely move off of him in favor of one of the players above if I could.
Yoan Moncada, White Sox
Since he’s come off the injured list Moncada was supposed to reward his fantasy managers who kept him by producing some good numbers but that certainly hasn’t been the case. Only 1 game out of 13 games back he has gotten more than 1 hit and he has had multiple games where he has went 0-5. He has struck out 17 out of 58 PA and has had only 2 BB’s. It doesn’t look great right now for Moncada so he’s back on your bench if possible and see if he can turn his season around.
Mike Moustakas, Reds
I was hoping Moustakas would go on a hot streak and not have to include him on this list but he confirmed this week what I thought he is really having an awful time getting anything going so far this year. There was a period a couple of weeks ago where Moose had 5 out of 6 games with a hit but has followed that up since with a 4 out of 5 games without a hit and doesn’t look right at the plate at all. His xBA is in the 2% along with his xSLG at 5% whic indicates there is nothing on the horizon that anything is going to change so I would bench/drop ASAP if I could and get somebody in your lineup that can help you.
That’s going to be it for this week. I hope you all have a great rest of your week and if you run across an opportunity to do a random act of kindness for another person make it a point to do it. See ya next time for some 1B talk.
