Batter’s Box: Yo Soy Del Villar

Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire

In the limited time he’s been with the team, Jonathan Villar has been hitting well since being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, slashing .471/.500/.706 during that span, including yesterday’s 3-3, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB performance. On the year, he’s been solid, but he wasn’t getting much playing time with the Milwaukee Brewers. That’s going to change now, though, because the Orioles are going to put Villar out there every single day (they’ve got no better options), and that means Villar could be an interesting fantasy option. It was just two years ago that he hit .285 with 19 home runs and 62 stolen bases. Even last year, despite the average dropping to .241 he still hit 11 home runs and stole 23 bases. He’s got a good power/speed mix, and given full playing time in Baltimore in the hitter-friendly AL East, I think Villar could be worth a grab. He’s available in 71% of leagues.

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

Nick Markakis (OF, Atlanta Braves) – 4-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. I miss Markakis as an Orioles fan, but I’m so happy to see him doing so well this year, he deserves it.

Ender Inciarte (OF, Atlanta Braves) – 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. You don’t usually get too many home runs from Inciarte, but that’s not why you drafted him. You drafted him for steals and unfortunately he hasn’t had one of those since July 4. If he’s not getting you steals and he’s hitting for a poor average (.261 over the past month) with no power, I can understand dropping him. The problem is, there’s always the potential that he goes off and steals like six bases in a week.

Avisail Garcia (OF, Chicago White Sox) – 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. What a stat sheet stuffing game from Garcia. He’s been hitting the ball really well this year when healthy and should be owned—he’s available in 51% of leagues.

Joey Wendle (2B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – 3-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. I kinda wish Wendle’s playing time was a bit more consistent, but when he’s out there he’s good, slashing .370/.446/.644 over the past month. If you can handle the somewhat inconsistent playing time, he’s worth a look, especially given his positional flexibility. He’s available in 91% of leagues.

Mallex Smith (OF, Tampa Bay Rays) – 4-5, 1 R, 1 SB. Mallex is back on a hot streak, slashing .397/.480/.587 over the past month with eight steals. He’s worth riding the streak, he’s available in 76% of leagues.

Derek Dietrich (3B/OF, Miami Marlins) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. The Derek Dietrich hot streak has been slowing down in a major way, as he’s slashing .195/.250/.317 over the past two weeks. It may be time to hop off this train.

Trevor Story (SS, Colorado Rockies) – 1-6, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB. Story has had himself quite a nice month, slashing .313/.360/.663, though he’s been slowing down a bit with .250 average over the past two weeks. Still, he’s awesome and will continue to be awesome.

Ryan Braun (OF/1B, Milwaukee Brewers) – 2-4, 1 R, 2 SB. Braun is hard to own in anything but deeper leagues because he’s been so inconsistent. On the one hand, he’s slashing .308/.357/.513 over the past month, but on the other hand, there’s always a major risk that he gets injured, and yesterday’s game was only his second multi-hit game since June 27. He’s available in 45% of leagues and is worth a pick up in deeper leagues, but it might be best to either just ride the streak until something bad happens or let him sit in shallower leagues.

Whit Merrifield (2B/OF, Kansas City Royals) – 4-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. What a month for Whit Merrifield. He’s slashing .365/.430/.510 over the past month, I just feel bad that he’s stuck on the Royals. Also, can you believe he’s available in 9% of leagues? I mean, that’s not a lot but still.

Lucas Duda (1B, Kansas City Royals) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. The Duda abides. Nice game for Duda, but he’s slashing .213/.309/.375 over the past month, so I’ll pass.

Hunter Renfroe (OF, San Diego Padres) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Renfroe has awesome power, as evidenced by his .238 ISO over the past month, but his average is terrible, and until that gets better, there’s not much fantasy value here.

Mark Trumbo (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI. Check it out, Mark Trumbo is on a little hot streak, slashing .340/.373/.553 over the past two weeks. He’s a streaky player but if this is the start of a Trumbo hot streak, he might be worth a look. He’s available in 80% of leagues.

Evan Longoria (3B, San Francisco Giants) – 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Longoria’s come out of the DL hot, slashing .357/.391/.619 since his return. He’s available in 62% of leagues, he’s worth a look even if this is just a hot streak.

Aledmys Diaz (SS, Toronto Blue Jays) – 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Fun fact: Aledmys Diaz has a .413 ISO over the past month. And it’s not like it’s a result of a low average, he’s got a .333 average over that time and a .746 slugging percentage. He’s getting regular at-bats now that Lourdes Gurriel is on the DL and might be worth a look. He’s available in 96% of leagues.

Kyle Seager (3B, Seattle Mariners) – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. It’s been a tough month for Kyle Seager, slashing just .219/.266/.342. In fact, it’s been a tough season in general, and if you want to drop him, I kind of understand. The power is solid, he’ll probably still have around 25 home runs, but that’s about all that’s good about Seager. He’s got a career-high strikeout rate and an infield fly ball rate that’s at the highest it’s been since 2013.