If you made it big in the restaurant business, you got a Chef’s Table.
At Fantasy Alarm we have one too. Expect here you don’t need a reservation. Or a fat stack to pay for it.
Each week I will profile a player or players based on increased street cred throughout the industry. Whether because of a recent hot streak, increased playing time or a promotion because of an injury. From there I will break down the recipe for that player’s success and determine if he is just a flash in the pan or someone who is gonna bring home the bacon.
Today’s Special: Delino DeShields, 2B, OF (TEX)
After fizzling out in the Astros farm system DeShields was snagged by the Rangers in the Rule 5 Draft this past winter and has made an instant impact since his promotion to the big leagues. However, the 22-year-old rookie slashed .267/.362/.396 with 37 home runs in his five-year minor league career which is far from what scouts expected from him heading into his professional career. His 241 stole bases were certainly something worth following, but now in the big leagues will he be able to sustain his current rate?
Through his first 53 big league at-bats DeShields is slashing .283/.397/.396 with five extra-base hits, nine RBI and 10 stolen bases which is more than enough to warrant deep league fantasy consideration while predominately playing left field for the Rangers while Leonys Martin continues to play sparingly while nursing a wrist injury. Once Martin is healthy to return to the everyday starting lineup DeShields could still see some playing time considering he is hitting .306 against right-handed opposition in the early going.
Although what he has shown has been solid thus far the fact remains he is really only going to help out in one category when everything is said and done, which is with his legs on the base paths. Once pitchers figure him out we will see both his batting average and on-base percentage fall back to his career average from the minor leagues, that is if he can actually earn enough playing time to prove what he can do either way. For starters, he is going to have to learn to limit his strikeouts, as he is currently sitting on a strikeout rate over 25 percent which is right around his five-year minor league mark of 24 percent.
For now outside of deep mixed and AL-only leagues DeShields should be avoided although his first 53 big leagues at-bats have been a success. Even in those formats he should only be started by teams in desperate need of steals as it is likely going to be the only area he will help out while seeing regular playing time. If he continues to play this well great. I'm just not buying it for standard leagues until we see more from him over the course of the next few weeks.