What is up party people? Football season may be just around the corner, but don’t let that distract you from the most exciting part of baseball season, the stretch run to October. If you’ve stayed the course and are still reading I can only assume that you are still in the running for your league’s championship. For that I say, good job so far but there is still much work to be done. For crying out loud, there’s still a month and a half of baseball left. Now is the time to really load your team for the final push.
Zack Gelof – Could it be the A’s have another fantasy-relevant hitter? He only has around 100 at bats but early returns have been very promising. Power is there (8), as is enough speed to be interesting (6). The worry will be his contact ability. He can smash but can he continue to hit for average? That is the big question and so far he is batting around .270, but he has struck out 33 times. That second part is not so good and unfortunately not too surprising based on his minor league numbers. At this point in the season, you have to grab him at least in the short term. Even if he continues to strike out at this rate he’s shown he has value and if pitchers catch up to him and the strikeout rate skyrockets, he was free in mid-August.
Wade Meckler – If you’re the type of fantasy manager who would rather have a mystery box than a boat because a mystery box could be anything, even a boat, then you should have a poster of Wade in your room. He rocks a glorious mustache and is a must add in your point per ‘stache league. His minor league batting average is great (.377) but he didn’t really show off power or speed but has only played 92 games so I don’t really know what to make of it. He rose through the minors on a speed run and I can’t imagine the Giants promoted him this quickly just to watch from the dugout. They have an opening in center field so there’s a clear path to everyday playing time. He may not be a top prospect (8th round pick), but at bats have value. Contact plays in points leagues and that seems to be his calling card. Deep league add for now, maybe there’s more here.
Bryan Reynolds – Nice to see him up there on the leaderboard even if his numbers don’t jump out at you. Well folks, boring wins the day, and one way or another Reynolds has been putting up points.
Kerry Carpenter – Ah yes just the guy we all had as a hot mid August pick-up. Well folks, he’s here and he’s a solid batting average and power. Certainly, that’s enough to make him worth a late season add. However, the good news doesn’t stop there because he has kept his Ks under control and is willing to take a free pass. Carpenter has shown enough to be deserving of a roster spot.
TJ Friedl – The Reds have been a super fun team to watch at the plate this season with a bevy of hot prospects making their way to the show. TJ doesn’t fall into that category now that he’s in his third season but he’s still young and produces some highlights with the glove. On offense, he provides a solid average and often gets leadoff duties against right-handed pitchers. Unfortunately, none of that is guaranteed if there’s a southpaw on the mound but you take what you can get.
Sal Frelick – Brought him up last week and I’m still in even though he rewarded me by batting only .200 since then. Season batting average is hovering around .250, obviously not pretty but he’s still getting used to big league pitching. Better days are ahead for him, hopefully this season. Still well worth the upside add.
Ty France – Might as well get it out of the way up front, France has not been great this year. His batting average is the lowest it’s been since his rookie season and it seems he will set a new career high in strikeouts. So why is he relevant? Well, recently he has finally started to show signs of life batting over .360 with a pair of bombs the past week. Extremely small sample but it is encouraging. Can’t quite trust him yet he might be soon.
As always, find me here for all your fantasy needs.
