Seth Brown (OAK): 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI.
Production surely comes in bunches for Oakland’s Seth Brown, and Sunday’s box score showed that to a tee. The Athletics’ right fielder went three for four with a pair of solo homers and three runs scored on the night as the A’s blanked the O’s five to nothing. The long balls were his 18th and 19th on the year, but his first in almost a month’s time, with number 17 coming back on August 7th. In between, Brown has recorded 94 plate appearances and recorded a whopping 13 hits and 31 strike outs, good for a uninspiring slash line of .159/.266/.195. On top of that, Brown only recorded five total barrels and a 33% hard hit rate in that time, so to say he was “due” for a day like we saw Sunday would have a bit of a stretch. Though these sort of Sunday outbursts will make or break a H2H weekly playoff match up in September, the fact that Brown is playing just about every day in right field is doing more harm than good to those in deeper formats just trying to grasp at the volume plays where they can.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday
TJ Friedl (CIN): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
TJ Friedl knocked out a pair of solo shots of his own on Sunday, giving him five on the season. All five have come since his return to to the Cincinnati line ups in mid August, forcing his way up to the top of the Reds’ line up in the process. Friedl finds himself on the strong side of a platoon with Jake Fraley at the moment and with 15 games in the next 13 games and just one opposing southpaw starter expected in the next eight games, Friedl should be given plenty of opportunity to run with that leadoff spot for the remainder of the season.
Julio Rodríguez (SEA): 4-6, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.
In case there was still any doubt, I present to you your 2022 AL Rookie of the Year award recipient.
Trevor Story (BOS): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Trevor Story has made plenty of noise since returning to the Red Sox line up about a week ago, now recording multiple hits in four of his last seven games and now knocking out his first homer since returning. Sunday’s bomb was Story’s 16th on the season and he should continue to try to make up for lost ground through September, even with the Sox being out of the running for extended October baseball.
Jose Altuve (HOU): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Jose Altuve will surely continue to mount up the counting stats as well through September, though his Astros have a firm grip on playing past October 5th. Sunday marked Altuve’s ninth multi-hit game in his last 14 played. He’s hitting as well as anyone right now and a pair of stolen bases over the weekend are surely a welcome sight to those in need of some speed down the stretch.
Carlos Correa (MIN): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
This was a nice change of pace for Correa, who had recorded just one hit in his previous 21 plate appearances. Still, the number two hitter in Minnesota has done little to disappoint, especially if you consider no one really expected him to (re)start running the bases again anyway. If you were simply hoping for 20 home runs and a helpful batting average then you got what you paid for. Anything on top of that is gravy.
Aaron Judge (NYY): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Aaron Judge, lead off hitter. Hey, whatever the Yankees can do to ensure the most chances the man has to breaking the American League home run record. Oh ya, and to win some games.
Will Smith (LAD): 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB.
Will Smith knocked out his 21st long ball of the season, tacking on another RBI to his lead leading total. Ok, it’s a league leading total among catchers, but still, it’s impressive. He also shares the lead among backstops in home runs. Hitting in the heart of the Dodgers’ line up most of the year will put most players in a position to succeed and Smith continues to take full advantage and live up to his 2022 fantasy draft slot.
Jake McCarthy (ARI): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Jake McCarthy continues to make a name for himself in the Arizona outfield, even with the Diamondbacks surrounding him with prospects that had already become household names on top lists. Though McCarthy now finds himself as one of four outfielders to feed playing time to for the Diamondbacks, he continues to find the volume to give himself the opportunity to put up lines like he did on Sunday. Hitting mostly in the middle of the order will give McCarthy more RBI opportunity surely, but the D-backs have not been shy at letting him utilize that 98th percentile sprint speed on the base paths, collecting 12 stolen bases on the season, all of which have come since his return to Arizona on May 20th.
Wilmer Flores (SF): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Flores could still flirt with a 20 homer season, as Sunday’s bomb was his 17th on the year, but he’ll need to get back to his early season pace. The Giants should continue to give him the opportunity as he sits in the three spot of the line up just about every day, bouncing around the infield and filling in at DH from time to time. His versatility makes him a good bench piece for the rest of the season as the Giants only have two off days remaining and a four game series in Coors in two weeks. Something to monitor down the stretch.
Nick Senzel (CIN): 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB.
Ok, this stat line is just from one of Senzel’s Sunday games and ya, it leaves out the 0-3 box score he put up in the second game. The man still produced for your fantasy team with a stolen base in each game, and a pair of stolen bases on a Sunday can make all the difference in your H2H match up. With the Reds’ schedule looking as plentiful as any out there, Senzel will provide as much volume as anyone, and unless he gets hurt, and he surely does get hurt, Senzel is roaming centerfield for the Reds every single day.