Tyler O’Neill (STL): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
After missing the previous 10 days on the IL, Tyler O’Neil continued right where he left off as he blasted his tenth home run of the season and second in as many days. O’Neill’s first two games back from the injured list have produced a combined three for nine with a pair of home runs and four RBI. Even with two stays on the ILt within the first two months of the season, O’Neill doesn’t seem to miss a beat while he is on the field as he’s currently sitting in the top 1% of the league in barrel rate at 21.1%.
Since returning from his first IL stint in mid-April, O’Neil is slashing .296/.333/.679 with nine home runs and 4 stolen bases. Assuming he can stay away from the IL once again it would seem the Cardinals have finally allowed their left fielder to play every day as he continues to produce on a daily basis.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday
Kyle Lewis (SEA): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
After ending his five-game hit streak Thursday, Kyle Lewis jumped right back on the horse with his seventh multi-hit game of the season. Lewis’ two-run home run in the third inning was the final time the Mariners would score on the day and luckily that was enough to walk away with the victory. Lewis has made slight adjustments so far this season in an attempt to cut down those strikeouts, now seeing his season-long rate cut below the 25% mark while flipping his fly ball to ground ball ratios from last year.
Josh Reddick (ARI): 3-5, 2B, R, RBI.
Remember Josh Reddick? He’s back, in Diamondbacks form. Since joining the Arizona outfield a little over a week ago, Reddick has quietly produced with a hit in five of his seven starts. The three-hit night was the second multi-hit performance in this short period. With Christian Walker currently on a rehab assignment, once would expect Pavin Smith to be moved to the outfield upon Walker’s return, forcing a cut to Reddick’s recent everyday role.
Tommy Pham (SD): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Tommy Pham is back in the leadoff spot for the Padres and producing like he belongs there. Friday marked Pham’s third straight game with two hits on the night, and in the past two weeks Pham is hitting a respectable .279/.446/.605 with more walks than strikeouts and a run scored in all but two games in that span. It should go without saying that if Pham sticks in that leadoff spot he should see plenty of opportunities to score runs and add to his stolen base total in San Diego.
Rougned Odor (NYY): 4-5, HR, R, RBI.
Rougned Odor made his first big splash in a Yankees uniform with his four-hit performance Friday, just his second multi-hit game of the season. Odor took advantage of the short right field porch in New York to hit his fifth home run of the season, this one needing to travel just 362 feet to hit the seats. Injuries around the infield have continued to open up more playing time for Odor in New York, with the recent IL placement of Luke Voit being the most recent reason we should continue to see him receive regular playing time at second base for the Yankees, despite the .198/.296/.395 season-long slash line.
Jeimer Candelario (DET): 3-4, 2B, RBI.
Detroit’s regular third baseman collected his 14th multi-hit performance of the season, bringing his slash line up to .286/.356/.411 on the season. Though his overall hard-hit rate is slightly below his 2020 total, Candelario did collect three hard hits on the night, tying him with the aforementioned Odor for most in the game, and has now hit 14 barrels in each of the last three seasons, with plenty of time left in 2021 to add to that total.
Robbie Grossman (DET): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.
Robbie Grossman ordered his first combo meal of the season in style, clobbering a walk-off home run over the left field wall in Friday’s extra-inning matchup with the Yankees. Grossman somewhat surprisingly has more stolen bases than home runs on the season, now stealing eight bags to go along with his 6th jack. He’ll continue to be a perfectly serviceable outfielder as he continues to play every day in Detroit switching between the two corner outfield spots for the Tigers.
Whit Merrifield (KC): 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI.
In perhaps an attempt to make up for the recent outage, Whit Merrifield knocked in three runners on Friday night marking the first RBI’s he’s recorded since May 16th. The focus with the Royals’ leadoff hitter of course has been scoring runs and stealing bases, which he has done plenty of on an almost daily basis. Merrifield ranks within the top 20 in the American League in runs scored while enjoying a comfortable lead across both leagues with his 14 stolen bases.
Justin Turner (LAD): 3-5, 2 R.
Justin Turner continues to show why, despite the stigma of being 36 years old, it was a priority for the Dodgers to make sure he came back to man the hot corner in Los Angeles. Turner’s last two games have combined for a 4-9 line with a home run, three runs, and two RBI, bringing his season slash to .275/.364/.472.
Chas McCormick (HOU): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.
The 370-foot fourth-inning home run was McCormick’s fourth on the season and second in the past four games. His playing time has been spotty most of the season, but McCormick may be the beneficiary of a recent trip to the IL by one Michael Brantley, despite the .188/.255/.479 slash line.
H2H 15×15 points league lose points on Ks, drop Swanson to Add O’Neill?
Assuming you’ve got another SS, sure, I’d consider that based on how O’Neill’s been producing. Hard to fully commit without knowing the parameters of the points system, but in a league with 12 or less teams I’d rather roster O’Neill.
My league is C, 1b, 2b, 3b, SS, 1b/3b, 2b/SS, lf, cf, RF, of, of, of, util. Other SS/2b are mondesi, bichette, Albies, biggio, j. Rojas, hoerner, Suarez. Obviously they’re spread out at other spots and IL. Basically points awarded for singles, doubles, triples, hrs, total bases, bb, ibb, runs, sb, RBIs, hits, xbh, lose points for errors, KS and gidp. I added anyway lol.