Player Blurbs

Ranger Suarez:  The Phillies called on Ranger Suarez to close the door Saturday earning the reliever his first save of the year.  Ordinarily, this would not qualify for headline news but given how bad the Phillies’ pen has been, it is big news. Through Saturday, Suarez boasted a miniscule .85 ERA and an even smaller .69 WHIP.

For the Week That Will Be:  Given that Suarez is keeping the ball on the ground at a great rate (over 65%) there is reason to believe he can vulture a bunch of saves in this mess of a pen.  Speculate!

Jose Suarez:    Jose Suarez threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball in relief of Dylan Bundy Monday and in so doing, earned a spot in the rotation.  Jose, like teammates Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval, is a young hurler with stuff and advanced metrics to back it up. For example, Jose has a 50+% ground ball rate and a swinging strike rate over 12%.  He posted similar strong indicators in 2020.  Oh, and when you consider he is throwing more curveballs – a pitch that is tallying 67% ground balls – there is a road to even further success.  [ps, yes I know Canning went to the minors but that will be short-lived].

For the Week That Will Be:  A mixed bag of a two-start week awaits Suarez with Boston on tap first (not so good) and Seattle later in the week (very good).  Given the pedigree and the numbers, it is worth the risk.

Jon Gray:  Jon Gray pitched six strong innings to get the win Wednesday.  With that outing, Gray dropped his ERA to under 3.90 and his WHIP to under 1.25.   With a groundball rate of over 52%, he should be able to minimize damage even pitching in Colorado. 

For the Week That Will Be:  With two road starts, I have no hesitation writing Gray into this week’s fantasy lineup card.  

Omar Narvaez:  Omar Narvaez tallied five hits on Saturday to push his average over .300 and his OPS over .850 on the year.   Given the dearth of catching and the hitters’ park in which he plays, Narvaez is a must roster.  Critics will say that he does not make a ton of hard contact.  Ok, but he does make consistent contact, sprays the ball all over the field, does not chase out of the zone that often and maintains a strong line drive rate of around 25%.

For the Week That Will Be:  With 7 games on the schedule, lock and load.

Edward Oliveras:  Oliveras came up big on Saturday hitting a two-run dinger, his first of the year.  His reward – his fourth demotion of the season.  I have no idea what the Royals are doing and frankly, just wanted to point out how they are trying to ruin this young talent.    

For the Week That Will Be:  Oliveras is in the minors again, so of course, nothing to do this week.  However, KC is 12 games under .500.  At some point they have to cut ties with guys like Jarrod Dyson and let Oliveras play.  Speculate if you have a deep enough bench.

What to do if your FAAB bids did not go as planned:

If you did not get the pitchers you want, consider these middle relievers on teams with weak or unsettled closing situations or potential openings in the rotation:  Heath Hembree who has come out of nowhere to start saving games or Anthony Bender (no relation I do not think) to Fantasy Alarm’s own Howard Bender.  Anthony has been dealing to the tune of a .74 ERA and 11.5K/9

If you are in the mood to gamble, how about Tim Locastro.  At some point the Yankees have to realize they cannot wait for the three-run homer.  If they let Locastro play, he will steal a bunch of bags – always a valuable commodity in fantasy baseball.

And Last But Not Least:

The moment you have been waiting for (just play along) -- Schultz says: “While baseball plays a significant role in the life of Japanese author Haruki Murakami, he was likely not referring to the game when he wrote that “a simple change of scenery can bring about powerful shifts in the flow of time and emotions.” Nonetheless, as much as any other theory, it may offer some existential insight into explaining how an otherwise innocuous move to a different ball club rejuvenates a once-promising, though presently stagnant, career. 

With a healthy glut of highly-touted prospects, it’s become routine to get excited and blow one’s free agent budget whenever the Rays promote one of their “future stars.” While there’s every reason to be enthusiastic about Wander Franco making his major league debut, it’s easy to forget that for every Evan Longoria and Blake Snell, the Rays have had Jake Bauers, Desmond Jennings and Delmon Young. Given the hype and hoopla surrounding many of Rays’ minor leaguers, it seems like ancient history that it was an exciting day when the Rays called up Willy Adames.

In the three seasons that Adames spent with the Rays, he surely was not a bust, hitting .262 while putting up decent, though underwhelming, counting stats. However, since Adames was the top prospect in the Rays minor league system at the time he was called up, more was expected – by the Rays and the roto-world (if that’s even still a thing). Coming out of the 2021 gate hitting below the Mendoza line, Tampa cleared the roadblock in front of the Wander-ful one and shipped Adames to the Midwest . . . where he has truly found a home.

Since arriving in Wisconsin, Adames has been right in the midst of the Brew Crew revival and an integral cog in their recent 11-game winning streak. (By the time you hear what Schultz says, there may be free burgers being handed out in Milwaukee in line with a half-century old promise).  With the change of scenery, Adames has become a near .300 hitter and slugging on a 30+ HR, 120+ RBI pace. If the other owners in your league aren’t paying attention, now is the time for you to take action before others hear the wind sing.”

Response:  Totally agree on Adames.  The fantasy community is too quick to write off young talented players who reach the Show at a young age.