Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
Being a Francisco Lindor owner last year was a lot like being a spoiled rich kid. Yeah, he gave me 33 homers and 15 stolen bases and nearly 100 runs and RBI, but he only hit .273. How dare he not give me an elite batting average? Does he know who my father is?
Considering he profiled as having elite contact ability as a prospect, it seemed likely that he would be able to get his average back up this year, but it was a bit of a mystery whether the power gains from last year would stick. After yesterday’s 4-4, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI performance, we can probably consider that question answered. Lindor is up to 12 homers and five stolen bases on the year already. He’s boosted his hard contact up to 42.3% after posting just a 35.2% rate last year, and his uptick in line drives likely means his .311 average to this point is sustainable. So owners will have to find something else about Lindor to complain about this year. How about his lack of catcher eligibility?
Trevor Story (SS, Colorado Rockies): 3-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB – If somebody writes a biography about Trevor Story after he dies, I really hope the author doesn’t pass up the opportunity to close it with, “End of Story.” Story runs hot and cold, and has been hot lately, hitting .304 with three homers over the past week.
John Hicks (1B, Detroit Tigers): 3-4, R, HR, 3 RBI – Um, I believe he prefers it if you refer to him as “John Countrypeople.” Hicks has filled in for Miguel Cabrera admirably, slashing .290/.324/.536 this season.
Kyle Seager (3B, Seattle Mariners): 3-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI – Just your tri-weekly reminder that Kyle Seager’s face was formed in the same mold as Sean Penn’s. And while I Am Sam was a great film, I’m much preferring Seager’s recent performance in I Can Slam. Seager is slugging .621 over the past week.
Ryon Healy (1B, Seattle Mariners): 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI – I don’t believe in Ryon Healy. I also don’t believe in Santa Claus, but if I saw a bunch of presents for me lying around that read “From Santa” I could suspend my disbelief for a moment. It’s hard to argue against the .339 average and seven homers Healy has provided over the last 15 games.
Gary Sanchez (C, New York Yankees): 2-4, 3 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB – Sanchez has hit half his 10 homers over the past two weeks, but still has just a .209/.304/.504 slash to show for it. He’s struggling with a .205 BABIP so expect him to turn it around soon.
Evan Gattis (C/DH, Houston Astros): 2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, SB – I have no idea how or why Gattis stole a base yesterday. I think somebody must have told him there was a 40-ounce bottle of Miller High Life and a bag of Bugles on second base that was up for grabs. Despite his big night, Gattis has looked lost at the plate this season, hitting just .210 with two homers.
Freddie Freeman (1B, Atlanta Braves): 3-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI – Taters gonna tate, and Freeman is the tatiest of taters.
Willson Contreras (C, Chicago Cubs): 3-5, R, HR, 3 RBI – Contreras continues to whittle away at his strikeout and whiff rates, and is now up to a .281 average on the year. Contreras has posted a 25% HR/FB over the past two seasons, and it’s fairly safe to say that’s unsustainable. His current 10% rate is likely more realistic.
Matt Davidson (3B, Chicago White Sox): 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB – Welcome back to Batter’s Box, Batt Davidson, we have a table waiting for you. That’s now 10 homers for Davidson this season, and his .380 OBP makes him a top option in formats that value the category.
Michael Brantley (OF, Cleveland Indians): 3-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI – Brantley now has a 97.3% z-contact rate, and is firing on all cylinders, batting .342 this year.
Jorge Soler (OF, Kansas City Royals): 3-4, RBI – I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Jorge Soler to face off against Gerrit Cole so we can finally put to bed this argument about which is better: clean Cole or Soler power. Soler is now batting .414 over the past week.
Alen Hanson (2B, San Francisco Giants): 2-3, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB – Alen “Mmmbop” Hanson cannot be Mmmstopped. He’s slashing .298/.346/.638 since he started filling in for Joe Panik with four homers and three steals, and I think there’s even more untapped speed in there.
C.J. Cron (1B/DH, Tampa Bay Rays): 4-8, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB – I finally realized why C.J. Cron reminds me of a caveman; it’s because his last name sounds like a smooshed version of “Cro-Magnon,” which is what they called some of the early homo sapiens from the Paleolithic era who lived in caves. Also, he kinda looks like somebody who smashes their dinner with a wooden club before eating it. Cron has been on fire for the past month now, batting .298 with eight homers over his last 30 games.
Mike Trout (OF, Los Angeles Angels): 0-1, 4 BB – Walk four, take your balls. Wait, that’s not right. Trout now has 34 walks this season, which is 30 more than Adam Jones has for his entire career. Trout is a great add in OBP formats, and also literally any format because HE’S MIKE TROUT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.
Great content as usual.
With Gennett on same – if not better – pace as last year with peripherals supporting him, do you see much of a difference in counting stats between Gennett and Schoop ROS for a standard season-long roto league (R / HR / RBI / AVG / SB)?
Thanks for reading. I think Schoop has more power but that the rest of the stats will likely be close. I see Gennett as a low-20’s HR guy and Schoop as about a 30 HR guy.
I think they will be close too. Gennet had 27 HR and nearly 100 RBI last year in far fewer AB’s than Schoop last year and Gennet is looking like 2017 wasn’t a fluke.
The Gattis write-up made my day