Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
So Melky Cabrera is still a thing. Ever since being called up from the minors last month, Cabrera has become the Cleveland Indians’ primary right fielder with Lonnie Chisenhall hurt, and he’s been pretty good, slashing .286/.333/.452 since that call-up. It’s easy to forget that Melky’s had some fantasy relevance over the past couple years, slashing a solid .285/.324/.423 with 17 home runs last year and .296/.345/.455 with 14 home runs the year before. What’s more, this production from Melky looks kinda legit. He’s got a career-best hard-hit rate at 37.9% right now and a xAVG of .303. He’s not someone that needs to be owned in every league, but if you need some help in the average department or if you’re in a deeper league, Melky could be pretty useful given his production right now. He’s available in about 97% of leagues.
Let’s take a look at some of the other performances from yesterday’s games:
Joey Wendle (2B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Wendle has been excellent lately, slashing .321/.370/.512 over the past month. His playing time is a little inconsistent, though it’s been getting better. He’s worth a look in deeper leagues and is available in about 85% of leagues.
Randal Grichuk (OF, Toronto Blue Jays) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Grichuk has a .224 ISO over the past month. He’s a guy who can give you some good power with an average that won’t kill you, worth a look if you need some home runs.
Greg Bird (1B, New York Yankees) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Nice game from Bird but I want to see it before I’m buying, he’s been pretty bad lately, slashing .204/.276/.355 over the past month.
Jose Peraza (SS/2B, Cincinnati Reds) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Peraza has had an excellent season and just keeps going. I think the thing that shocks me the most is his .482 slugging over the past month, he’s not a guy known for power.
Starlin Castro (2B, Miami Marlins) – 5-6, 3 R, 1 RBI. Really nice game for Castro, five hits and three runs is great. Too bad he’s on the Marlins.
Isaac Galloway (OF, Miami Marlins) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Galloway has been really good when he’s been out there, slashing .333/.407/.542 over the past month. Problem is, he’s not getting consistent playing time, and once Lewis Brinson is healthy, it’ll probably get even worse.
Whit Merrifield (2B/OF, Kansas City Royals) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB. Merrifield has been the one bright spot on a terrible Royals team, he’s awesome.
Alex Gordon (OF, Kansas City Royals) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. A nice fantasty resurgence for Alex Gordon over the past couple days, with two home runs now in two days, but he’s still not good.
Rougned Odor (2B, Texas Rangers) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Odor just keeps on truckin’, even if this is just a hot streak, it’s one worth riding.
Martin Maldonado (C, Houston Astros) – 3-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI. Nice game from Maldonado but he’s a backup catcher who’s hitting .167 over the past month, nothing to see here.
Khris Davis (OF, Oakland Athletics) – 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Khris Davis doing what he does best: Khrushing bombs.
Justin Turner (3B, Los Angeles Dodgers) – 4-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI. Turner has been tearing the cover off the ball, slashing .433/.514/.783 over the past month. The wait was worth it for him.
Chris Taylor (2B/SS/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers) – 1-5, 1 R, 2 SB. Nice to see Taylor get some steals as he’s been lacking in that department, but overall this has been a pretty disappointing season for him.
Yasiel Puig (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers) – 1-5, 2 RBI, 2 SB. Puig is awesome, he’s slaashing .274/.324/.500 over the past month with four steals. Just be aware that a suspension may be incoming from his fight with Nick Hundley, though he’ll keep playing while it’s on appeal.
Hunter Renfroe (OF, San Diego Padres) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Renfroe has been solid lately, slashing .270/.306/.562 over the past month. He’s got great power and can be useful if you need some home runs. He got hit by a pitch yesterday but X-Rays came back negative, so he should be fine.
