Ike Davis had an epic 21st century breakdown this year that has rendered his fantasy baseball owners jaded and viewing this basket case as a true American idiot. What a nimrod! I’ll admit that I screamed in silence after owning him this year, but let’s try to take the long view here. Yes, he’s 2,000 light years away on holiday in the minors after leading your team down a boulevard of broken dreams, but this a warning that Ike, walking contradiction that he is, could finally come around to what we previously expected. I might be a minority here, but, in the end, I still believe he’s capable of producing an .800+ OPS in the majors. Some players temporarily burnout, while other are able to make things click when you least expect it. Right, Chris Davis? We’ve all been waiting a long time for him to see the light and I will look to grab him where I have an open bench spot. Hopefully we’ll be welcomed to paradise. If his stats go kerplunk a final time, then I’ll be willing to bid him a permanent good riddance. Anyway, here are some other players that have my ear in OPS leagues:
Josh Donaldson – This is the stuff of legends! Last week, I said, “About a month ago, I optimistically projected an .810 OPS for the rest of the season for this third baseman. Since then he’s had an .805 OPS. Checkmate.” Well, in the last week he’s had a 1.766 OPS, which ranks tops in the league among those who played in more than one game. This makes me happy. That is all.
Matt Joyce – At the end of April, I said, “He’s probably on your waiver wire. If you can bench him against lefties, pick him up and do so. I’m not at all worried by his slow start and expect him to produce at a similar level to last season going forward.” He ended up having a fantastic May, followed by a down June, causing him to reappear on the waiver wire in a decent amount of leagues. You know what to do.
Carlos Quentin – I really don’t want to be known as the guy who constantly praises Quentin, but he has an .854 OPS on the year. Yes, he gets injured often and probably wants to beat you up, but he is available in nearly all leagues and is likely the best OPS boost you can get off waivers.
Adam Eaton – Sounds like he’ll be back in a couple weeks. In February, I thought he was in for a huge year. Then he got injured. Now I want everybody with a DL or bench spot to pick up this guy. To me, he’s the rarest kind of SAGNOF: one who won’t hurt your OPS.
Lance Berkman – He’s another guy that is on waivers in most leagues who I’m looking to buy low (free?) wherever possible. If he is able to get healthy enough to play, he could provide a solid OPS, as evidenced by his .936 OPS in April.
Dan Uggla – I’m not sure what to think about his new contacts, but he’s making a lot better contact over the past week. Causation, correlation, or indigestion?
Tom Jacks is sporadically on Twitter @votetomjacks
