Batter’s Box: Astu-Stu-Studillo, Just Say The Word

Photo by Lawrence Iles/Icon Sportswire

Since the Minnesota Twins called him up, Willians Astudillo has been hitting the ball really well, slashing .344/.382/.625 including yesterday’s 3-4, 1 RBI performance.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t been getting a ton of playing time as the Twins have generally elected to start Mitch Garver over him at catcher (though he also has played second base, third base, and the outfield), but when he’s been out there, he’s been quite good. So how real is this? Well, looking at his peripheral stats, there might actually be something here. His season line is at .314/.340/.529 (he had an eight-game stint with the Twins earlier this year), and that comes with a .283 BABIP, a .310 xAVG, and a .502 xSLG. He’s not someone I’m going to say you need to grab in your shallow leagues in the playoffs right now—his playing time is too inconsistent for that—but if you’re in a dynasty league, Astudillo is someone you might want to grab. If he ends up with more playing time next year and keeps this up, he could be interesting.

Let’s take a look at some of the other hitting performances from yesterday’s games:

Avisail Garcia (OF, Chicago White Sox) – 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Just a heads up—Avisail Garcia is on one of his hot streaks again, slashing .321/.441/.607 over the past two weeks. He’s a hot and cold kind of guy and he’s hot now, so grab him for your playoffs. He’s available in 81% of leagues.

Trey Mancini (1B/OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Mancini’s had a really rough year (like the entire Orioles team), but he’s still shown some good power, logging his 22nd and 23rd home runs of the year yesterday. I still believe in his future, but for right now, there’s not really any value here.

Andrew McCutchen (OF, New York Yankees) – 3-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Cutch has been heating up over the past week, slashing .353/.571/.765. Yankee Stadium is a significantly better venue for him to hit in than AT&T Park, so I expect him to do better.

Aaron Altherr (OF, Philadelphia Phillies) – 4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI. Oh hey there Aaron Altherr. One of the more productive guys around last year has bombed hard this year. He’s barely playing and has been terrible so there’s really nothing here.

Jeff McNeil (2B, New York Mets) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. McNeil has just been on fire, slashing .386/.421/.574 over the past month. He’s clearly due for regression, but in the playoffs, all you really need is a hot week or two, and McNeil is giving you that. He’s still available in 76% of leagues and is worth a pickup.

Jay Bruce (OF/1B, New York Mets) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Bruce has been kinda mediocre in the average department lately, but he’s had a .341 ISO over the past two weeks. If you need power, he’s pretty widely available.

Josh Donaldson (3B, Cleveland Indians) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. HE’S BACK. Well, maybe not, but at least he’s on the field. Personally, I’m not sure how you can trust Donaldson in a playoff matchup—he’s very high risk, though there is high reward there too if he’s healthy. Personally, I wouldn’t feel confident in starting him.

Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF, Atlanta Braves) – 4-5, 2 R, 2 RBI. Acuna was a home run shy of the cycle here, this dude is amazing.

Yasiel Puig (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers) – 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Puig has been so up and down over the past month or so, but it seems like he’s back up now, slashing .375/.464/.792 over the past two weeks. When he’s hot, he’s amazing, so he’s worth a grab if he got dropped. He’s available in 41% of leagues.

Orlando Arcia (SS, Milwaukee Brewers) – 3-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. Arcia’s been hitting really well lately, slashing .300/.353/.400 over the past two weeks with a couple stolen bases. He hasn’t really lived up to his prospect expectations this year, but he’s been doing well lately, though not well enough that I’d recommend grabbing him for a playoff matchup, there are better options out there. It’s encouraging to see though, and I’m hopeful he can improve next year.

Travis Shaw (3B/2B, Milwaukee Brewers) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. A nice stat-stuffing game from Shaw here with a little bit of everything. Don’t expect many more steals from him though, that was just his third on the year.

Adalberto Mondesi (2B/SS, Kansas City Royals) – 2-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. If you haven’t picked up Adalberto Mondesi yet you’re wrong. He’s been slashing .308/.357/.526 over the past month with eight steals and is still available in 65% of leagues—go get him now.

Jurickson Profar (OF/1B/3B/SS, Texas Rangers) – 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Profar has had a great season this year and it’s going to be interesting to see what he does next year. He’s been slashing .287/.374/.483 over the past month and is still available in a handful of leagues. With his production and especially his positional eligibility, he’s still worth a grab if he’s available.