CARDINALS INFIELD
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got going on here. Let’s just say that the Cards have lots of options to turn to in the infield, and that group of players is about to grow with their former shortstop returns to action.
Matt Adams has been limited to just 20 plate appearances against lefties this season as the Cards continue to shield him from the hurlers he can’t really hit. He’s ripping up righties though with a .316 batting average, five homers and 18 RBI in 105 plate appearances. He’s been hot of late, his May numbers were special (.364/.411/.652), but Adams has never lived up to expectations, just hasn’t, so it’s not exactly the smart move to expect him to morph into a star this season. Do you realize that he averages a mere 19 homers per 500 at-bats?
Matt Carpenter was a .300 hitter his first two seasons. Since then he’s barely been a .270 hitter (.272 and .272 the last two season with a .266 mark this year). His first three seasons he hit 25 homers. Last year he hit 28 big flies and with nine homers through 51 games he’s on pace to go past 25 homers again. He’s clearly given up average for power. He still continues to get on base at a strong rate, his OBP is .378 this season and .375 for his career, and that’s why he’s scored at least 99 times the last three seasons. He’s currently on pace for 105 runs this seasons. He’s a star as a third baseman. He could be a superstar if he goes back to his old spot on the diamond (more on that below).
Aledmys Diaz has been great. Through 51 games I was wrong about him. However… (1) He has one homer in 18 games. (2) He has one steal this season. (3) After posting a .413 BABIP in April the mark fell to .284 in May. (4) Here are the April to May falls for Diaz in the slash categories. His average went down .155 points. His OBP went down .149 points. His SLG went down .313 points. His wOBA fell from .497 in April to .303 in May. Honestly, if Diaz continues what he did in May (.267/.304/.419) that would seem about right. Do yourself a favor and forget about April.
Jedd Gyorko has been solid when called upon this season. When he’s faced a lefty he has a passable .718 OPS but his numbers, surprisingly, are even better against righties with a .811 OPS. Through 38 games he only has 114 plate appearances so he’s being used sparingly.
Brandon Moss has failed to hit lefties at all this season with a pathetic .465 OPS. He’s been a star when a righty is on the bump though with a .909 OPS. In just 132 at-bats this season Moss has hit 10 homers, obviously a rate of one per 13.2 at-bats which is just stupendous. He’s not going to keep up that pace.
Jhonny Peralta had a recent setback that required stiches, nothing major, and he should be ready to return from the disabled list early next week. Peralta, out with a thumb injury all year, has long been one of the more steady middle infield power options in the game. Per 162 games in his career Peralta has averaged 19 homers, 81 RBI and 77 runs scored. Again, really strong counting category production. He’s never been a solid batting average guy with a .268 mark, and he’s not exciting, but he’s almost always productive.
Kolten Wong has been awful this season with one homer, three steals and a .603 OPS over 47 games. There has been talk of potentially demoting him as the struggles never really seem to disappear. Moreover, the “slump” has been going on for a long while. Over his last 97 games Wong has a .229/.298/.296 slash line with one homer and two steals. How much longer can the Cardinals be expected to remain patient?
Then there is this. GM John Mozeliak basically said that it looks likely that Diaz will play shortstop, Peralta will play third and Carpenter will handle… second base. That will leave the lineup looking like this:
1B: Moss/Adams
2B: Carpenter
SS: Diaz
3B: Peralta
Bench: Wong
The upshot is terrible for Wong and only slightly better for Gyorko. It’s is great news for Carpenter whose value would skyrocket if he qualified at second base. It’s also going to be tough to get Adams/Moss in the lineup consistently if the team is healthy since they both are mashing righties while offering little to nothing against lefties. That leaves both of them as nothing more than corner infield options in mixed leagues with Adams in the lead.
Ray Flowers and Kenneth Le are ready to take your questions, in the weekly Fantasy Alarm Live Advice session, at 2 PM EDT on Friday. Do you have time to sneak a question in while at work or while you’re sitting on your couch with a beer?
DFS DIAMONDS
*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.
CATCHER: Evan Gattis takes on Jesse Hahn who has allowed six homers his last four starts. Gattis has hit three homers his last 10 games.
FIRST BASE: Eric Hosmer has a .377/.428/.609 slash line against righties this season. He’s also produced a hit in 8-straight games, 16 hits total with 13 RBI, and faces Danny Salazar who he has a 1.158 OPS against with two homers in 24 plate appearances.
SECOND BASE: Tom Koehler can’t get lefties out as they have hit .308 with a .420 OBP against him. Neil Walker has eight homers and a decent .782 OPS against righties. He’s also hit .298 with a .975 OPS on the road.
THIRD BASE: Kyle Seager has had success against Yu Darvish with a .318/.400/.500 slash line over 25 plate appearances. Over his last four games Seager has scored twice each time. He’s produced at least three hits in each of his last three games. He’s driven in 11 runs his last four games.
SHORTSTOP: Righties are hitting .314/.362/.467 against Jered Weaver this season with five home runs. Jung-ho Kang has a .892 OPS at home this season and a .986 mark at night.
OUTFIELD: Jose Bautista has a .908 OPS on the road this season. He has a mark of .894 against the Red Sox in his career. He’s posted a mark of 1.167 against David Price with six homers and 14 RBI in 55 at-bats.
OUTFIELD: Lorenzo Cain has a .400 average against Danny Salazar (20 ABs). He’s hitting .349 with a .928 OPS on the road and he’s been hot the last six games with five outings of at least two hits and eight RBI.
OUTFIELD: Francisco Liriano has allowed six homers his last four starts and in that time his ERA is 6.17, his WHIP is 1.67. Over his last six games Mike Trout has two homers, eight RBI, six runs and two steals.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday 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).