Photo by: Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire
If you stopped paying attention to baseball (which, how could you?), you may have missed that Adalberto Mondesi has been on an absolute tear. Like seriously, he’s been amazing. Over the past month, he’s slashing .329/.374/.565 with 10 stolen bases, including yesterday’s 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB performance, contributing in just about every way imaginable. So naturally, there are two questions that come with this—first, is this legit enough that I need to pay attention to him next year? And second, should I pick him up now? I’ll answer the second question first—absolutely you should pick him up right now. He’s available in 61% of leagues and regardless of whether this is just a hot streak and all luck or whether this is legit, it doesn’t matter. This is the fantasy playoffs, all you need is a hot week or two, and all signs are pointing to Mondesi keeping this up for the time being. But to his value next year, I think it’s important to look at his peripherals. In the past month, he’s sporting a .377 BABIP along with a .261 xAVG on the season, both of which suggest some regression is coming. But maybe not a ton, because he’s also got a 43.3% hard-hit rate over the past month, which is a good sign. Mondesi has been a hyped prospect for a while now, and it looks like he’s really coming into his own. Go grab him for now, and remember him next year, because he might be a very interesting name in drafts.
Let’s take a look at some of the other performances from yesterday’s games:
Yolmer Sanchez (2B/3B, Chicago White Sox) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. A nice game for Sanchez, but he’s been difficult to own lately, slashing .217/.294/.370 over the past two weeks. There’s nothing worth having here in fantasy.
Daniel Palka (OF, Chicago White Sox) – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Palka’s been hitting the ball really well lately, with a .306/.390/.722 slashline over the past two weeks. He got hurt in this game and is considered day-to-day for now, which makes trusting him in the fantasy playoffs difficult if his playing time is going to be inconsistent.
Cedric Mullins (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 4-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Mullins has slowed down from his awesome start when he was first called up, but he’s still a really interesting prospect with a good set of skills. If he’s available in a dynasty league, I’d recommend grabbing him for next year—I would almost guarantee he’ll see playing time.
Jonathan Villar (2B, Baltimore Orioles) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. We live in some strange world where Jonathan Schoop was traded to the Brewers for Villar (among others) and Villar has outperformed him in a big way. Villar’s still available in 42% of leagues and is slashing .286/.350/.457 with 11 steals over the past month, he’s worth a grab.
Adam Jones (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. Great game from Jones but his playing time has been really inconsistent lately as the Orioles have been giving their younger prospects playing time in Jones’ place, making him difficult to trust.
Mikie Mahtook (OF, Detroit Tigers) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Nice game from Mahtook but I’m not seeing much value here, given that he’s slashing .188/.297/.469 over the past two weeks. Still though, that’s a .281 ISO which is pretty impressive, but that average is hard to stomach.
C.J. Cron (1B, Tampa Bay Rays) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Cron’s cooled off lately, slashing .214/.267/.500 over the past two weeks. He’s also seeing really inconsistent playing time. The Rays have a really good week of matchups this week, but unless Cron is playing nearly every day, it’s hard to trust him in the fantasy playoffs.
Willy Adames (SS/2B, Tampa Bay Rays) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Adames is still going, slashing .313/.389/.450 over the past month. Like I said earlier, the Rays have a nice slate of matchups this week and Adames is someone worth grabbing—available in 81% of leagues.
Charlie Culberson (SS/3B/OF, Atlanta Braves) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Culberson is sporting a nice .196 ISO over the past month, but that becomes less interesting when you realize it’s because of a .217 average. I’m not interested.
Jorge Polanco (SS, Minnesota Twins) – 4-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Polanco’s been great, slashing .339/.351/.482 over the past two weeks. I wish we could see some steals out of him, but the production has been solid. If you need a middle infielder for the playoffs, he’s worth a look and is available in 93% of leagues.
Francisco Mejia (DH, San Diego Padres) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. The Padres have a tough slate of matchups ahead of them this week, but if/when Mejia gains catcher eligibility, I can understand starting him since that position sucks so much. For what it’s worth, while his average has been a kinda meh .259 since he was called up, he’s got a really nice .371 ISO.