What’s somewhat confusing to me is Eugenio Suarez was generally drafted in most leagues. Sure, his ADP was at the end of drafts in like the 24th round or so, but he was drafted and widely owned to begin the year. Now, he’s available in around 47% of ESPN leagues, but he’s doing just about exactly what he did last year. On Tuesday night, Suarez went 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, continuing the hot streak he’s been on the past two weeks, slashing .288/.367/.577 over the past 15 games. His batting average is mediocre, that’s what he did last year batting .248 and that’s what he’s doing this year batting .258 so far. In fact, if anything, Suarez has improved over last year. His walk rate has jumped up, which has made him quite useful in OBP leagues, and the power has jumped up too (though that’s mostly due to an increase in HR/FB rate as his hard hit rate has actually slightly decreased). He’s going to have roughly the same numbers as last year save for the 10 steals (he’ll probably end the year with five or six). I’m not saying he needs to be owned in every single league, he’s not a world-beater or anything, but a guy who bats in the high-.250s/low-.260s and ends the year with 25 or so home runs and probably upwards of 80 runs and 70 RBIs is pretty useful. If you’re in need at the corner infield spot and he’s out there, I’d grab him.
Let’s take a look at some of the other performances from Tuesday:
Brett Gardner (OF, NYY) – 1-4, 2 SB. Gardner’s always been a stolen base machine, and even in a disappointing year last year, he still stole 16 bases, but this year he’s amped the power back up and is stealing more bases. He’s seen a drastic increase in hard hit rate, from 25.8% last year to 32.7%, and that’s why the home runs are back. He’s going to end the year at 20/20 barring some sort of injury, which will be the first 20/20 season of his career.
Eduardo Nunez (SS/3B/OF, BOS) – 3-5, 4 RBI. So I guess Eduardo Nunez like his new home. Since joining the Red Sox, Nunez has hit .500/.542/.955 and has been playing second base (look out for some new eligibility coming in your league if it hasn’t already). Nunez has been awesome this year and there’s no reason to think he’ll stop, as he’ll likely bat around .300 the rest of the way and end the year with around 10 home runs and 30 steals. It’s actually a bit down from last year’s season, but it’s still pretty awesome.
Ian Happ (OF/2B, CHC) – 2-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Happ has been pretty bad over the past month, slashing just .217/.299/.362. I would imagine he’ll snap out of this slump eventually, but I’m not expecting him to hit much better than like .240 the rest of the way thanks to his nearly-30% strikeout rate. The guy has some good power and will likely end the year with 20 home runs, but there’s not much else here to make him worthwhile.
Jarrod Dyson (OF, SEA) – 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Ah Jarrod Dyson, the classic “steals and nothing else” player. He’s been doing exactly that this year, batting in the .240s with no power, barely any RBIs, a decent amount of runs, and tons of steals. He’ll end the year with probably 35 steals, but that batting average is rough and it’s been worse over the past month (.207). If you’re desperate though, the man will provide you with speed, just little else.
Joey Gallo (3B/1B, TEX) – 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI. Speaking of one category guys, hello Joey Gallo. He’s actually been hitting .243 over the past month, which with his power is a batting average you’ll gladly take. Still, I wouldn’t expect that to continue given his 38.1% strikeout rate. I’ve said before that Gallo is the new Adam Dunn, the classic three true outcome hitter, and if you need the power, Gallo will provide it, you just have to deal with that horrible batting average. He’s a little easier to stomach in OBP leagues thanks to his solid walk rate, but in standard leagues, he’s only useful if you really need power/RBIs.
Kevin Pillar (OF, TOR) – 1-3, 1 R, 1 SB. Pillar was supposed to be a guy who contributed well in just about every category without dominating a single one. He’d grab you 20 steals, bat in the .260s, hit 10-15 home runs, grab a decent number of runs and RBIs, but he hasn’t done that this year. In fact he’s been pretty bad, and it’s been disappointing. That being said, some of it has been some bad luck I believe, thanks to a .266 BABIP. The increase in power is nice and it looks legit as his hard hit rate has jumped up this year too. I still think a fringe-of-20/20 season is possible for Pillar by year’s end, with a batting average in the .260s, but he’s slumping hard right now. If you believe in him like I (somewhat) do, he’s available in around 70% of ESPN leagues.
I don’t think Suarez is confusing. He runs hot and cold. He is not consistent at all is why he is not widely owned. He actually compares poorly to Happ in all regards who you dont think of as much of an asset.