Batter’s Box: Maiden, Mother & Cron

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

So C.J. Cron has been having himself a nice month, slashing .324/.370/.676 over the past 30 days, including yesterday’s 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI performance. With 22 home runs on the year already, Cron has well surpassed his career best and is on pace for nearly 30 home runs. This year, he’s seen an increase in his hard-hit rate from 35.8% last year (which was a career-high) to 38.2% this year, and an increase in his barrel rate from 10.2% last year (another former career-high) to 11.2% this year. The power is legit, there’s no doubting that—what’s going to be a pain to deal with will be the batting average, which is going to fluctuate. Still, it’s not going to be awful, and if you need power, you can handle the mediocre average. Cron is available in 58% of leagues.

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

Jake Bauers (OF/1B, Tampa Bay Rays) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. I find Bauers to be a really interesting prospect with a good power/speed combo, but there’s not much fantasy value here outside of dynasty leagues. For what it’s worth though, he’s rocking a solid .237 ISO over the past month.

Chris Davis (1B, Baltimore Orioles) – 2-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI. Chris Davis has a great .253 ISO over the past month, but that stops being so great when you realize it comes with a .181 average over that time span. There’s still nothing here, he’s still terrible.

Aaron Hicks (OF, New York Yankees) – 3-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Hicks is available in 39% of leagues and really should be owned in most leagues at this point. He’s slashing .333/.472/.481 over the past two weeks and has a ridiculous .309 ISO over the past month.

Yonder Alonso (1B, Cleveland Indians) – 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself because I’m putting Alonso in these Batter’s Box articles all the time, but the guy needs to be owned. He’s available in 61% of leagues and is slashing .309/.370/.568 over the past month. Like, come on people.

Melky Cabrera (OF, Cleveland Indians) – 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Melky Cabrera rises from the ashes like the Phoenix and says “I HAVE VALUE.” You do Melky, just as a person and not as a fantasy asset.

Scooter Gennett (2B, Cincinnati Reds) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. Scooter is out here proving last year was no fluke. The average may come down some as his .363 BABIP comes down, but he’s still been awesome and will continue to be awesome.

Nick Markakis (OF, Atlanta Braves) – 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. I’m sad that Markakis isn’t on the Orioles anymore but man am I glad to see him having the All-Star year he’s having.

Gregory Polanco (OF, Pittsburgh Pirates) – 3-4, 2 SB. After a rough start to the year, Polanco’s really been picking things up, slashing .304/.363/.652 over the past month. He’s still out there in about 18% of leagues so go grab him if he happens to be available.

Aledmys Diaz (SS, Toronto Blue Jays) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Diaz has had a nice month, slashing .286/.293/.518, but his playing time has been inconsistent, making him a difficult fantasy asset to roster.

Omar Narvarez (C, Chicago White Sox) – 3-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Great game from Narvarez who’s been hitting well, he’s just barely playing.

Tyler White (1B, Houston Astros) – 3-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. White was recalled from Triple-A with Jose Altuve heading to the DL. He’s not guaranteed a consistent role, but if he keeps hitting like this, he’ll get more playing time.

Ben Gamel (OF, Seattle Mariners) – 3-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Gamel’s got a nice average, but he’s pretty much a bag of chips—looks nice on the outside but is mostly air on the inside. There’s not much power or speed to speak of.

Justin Upton (OF, Los Angeles Angels) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. I would personally like to see Upton’s ISO a little higher than the .174 it’s been over the past month, but I’m being nitpicky. A .291/.396/.465 slashline is great.

Hernan Perez (3B/2B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Perez has some nice multi-positional eligibility and a solid power/speed combo, but with the acquisition of Mike Moustakas, it seems like the Brewers will be shifting Travis Shaw over to second base, which will eat into Perez’s playing time most likely.

Nick Ahmed (SS, Arizona Diamondbacks) – 3-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Don’t look now but Nick Ahmed is slashing .309/.333/.580 over the past month and he’s available in 94% of leagues. Even if this is just a hot streak, it’s one worth riding out.

Ben Zobrist (2B/OF, Chicago Cubs) – 4-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Ben Zobrist continues to be solid, slashing .348/.410/.455 over the past month. Even with the inconsistent playing time, he’s worth owning in deeper leagues given his production, and he’s available in 66%.