ZOBRIST A ROYAL

Ben Zobrist is a Royal as he was dealt to the club in exchange for Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks who head to the Athletics. Neither of the Athletics pieces matter at the moment in mixed leagues. As for what the Royals are getting…

Zobrist plays second and the outfield (well, those are the positions he plays most – he can play others). As of now the Royals have Alex Gordon on the DL (groin injury will keep him out until September) and Omar Infante has been one of the worst offensive players in baseball (.230-1-29-34 in 339 ABs). That certainly sounds like we’ll be seeing Zobrist on a daily bases in Kansas City. Hitting .268 with a .801 OPS, Zobrist has scored 39 runs in 67 games thanks in no small part to his .354 OBP. Know what his OBP was in 2013? Try .354. What about in 2012? Yep, .354. Crazy.

Zobrist moves to a better hitting environment and to a better overall lineup. The move certainly looks like a plus for Zobrist though it sounds like he will be batting 6th in the Royals lineup. His skills haven’t changed though so don’t expect his production to take some crazy leap forward.  

WERTH, ZIMMERMAN RETURN FOR NATIONALS

The Nationals are about to get healthy. Reports suggest that both Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth will return from the disabled list Tuesday. Zimmerman has been out more than a month with plantar fasciitis in his left foot while Werth has been out two months with two fractures in his left wrist.

Werth was hitting .208 with two homers and a .581 OPS this season in 27 games. A year removed from hitting .292 with 16 homers, 82 RBIs, 85 runs scored and nine steals, the 36 year old outfielder looked terrible. His track record suggests a rebound. The way he looked this season, and the nature of his injury, suggest caution. An outfielder five at the moment in mixed leagues.

Zimmerman was a mess through 56 games batting .209 with five homers and 34 RBIs over 56 games. His .611 OPS explains just how bad he was. He was hitting everything into the ground (53 percent ground ball rate, 44.5 for his career) and when he hit the ball he wasn’t squaring it up (16 percent line drive rate this season after a mark over 21 percent the last two seasons). His track record suggests a rebound. The way he looked this season, and the nature of his injury, suggest caution. He’s appeared at first base 56 times this season, was at third 23 times last season and in the outfield 30 times. That’s an incredible amount of versatility.

HESTON – SURPRISING ME

Chris Heston has been a star this season, a guy added off the waiver-wire in all mixed leagues. I’m surprised by that. Through 20 starts he’s 11-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. His K/9 rate of 7.07 ain’t great, his 2.50 BB/9 rate is solid but not outstanding. Ditto the .291 BABIP and 73 percent left on base percentage. The only outstanding skill he owns is his 57 percent ground ball rate helping him to a 2.57 GB/FB ratio. Oh yeah, he’s also allowed three runs in his last four starts. Just killing it. Still surprised, still expecting some pull back, still impressed.

TRAVIS NEW LEADOFF MAN?

As I wrote about in the Daily Trends piece, Jose Reyes was dealt to the Rockies for Troy Tulowitzki (there were other players involved). So who will fill the leadoff role for the Jays now, a primo position given that the Jays are the most explosive offense in baseball? Sounds like Devon Travis might be that guy. Since the calendar flipped to the month of July Travis has one impressive slash line (.364/.419/.455) with a .382 wOBA. The Jays lead baseball in runs scored, so the leadoff spot is a prime spot.

LATOS SURGING

Mat Latos will likely be dealt at some point in the next few days, and he’ll head to his new team on a roll. Over his last four outings he’s posted a 2.08 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 7.96 K/9 rate and he’s walked all of three batters. His velocity is back. The strikeouts are back. He’s not beating himself. He’s rolling through opponents right now. Solid backend arm in mixed leagues who is obviously trending upwards. 

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).