Wow, there have been some big games and big injuries this week. If you play seriously at all, you have heard all about the problems of Noah Syndergaard and the career day from Anthony Rendon. Below, we skip by those headlines and highlight some nuggets that probably did not get the same buzz but could be important to helping shape your early May decisions nonetheless.
Didi Gregorius: The Yankees welcomed back Didi Gregorius from his should injury caused by the absurd sojourn playing out of position too early in the spring in the WBC. [Mini-rant over]. Didi had another good game Sunday going 3-6 with two RBI. On the weekend, Didi went a cool 7-15. Not too shabby. Now what? Well, if your leaguemates think Didi hit over his head last year and started that way this year, pounce. He is not Derek Jeter but he is a darn good player. Last year’s 20 dinger, 70 RBI season should not have been a surprise. After all, this is a player who is only 27 years old who has already had approximately 1,700 plate appearances at a time that many college kids are playing in their first or maybe second MLB season. More growth is on the horizon – especially in that rejuvenated lineup and looking at that short porch. Buy!
Matt Carpenter: Good hitters hit. Seems obvious but many often forget that simple fact. Sunday, Matt Carpenter went 2-3 with 3 RBI. After a slow start with some back issues, Carp is on the verge of breaking out. Even with the slow start, his OPS is near .800 and his OBP is around .375. Bottom line – he is seeing the ball well, hitting it hard and will no longer be a buy low candidate unless you act quickly.
Michael Foltynewicz: One of my pre-season favorites, Mike Foltynewicz has pitched much better than his 0-3 record would have you believe. Sunday, Folty gave up just one earned while striking out six in six innings of work. Forget the W-L record, Folty has a sweet 2.81 ERA/1.21 WHIP thus far with a swinging strike rate over 10 and a ground ball rate over 45. Buy now while you still can. Guys on the upswing in the NL East who throw 95 do not grow on trees.
Tyler Flowers: Staying with Atlanta, another of my pre-season faves, Tyler Flowers had a nice day Saturday, going 4-5 with a run and a RBI. It is not uncommon for catchers to break out around 30 once they learn the craft of catching and calling pitches in the big leagues. Last year, Flowers hit .270 with 8 dingers in basically part time play (280 AB). This year, he is hitting a cool .391 with 7 BB against 11K. Will he hit .390? No. Will he hit? Yes. He continues to make hard contact and be selective at the plate. When you do those two things, good things happen. Buy low while you can.
Jose Reyes: After a truly ugly start to 2017, Jose Reyes is heating up. Saturday, Reyes went 2-4 with a dinger and two runs scored. On the year, he still sits at a putrid .174. However, he hit .375 over the last week with 2 dingers and 2 swipes. He is not the superstar of yesteryear but I have no trouble seeing a .260 hitter with 15 dingers and 30 SB by years’ end. I can use that on all my teams. How about you?
Kole Calhoun: When you play next to Mike Trout it is easy to be overshadowed. However, you should not sleep on Kole Calhoun. Saturday, the Angels RF went 2-4 with a walk and a run scored. Solid unspectacular production. On the year, Kole is hitting .255 with two dingers. However, over the last three games, he is 6-14 with 5 runs scored. The key to his taking the next step is hit ability to hit LHP. Last year, he hit .290 against southpaws. If he can re-discover that stroke in 2017, a big jump in value is coming. I believe.
Adeiny Hechavarria: Last week, we wrote: “Hechavarria took the collar Friday in his return from the DL. Hechavarria hit a solid .281 in 2015 and a respectable .276 in 2014. Yes, he hit only .236 last year but that is deceiving. He was unlucky (BABIP went down approximately 50 points from the prior two campaigns). Indeed in 2016, the Marlins shortstop increased his contact rate to over 85%, struck out less, walked more, and jumped his hard contract percentage to over 32% -- a number far above league average. Yes, he is off to a slow start but he was hurt, has a decent track record for batting average as shown above and displayed a lot of growth in 2016. Will he be a superstar with the lumber? No. Will he be better than most predict? Yes. Deep leaguers pay attention.” Well, Hech delivered hitting .364 on the week. There are still doubters so do not sleep any longer if you play in a deep league.
And now, the moment you likely have not been waiting for -- Schultz says: “Going to start this week's Schultz Says with a little anecdote. Back in the early days of roto-baseball, it became a tradition for Schultz to acquire a young shortstop named Miguel Tejada for about $1 or $2 at the annual auction. The considerable excitement over obtaining a potential roto-stud at the outset of his career would quickly wane as Tejada's early Oakland days were typified by long stretches of futility interrupted by return visits to AAA. Somewhere in the midst of the third or fourth go-round with the Tejada, Schultz released him before the All-Star break, only to have a competing team pick him up on the cheap and benefit over the next 6 years as Miguel Tejada became F'N MIGUEL TEJADA. (Unquestionably, there's a Jose Canseco/performance enhancement joke here that you fine readers are more-than-welcome to insert in what we'll call the home version of Schultz Says).
Surely, this little anecdote has many different variations as every roto-owner has seen their lapsed belief in a young player come back to haunt them. How can this little story help you in 2017? Well, remember when Chris Owings was supposed to be the next great thing in Arizona, a remarkable combination of discipline, power and speed? If you do recall that once being the prevailing opinion, well done - it's been quite some time. Although he came to the big leagues in 2013, Owings is only 25-years-old and his current .318, 4 HR, 19 RBI and 7 SB is exactly what was expected of him. It just took a while to get there.
Avasail Garcia, another 25-year-old that feels like he's in his mid-30's, is finally rewarding his true believers . . . or more likely, the roto-owner that took a flyer on the tarnished prospect near the end of their draft/auction. Ending up with the White Sox as part of a 3-team trade that saw Jake Peavy leaving the Windy City, it feels like Garcia has perennially been on the verge of a breakout yet perpetually evolving into a source of frustration and disappointment. Leading a surprisingly feisty Pale Hose uprising, Garcia has leaped out to a .376, 5 HR, 20 RBI April that may not be an anomaly.
For those thinking that these starts are a fluke, think again. Like any youngling trying to become The One, it starts out with a wise mage pointing out "he's beginning to believe.”
Response: Dead on right. Roto owners are a fickle, what have you done for me today bunch. Players who reach the majors in their early 20s are playing with the best players in the world at a tender age for a reason – they have great talent. Keep that in mind as you evaluate 24-27 year olds that seem to have faded out.