The Moment of Zen:
The eighth step of the Noble Eightfold Path is usually termed Right Concentration or Wise Concentration. A more precise name for it comes from Sanskrit: Samadhi, which is a word that roughly translates to “absorption.” What kind of “absorption,” you might ask? There’s the rub. It’s intellectual. It’s meditative. It’s a process of delving into. It’s deep awareness, concentration, and focus. In other words, it’s hard to translate, at least for me.
Samadhi is more than concentration on an object; it’s more like complete absorption in whatever your focus is on both in an acute sense (I’m working on this article right this moment and am therefore focused on it) and in a broader sense (I’m trying to be a decent human at all times, which means a continual awareness of the types of behaviors and intentions being a decent person might require).
The Fourth Noble Truth (i.e. The Noble Eightfold Path) is essentially a how-to guide for helping us do away with our craving (that craving that was discussed in the Second Noble Truth), and if we follow the path, we can alleviate our suffering (the suffering that is discussed in the First Noble Truth, which is caused by the craving discussed in the Second). What the step of Wise Samadhi suggests is that, in order to do away with the craving that causes suffering, we must be absorbed in the right types of thinking, actions, practices, and so on.
To give an everyday example, author Susan Piver discusses samadhi by referring to her father’s attitude toward work in general or tasks specifically. The simple idea is, if you start something, finish it – even if it’s hard, even if you could actually get away with not finishing it. If I practice samadhi, that suggests I will be at the mercy of a lack of balance (likely within me) until I bring to completion whatever the goal of my absorption is.
How in the world does this apply to fantasy baseball?
There are good kinds of absorption and bad ones. It’s probably fair to say that self-absorption can easily tend toward the bad. If my desires are selfish, that will likely make me difficult to be around. But absorption in something that can help me improve in my job, art, personhood, etc., maybe that’s a good absorption (unless I’m doing so for selfish reasons – ugh, this is hard…).
To connect to baseball, here are a couple of players I’ve been watching of late, as I’ve been fascinated by their ability to quiet the noise around them as they go about their work and improvement as players. Not only might our fantasy teams benefit from players like this, perhaps these young men act as models of behavior in a greater sense.
If you don’t know Zac Veen’s story, it’s one that is close to my heart. He was a top prospect in the Rockies organization only to be called up in 2025 to do absolutely nothing. He was soon sent back down to the minors, and most of us didn’t think about him again.
Then, this spring, Veen popped up in Rockies spring training looking like a different person. He looked healthy and strong, and he was hitting everything in sight. It turns out, Veen recently got sober, which, to me, explains why he looks so different and plays so differently.
Sobriety has a way of helping folks (I say from experience) recognize all the elements of “noise” that inundated them before, and the recovery process has a way of forcing folks to be honest with themselves about the many, many ways they themselves contributed to the noise that led them to seek answers in substances or processes. Even when substances or processes are used, perhaps somewhat reasonably you might argue, as a way to soften the edges of pain that might be caused by trauma or the actions of others, the recovery process forces us also to acknowledge how we could have responded with more skill. Not to say that we are responsible for the trauma or the actions of others, but how could we have acted in the time after? How could our behavior have helped us cope healthily instead of in the maladaptive ways that substances or processes often turn out to be?
I can only assume that Veen has gone through a similar process, and to do so requires absolute absorption in getting better, wiser, healthier. And assuming that he has gone through the process, I couldn’t be more heartened to see how he’s benefiting – in his physical and (I suspect) mental health, but also his performance on the field.
I’ve been waiting for months for the Rockies to finally call Veen back up to Colorado – he’s dominated AAA to an extent that there’s nothing left to do there. Over the last two years there, he’s hit .300 with 41 HR, 151 R, 161 RBI, and 39 SB in 949 PA / 844 AB. His 9% BB% isn’t elite, but it sure isn’t bad, especially considering his reasonable 21% K%. His 2026 Albuquerque numbers have been ridiculous: 24 HR, 82 R, 87 RBI, and 18 SB in just 445 plate appearances. He’s increased his BB% to 11% this season and lowered his K% to 20%. All of this marks clear improvement over his unsuccessful 2025 cup of coffee: For his major league call up early last season, he hit .118 with 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, and 1 SB in 37 PA). Most notably, he had an awful 38% K%).
Since his call-up, Veen has played in every Rockies game and has already collected 2 homers and 5 RBI. The one caveat is that all starters he’s faced have been righties, and there’s reason to believe he’ll be sat for lefties. Still, there’s value here. Before waivers ran in many leagues last night, Veen was at basically 0% rostership in most leagues. If he’s still out there for you to get, go get him.
It would be completely understandable if you stopped paying attention to San Diego’s offense at some point this season – for self-preservation, if nothing else. For much of the season, the Padres’ offense was just awful, ranking last in the majors in a plethora of offensive categories. But recently, the Padres’ offense has been great.
While the main contributions to the offense are coming from places you might expect – like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, there are a number of key contributions from guys you might not assume are playing a role. Guys like Jake Cronenworth, Freddy Fermin, and, for the purposes of this piece, Luis Campusano. When we look closely at Campusano’s stats, it’s easy to be impressed by the absorption in his craft it must take in order to perform at such a high level despite his limited opportunities.
Campusano, a once highly-touted prospect, has missed around 2 months of the season due to injury, and he’s clearly the backup to Fermin. As a result, his offensive opportunities are limited. According to Baseball HQ’s playing time metrics, Campusano has averaged only 10.8 plate appearances per week he’s been active, and in those active weeks, he’s averaged just 2.7 starts each week. Unless you are a fantasy manager in a deep, 2-catcher league, there isn’t much value to be had there, right?
But look at Campusano’s stat line for the season: .313 BA, .409 OBP, .516 SLG%, and a .925 OPS. Granted, those numbers come from just 146 plate appearances, but on a per-PA basis, this guy is really good.
And lately, since his return to action on July 4th, his playing time has picked up significantly. In the six weeks since his return, he’s received 92 plate appearances (which is up to 15 per week) and 77 at-bats (12.5 per week). That number of opportunities starts making Campusano potentially viable in 12-team, 2-catcher leagues.
His offensive numbers make him a potential must add: Since July 4th, he’s hit .325 with 2 HR, 4 doubles, 7 R, and 13 RBI while holding a 15.2% BB% but only an 18.5% K%. His HH% for the season is a robust 45.3% while his Barrel% is 10.5%. This guy can hit.
One of the things I love about baseball is truly wanting to root for players, and these are two guys I am happy to cheer for in both a real-life and fantasy sense. May we all learn something from them about how Wise Samadhi can change things for the better.
Until next week. –ADHamley
