Batter’s Box: Harrison of a Gun

In my mind, Josh Harrison has always been one of the more underrated options in fantasy baseball for quite some time now. He’s always been someone who could hit near .300 with a little bit of power and some good speed. He’s typically been eligible at multiple positions (he’s eligible at 2B and 3B this year) and has quietly always been fairly productive. Well he wasn’t all that quiet on Monday, as he went 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. The guy has been productive, but he’s been scorching left-handed hitting, batting .423 against lefties so far this year. If you need someone to fill in at 2B or 3B, there are worse places to look than Josh Harrison, especially considering he’s been leading off a lot lately. He’s a good player and worth a look if you’re in need.

Let’s look at some of the other performances from Monday:

Manny Machado (SS/3B, BAL) – 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Hey, Manny Machado is pretty good right?

Jose Bautista (OF, TOR) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Well it’s about time Jose Bautista. Hitting just his second home run of the year, Bautista still has yet to surpass the Mendoza line. But he should level out, don’t worry.

Ryan Goins (2B/SS, TOR) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Nice game for Goins, but he has been painful on the season to say the least. There’s a whole lot of nothing here.

Chris Coghlan (2B/3B/OF, TOR) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Superman himself, Coghlan had himself a nice night on Monday, but like his teammate above, he’s done virtually nothing on the year (this was his first home run). Nothing to see here.

Tyler Collins (OF, DET) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Collins has been fairly hot so far this year, but seems to be in a platoon with Andrew Romine, which makes him somewhat difficult to consider owning.

Nick Castellanos (3B, DET) – 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Nice little game for Castellanos, but don’t expect much more in the way of stolen bases (if any more than just that one).

Andrew McCutchen (OF, PIT) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Call me optimistic, but I still believe in the Andrew McCutchen comeback this year. He’s had a ok-year in batting average, but has had some nice runs and RBI numbers. He’s a safe-floor guy, as his chase rate has hit a career low (though his hard hit rate has as well).

Billy Hamilton (OF, CIN) – 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB. Hey, Billy Hamilton is pretty fast, I dunno if you knew that.

Adam Duvall (OF, CIN) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Adam Duvall doing what he does best, mashing home runs.

Dee Gordon (2B, MIA) – 2-3, 1 R, 3 SB. More news like the Billy Hamilton news: Dee Gordon is also fast. Crazy stuff.

Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Honestly, the kind of night you’d expect from Ozuna. A .250-hitting night with a home run.

Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. I am so happy Conforto is finally getting a place to play consistently, he’s killing it. I’ve always liked him, I just never understood why he never got a place to play, but now he has it, and he’s wonderful.

Jose Reyes (3B, NYM) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Meh. Good for Reyes, but he’s been awful this year and there’s just nothing worth investing in at this point.

Ender Inciarte (OF, ATL) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Inciarte’s power has been somewhat of a surprise so far this year, as he’s generally a pretty light hitter, but it’s a welcome one. Certainly the stolen bases have been awesome, and I would expect he’ll keep that up to an extent.

Eric Hosmer (1B, KC) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Only his second home run all year, Hosmer has been really difficult to own. I understand the people bailing, but don’t just yet. Bench him for now, sure, but thins should come around a bit. He’s got a .257 BABIP, which I would imagine will level out at some point. His lowered hard hit rate is somewhat concerning, but I’m not panicking quite yet.

Jorge Bonifacio (OF, KC) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Nice game for Jorge Bonifacio, but there’s a whole lot of nothing here.

Jonathan Villar (SS/2B/3B, MIL) – 2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. To all the people freaking out about Jonathan Villar – he is who we expected him to be. The power is there, the speed is there, but unfortunately, so are the strikeouts. He’s gonna have a low average, but enough power to hit 15 home runs or so while stealing a ton of bases. He’s fine.

Travis Shaw (1B/3B, MIL) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Travis Shaw is having a nice start to his year, and Monday night was just another continuation of that. The average has been ok, but the RBIs and runs have been awesome, enjoy it.

Aledmys Diaz (SS, STL) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. A solo home run for Diaz who’s been difficult to own with his barely-above .200  average so far. But don’t worry, the guy’s BABIP is .203, things will even out.

Matt Carpenter (2B/1B/3B, STL) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. After starting off a little slow, Carpenter is really picking it up. The average will continue to pick up, as will the counting stats.

Jedd Gyorko (2B/3B/SS) – 4-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. How good has Jedd Gyorko been lately? He’s mashing against lefties and righties like he doesn’t even care, and two home runs for him on Monday night just add fuel to the fire of hype around Gyorko. The guy is a good player, and the Cardinals are going to continue to find places for him to play, don’t worry.

Michael Saunders (OF, PHI) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Saunders’s second home run of the year came on Monday night, which is great for him, but generally, there’s just not much here, not to mention the injury concern that comes along with Saunders.

Tommy Joseph (1B, PHI) – 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Man, it’s been a rough go if you own Tommy Joseph this year, but he finally gave you something if you somehow had the foresight to start him Monday night.

Freddy Galvis (SS, PHI) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. The Phillies in general had their way with the Cubs in Wrigley on Monday, and Galvis was another beneficiary of that. However, unlike Saunders and Joseph, Galvis has actually been fairly productive so far this year. Galvis is in a platoon, with the advantage, and has steadily been moving up in the lineup. In the right matchup, he might be worth a look here and there, especially in deep leagues.

Javier Baez (2B, 3B, SS) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Javier Baez was one of the few bright spots in a rough game for the Cubs on Monday night. He’s had a rough go of it so far this year, I don’t know that I’d necessarily drop him just yet, but I’m certainly not starting him and his leash is getting shorter and shorter.