RYAN RUA, REALLY?

I’ve been receiving an inordinate amount of questions of late about Ryan Rua of the Rangers. Really interesting actually. I mean, Rua has a homer each of his last two games, and a big fly in three of five outings, so I guess I get it. But the fervor to add him, don’t think that is warranted. Let’s see what we got here.

Ian Desmond will play in the outfield daily in center field. He’s batting .310 and is on pace for 22 homers and 29 steals with 110 runs scored. Wow is right.

Nomar Mazara will play every day in left field. That’s what happens when an elite prospect gets called up and he hits .302 with a .809 OPS over 57 games. Mazara has also gone deep 10 times in a remarkable start to the season. A few notes. Mazara has hit .302 in June but he has only one homer and a .396 SLG as things are slowing. Second, he really hasn’t done much of anything against lefties this season hitting .257 with a pathetic .602 OPS. Don’t hear anyone talking about that now, do ya?

Shin-Soo Choo, back off the DL, will play every day in right field. He’s only been on the field nine times this season but he has a .487 OBP and most are overlooking the fact that he went 22-82-94 with a .375 OBP last season.

So let me ask you – where does Rua play? Exactly. He doesn’t have a daily spot in the lineup unless he is put at designated hitter which the team could certainly try in the short run but don’t forget that they have Prince Fielder there and Joey Gallo is lurking as well. He has blistered the bajesus out of lefties this season with a .404/.475/.654 line so perhaps he will start to platoon with Mazara? Looking more broadly, Rua has a .321/.370/.537 slash line against lefties, though we are still talking about less than 150 plate appearances. And that brings up a fair points with Rua, a 26 year old has appeared in just 99 big league games. That’s not a tremendous amount of work. He’s also never been looked at as an elite talent, but that doesn’t mean success isn’t gonna follow.

If we break down his skills this is what we find.

Rua has a 1.88 GB/FB ratio. You don’t post a mark that high and hit 25 homers.

Rua has a 17.9 percent HR/FB ratio. That’s a sustainable pace, but it is a “big boy” number for a guy who had just 67 homers in 422 minor league games.

Rua has a 5.0 walk rate, a poor number (17 walks in 342 plate appearances).

Rua owns a .338 BABIP. He’s not going to sustain that pace especially with a mere 16.5 percent line drive rate.

Finally, there is that level of work against righties which is decidedly poor (.234/.281/.386).

Given that he’s white hot he’s going to play for the moment. But as soon as his bat starts to slow he will turn into what he appears best suited for – facing just lefties at the dish. An AL-only add for the long run and just a fill-in if you’re in a mixed league.

ROOKIE ROUNDUP

Did you catch my writeup yesterday on Whit Merrifield, Peter O’Brien, Jose Peraza, Blake Snell and Jameson Taillon? The article is called It’s a Young Mans Game.

DAVID WRIGHT DONE?

David Wright will undergo surgery on his neck Thursday for a herniated disk, and with the general recovery time usually in the three month range it’s likely his season is over. “After trying every way to get back on the field, I’ve come to realize that it’s best for me, my teammates and the organization to proceed with surgery at this time,” Wright said. So what does this mean for the Mets on the field and is there a fantasy worthy option to turn to? The answer is likely no – unless you play in an NL-only league. Wilmer Flores, at least for now, will man the hot corner. Flores hit 16 homers last season with 59 RBI over 510 plate appearances though his production this season has been temperate at best (two homers, nine RBI over 35 games). He has moderate power, but his .253/.290/.384 career slash line is just terrible. Playing daily brings added value for Flores in those old league specific setups.

BILLY HAMILTON UPDATE

Billy Hamilton is on the shelf with a concussion. The good news is that he should be activated Friday for the Reds. Folks may have missed it, but Hamilton has actually started to hit a bit. Over the 10 games before he was disabled Hamilton was hitting .429 with a homer, eight runs and eight steals. Tiny sample size of course, but heartening. The recent run has pushed Billy’s average up to .269 with a .308 OBP. Those aren’t good numbers, at all, but they would still be better than the marks he posted in both categories each of the last two seasons. He’s also pushed his OPS up to .701, well above his .629 career mark. Hey, it’s something.

Hamilton has also finally started to do what he always should have – beat the ball into the ground and run Billy. Hamilton posted a fly ball rate of 37.5 percent the last two seasons. This year the mark is down to 27.4 percent. That change in approach has helped to up his ground ball rate to 49 percent and with the change in philosophy his BABIP is .325, thirty points above his career mark. He’s finally learning to tailor his game to his skills. Finally.

I’m currently intrigued.

DFS DIAMONDS

*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.

CATCHER: Kurt Suzuki has five RBI his last three games and has a hit in nine of his last 10 games (he’s performing well batting .324 in June). He’s only hit .250 against CC Sabathia but he has also posted a .341 OBP (41 plate appearances).

FIRST BASE: Kendrys Morales has hit .353 with two homers, 10 RBI and a 1.000 OPS over 34 plate appearances against Justin Verlander. He’s posted a hit in 4-straight games for the Royals.  

SECOND BASE: Jed Lowrie has five hits his last three games. He’s also long had success against Colby Lewis with a .346/.370/.462 slash line over 27 plate appearances.  

THIRD BASE: Manny Machado has a .427 wOBA with a 1.024 OPS against lefties this season. Eduardo Rodriguez has been a mess through three starts with a 6.06 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and has just seven strikeouts over 16.1 innings.  

SHORTSTOP: Jonathan Villar has hit .338 with a .413 wOBA against lefties this season. He takes on Scott Kazmir who has allowed six walks and six runs leading to a 5.40 ERA and 1.50 WHIP his last two outings.

OUTFIELD: Brett Gardner has hit .375 with a .892 OPS in June. He faces Kyle Gibson who he has three hits in six at-bats against while Gibson hasn’t gotten any lefties out this season (.366/.422/.578).

OUTFIELD: Juan Nicasio has really botched things up against lefties this season badly allowing a .321/.387/.536 slash line. Curtis Granderson has a .340 OBP and .480 SLG this season against righties, numbers that are better in June (.356 and .510 against all hurlers).

OUTFIELD: J.A. Happ has allowed 10 runs his last two starts as the Tigers and Orioles took him deep five times. Odubel Herrera isn’t a big power threat by any means, but he gets on base and can generate some heat against a struggling Happ.


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).