DFS PLAYBOOK PRO – An exciting offering from the Alarm is the DFS Playbook Pro. I will be doing a daily breakdown of the hitters – Hitting Coach – while Howard Bender looks into the Pitchers (Pitching Coach). You can find the link to the Hitting and Pitching articles under the DFS Playbook pro tab at the top right of the screen.
OTHER LINKS TO BOOKMARK
SHAME ON YOU KID
"Boys play Little League. Men play Major League Baseball. We will not pout. We will not feel sorry for ourselves. If you want to, then you don't belong here. He had to learn a lesson," manager Pete Mackanin explained. "To me, he's been pouting for a few days, and I just wanted to make sure that he gets the message… Character comes out when you're really struggling… You cannot afford to pout or feel sorry for yourself at this level. You've got to play like a man."
This little speech was the result of Odubel Herrera throwing his bat down and then jogging to first after fly out to left field. Mackanin is my new hero. Too many pro athletes don’t realize how fortunate they are to be making tons of money, while being adored by millions, to play sports. Not saying that’s Herrera, and hopefully he will learn his lesson, but this is the way all coaches should act and not kowtow to player simply because of their public stature or bank account.
As for Herrera on the field, he’s had a great rookie season, way better than I thought he would (probably better than everyone actually). Over 135 games the rook has hit .293 with a .335 OBP and .417 SLG. Only the average stands out, that .383 BABIP isn’t sustainable though, but that is still solid work. He has a mere eight homers, but he’s not a power bat. The 40 RBIs, well, that’s disappointing since he’s only hit leadoff first 27 times. His 59 runs scored should be a bit higher, but that’s a result of his teammates not hitting. As for the steals, 14 of them is nice, but eight caught stealing needs to be improved.
Don’t think he can improve much in 2016, but he’s a decent option as a depth play in the outfield no doubt.
REALLY IMPRESSED
Kendrys Morales is pushing hard for the finish batting .346 with six homers, 15 RBIs and 18 runs scored his last 19 games. He’s been tremendous, for the first time since 2009 actually. He “only” has 21 homers, but that’s nitpicking. He’s driven in 105 runs, 108 is his career best, in just his second season with more than 80 RBIs. He’s also batting .293, his first .280 effort since 2010. Basically he’s been fully healthy, and extremely productive after costing nothing on draft day. It’s fair to be a bit concerned moving into 2016 about his 2015 performance with RISP (.342/.413/.608).
BETTER THAN I THOUGHT
I was wrong about Kris Bryant. I thought he might struggle a bit. He hasn’t. I was sure he was overdrafted. Totally blew that.
Bryant is batting .329 with 15 RBIs and a .600 SLG over his last 18 games. That brings his series long effort to .273/.369/.496, those are strong numbers for any player, any position, with any amount of experience. For a rookie third baseman, they are excellent. He’s gone deep 25 times with a 16.3 HR/F ratio, a number he can completely maintain. He’s stolen 13 bases, and that’s a terrific bonus that could make him an elite option, not just at third base but at any position in 2016.
Can he maintain the batting average (.273)? The talent certainly suggests yes. At the same time some worries. (1) Bryant has a .375 BABIP. No one can maintain that level year after year. It’s just too high. (2) The guy is a whiff machine. His 31 percent K-rate is terrible, and he’s got a chance to hit 200 strikeouts this season (he current has 185 in 139 games). (3) He hits 46 percent of the balls into the air. That helps with the homers, but certainly puts his average at risk given that fly balls are least likely to end up in hits.
Tremendous effort this season. Let’s see if he can build on it to take the next step in 2016.
HEATING
Billy Butler has finally started to hit, though it’s too late to make a huge difference or change opinions on him. Still, I’m here to report, and over his last 18 games he’s batting .338 with a .409 wOBA. He’s gone deep four times with 14 RBIs as well. See if Big Country is available in your league.
Adam Eaton has a .571 SLG his last 19 games. Three homers, two steals, 13 RBIs and 13 runs scored while batting .377. He’s really turned it around after a terrible start and his season long numbers are up to .280-13-48-91-15. Did you maintain the faith?
He’s been hot all year, but Yunel Escobar has never been hotter than he is right now as he’s batting .423 with 14 runs scored over his last 17 games.
Don’t know if you noticed but… James Loney is batting .385 the last 16 games. Only has four RBIs, but the average is there.
Nick Markakis has 14 runs scored his last 17 games. That’s in no small part related to his .392 OBP.
Colby Rasmus has four homers and a .429 wOBA over his last 15 games. I can never trust the guy, but he’s producing at a high rate.
Domingo Santana is rolling right now for the Brewers. Over his last 18 games he’s gone deep three times, driven in 13, hit .339 and posted a .421 wOBA. Check to see if he’s on waivers.
COOLING
Delino Deshields is batting .207 with a .254 OBP his last 17 games. He has one steal, no homers and two RBIs. Limping to the finish line.
Brian Dozier has 27 homers, 11 steals, 70 RBIs and 97 runs scored. He’s been every bit the player he was last year, minus a few steals. He’s dying on the vine though right now. In September he’s hitting .176 with a .257 SLG, one homer and four RBIs. Hard to trust him at this point if you’re looking at the heart of your fantasy playoffs this week.
Matt Harvey… does anyone know what’s going on now?
Jhonny Peralta is a disaster. He’s hitting .190 with four RBIs in 16 games.
Yasiel Puig’s hamstring is at 65 percent according to reports. He will head to extended spring training this week and hopes to be back before the season is complete. Who knows? Lost season for Puig who has hit .256-11-38-30-3 over 77 games.
Mike Trout has six homers in September, but he’s also batting .258. Oddly, he has a 24.6 percent line drive rate on the year and has a four year low with a .331 BABIP.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Thursday at 8 PM EDT and Friday at 9 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).