At this stage, season-long fantasy baseball players can be grouped into two categories. You have those who are still fighting for a shot at a fantasy championship, and you have a second group who are thinking about what could have been, and what their future fantasy baseball drafts will look like. 

The first group is still looking for that player who can give them that slight edge for the rest of the season. It’s kind of shocking that one such player is part of an organization that has a .360 winning percentage. Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro has been crushing the ball for the past month. In his last 26 games, Castro is batting .379 with eight home runs and 28 RBI and he’s widely unowned in Yahoo and ESPN fantasy baseball leagues. 

The Detroit Tigers have a .297 winning percentage this season and even they have an under the radar player who might help put your team over the top as the fantasy baseball season expires. Over his last 27 games, Tigers outfielder Victor Reyes is batting .372 with a .390 OBP. With the Tigers playing from behind for much of the season they probably aren’t going to be too aggressive on the base paths, but Reyes has a bit of speed and stole three bases during that time frame. 

Diamondbacks’ outfielder Josh Rojas has also been hot of late. He has displayed a good hit tool in the minor leagues, posting a career .288/.370/.496 triple slash across three seasons. He has a nice blend of power and speed. Rojas has been getting regular ABs of late and in his last seven games, he’s batting .385 with two home runs and a 1.100 OPS. 

As for a few under the radar pitchers who could help your fantasy team down the stretch, San Diego Padres starter Dinelson Lamet has been coming on of late. Lamet struggled in his first five starts after spending a bunch of time on the IL recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, in his last five starts, he’s posted a 3.54 ERA and 12.86 K/9. He’s owned in just 33% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues and just over 14% of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues.

Brewers’ starter “Yo” Adrian Houser continues to provide some stability in the Brewers starting rotation. In his last seven starts, he’s compiled a 2.39 ERA with a .227 BAA, and he has struck out 39 batters in 37.2 IP. He’s owned in 31% of Yahoo leagues and 11% of ESPN leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson is 5-0 in his last six games with a 1.49 ERA. Surprisingly Hudson is owned in just 16% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues and a more justified 51.8% in ESPN fantasy baseball leagues.

For those season-long fantasy players whose seasons are virtually over and are looking forward to the start of the 2020 fantasy baseball draft season fear not, we have some way too early draft information to share with you.

Justin Mason, the founder of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) fantasy baseball league has created several “2 Early Mock Drafts” so that we fantasy baseball players can get a head start on the upcoming 2020 season.

In comparing the first round of NFBC preseason 2019 ADPs with the ADPs of players in the 2 Early Mock Drafts we find that Ronald Acuna who had a preseason ADP of eight currently has an in-season ADP of two. The 21-year-old Braves outfielder entered Thursday’s action with a .282 batting average, 36 home runs, 33 stolen bases and 111 runs scored.

Another player whose ADP has changed fairly significantly since the start of the season is Indians third baseman, José Ramírez . He had a preseason NFBC ADP of three, and currently has an in season 2 Early Mock Draft ADP of 15. You’ll recall Ramirez slumped miserably in the early part of the season, after struggling mightily for much of the second half of last season. He’s currently on the IL recuperating from surgery to repair his fractured right hamate bone and will miss the rest of the regular season. He is batting .254 with 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases, down from his .270 BA, 39 HR and 34 stolen base performance from just a year ago. 

As for baseball’s future stars, Blue Jays third baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ’s 30 ADP means you’d need to select him in the third round of a typical 12 team fantasy baseball draft. Astros slugging outfielder Yordan Alvarez is right behind Guerrero Jr. with an ADP of 31. Brewers Second Baseman Keston Hiura is a comparative bargain with an ADP of 61. He’s currently on the IL, but has a .301 BA with 16 home runs and 9 stolen bases in 266 ABs in the big leagues. Bo Bichette who hit the ground running with a .326 BA, eight home runs and three stolen bases in his first 33 games and Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino who has hit 15 home runs and driven in 37 runs while batting .308 in his first 34 games, have an ADP of 72 and 93 respectively. 

We’ll continue to monitor the results of the 2 Early Mock Drafts and report back any results that we think you might find interesting, but if you’d like to do some research on your own, simply follow the link.