Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire
Ever since the New York Yankees called up Luke Voit he’s been destroying the ball, slashing .308/.372/.615 on the season with eight home runs in just 29 games (that’s a full-season pace of over 40 home runs), including yesterday’s 2-4, 1 R performance. He’s available in 68% of leagues and it’s natural to ask, “How real is this?” Well, obviously it’s a very small sample size, but Voit currently has a 44.2% hard-hit rate with a killer 17.6% barrel rate. So is the power legit? I think it is. The average however is due for some regression, thanks to a .356 BABIP and a .259 xAVG. Still, he’s hot right now, and it’s the playoffs, so you don’t need season-long production, you need someone who’s going to kill the ball for a couple weeks and Luke Voit might be that guy. Go grab him.
Let’s take a look at some of the other performances from yesterday’s games:
Kevin Kiermaier (OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Kiermaier’s slashline on the season looks pretty pitiful, but over the past month, he’s hitting .295/.333/.523. He’s playing fairly consistently and has a nice mix of power and speed (which we’ve seen in the past), so he warrants a look in some deeper leagues where you might need an outfielder. He’s available in 88% of leagues.
Hunter Renfroe (OF, San Diego Padres) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Renfroe has been killing the ball, slashing .286/.306/.619 over the past month. His power has never been in question, it’s just been his batting average thanks to his terrible plate discipline. So how’s that looking? Well, in August, his strikeout rate dropped to 20.9% from 32.3% in July, which is a great sign. Not only that, but his .302 average in August came with a .299 BABIP, so I think it’s fair to say this is pretty legit. He’s still available in about 59% of leagues, so go grab him.
Phillip Ervin (OF, Cincinnati Reds) – 3-3, 4 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI. Man, what a game for Ervin, but he hasn’t been that great this year, so there’s not much fantasy value here.
Yan Gomes (C, Cleveland Indians) – 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Gomes has been hot over the past month, slashing .319/.324/.458. His playing time isn’t super consistent, but catcher is a miserable position right now, so if you’re in need, Gomes makes for an interesting guy. He’s available in 64% of leagues.
Kevin Pillar (OF, Toronto Blue Jays) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Great game from Pillar, but he’s been pretty meh lately, slashing .247/.271/.419 over the past month (what a godawful OBP). I’m not really interested in him in the playoffs.
Lewis Brinson (OF, Miami Marlins) – 3-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Brinson’s on a nice six-game hitting streak with four multi-hit games in there. The guy’s a super talented prospect but has been pretty bad this year, so he’s best left on your waiver wire for now.
Marcell Ozuna (OF, St. Louis Cardinals) – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Since Ozuna’s come back, he’s got two multi-home run games, which is nuts. In fact, he’s got eight hits and four home runs in the past three games. He’s surging at the perfect time.
Harrison Bader (OF, St. Louis Cardinals) – 2-4, 1 SB. Bader has been slashing .295/.379/.534 over the past month and is available in 74% of leagues. Sometimes in the playoffs, grabbing guys who are hot can be the difference between moving forward and not, so go grab him while he’s hot. Whether it’s legit is something you can worry about in the preseason for next year.
Jeimer Candelario (3B, Detroit Tigers) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Great game for Candelario, but he’s been pretty terrible lately with just a .233 average and .388 slugging over the past month, so it’s best to ignore him.
Shohei Ohtani (SP/DH, Los Angeles Angels) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Man oh man, Shohei Ohtani. That’s now three-straight games with a home run and a total of four home runs in three games (not to mention a stolen base). He’s been recommended for Tommy John surgery, so I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen going forward, but you might as well keep rolling him out there when he’s hitting.
Andrelton Simmons (SS, Los Angeles Angels) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Simmons has finally been picking things up a bit, slashing .283/.291/.509 over the past two weeks after a bad month. Hopefully he’ll keep it going through the playoffs.
Johan Camargo (SS/3B, Atlanta Braves) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Camargo has been surprisingly good this year and has been really hot lately, slashing .340/.419/.642 over the past two weeks. He’s still available in 57% of leagues so I’d recommend grabbing him.
Ramon Laureano (OF, Oakland Athletics) – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Don’t look now, but Laureano has been slashing .303/.397/.621 over the past month with three steals. He’s available in 93% of leagues and might be worth a grab while he’s hot.