Stock Watch Risers

  • Mike Zunino C, SEA- The Mariners catcher is enjoying one heck a June as he is hitting .385 with 11 runs, eight home runs and 26 RBI over 52 at bats.  On the season alone he has 21 runs, nine home runs and 30 RBI.  This offensive production is what many fantasy owners had been expected from Zunino a few years ago and I have little reason to think it’s not the real deal.

  • Lorenzo Cain OF, KC- Cain had a sub-par month of May which saw him hit .245 with just home run and six stolen bases.  June has been a completely turnaround however, especially in the power department, as Cain is hitting .373 with 19 runs, eight home runs, 17 RBI and two stolen bases.  Cain is already 31 years old which may be a bit older than some would have expected but he is enjoying a career year and at this point only injury is going to slow him down in the second half of the season.

  • Jacob Faria SP, TB- Faria has been stellar this through his first three starts of his MLB career, going 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA while striking out 22 over 19.2 innings.  Faria was never ranked among the top prospects but he owns a 3.13 ERA and a 9.4 K/9 through seven minor league seasons so what we are seeing from him so far may not be too far from what his major league skillset could be.  His next start will be coming on Friday at home against a powerful Orioles lineup.

Stock Watch Fallers

  • Adam Wainwright SP, STL- The month of May looked like a revival of sorts for Wainwright as he went 3-0 with a 2.64 ERA over five starts.  Waino had some peripheral numbers to indicate that he was in fact pitching relatively well and much better than his dismal April but June has once again been a disaster as he is 2-2 with an ERA of 11.02 over four starts.  At this point it is impossible to start Wainwright so if you own him I would only do so at your own risk.

  • Troy Tulowitzki SS, TOR- Tulowitzki missed most of May due to injury but he was not very impressive in April and since coming off the disabled list he has been even worse.  So far in June he is hitting .286 but with two runs, zero home runs and just one RBI.  It was just a few years ago that he was a fringe first round fantasy player but a move to Toronto has seen Tulo become a fringe waiver wire pickup for those in standard leagues.

  • Carlos Gonzalez OF, COL -He plays his home games at a Coors Field and his name value will always bring about some intrigue but we really need to come to the realization that CarGo is just not the same CarGo anymore.  This season Gonzalez is hitting just .219 with 35 runs, five home runs, 19 RBI and an OPS of .636.  In June things have really hit rock bottom as CarGo is hitting just .149 with 11 runs, one home run, two RBI and an OPS of .511.

Buy or Sell?

Buy

Andrew McCutchen OF, PIT

I know you all read Monday night’s Daily Bender: Take Notice article where McCutchen was highlighted as a player I would be looking to trade for if I could as we head into the second half of the season.  I feel he is again worth mentioning here to really reiterate my belief in him as a fantasy asset moving forward.  I will preface this with saying that I drafted McCutchen this season with the expectations that he was going to bounce back from last year’s down season which saw him hit .256 with 81 runs, 24 home runs, 79 RBI and six stolen bases.  Now that is far from the worst season a player could have but seeing as Cutch is a former MVP and first round fantasy pick it was a disappointing season. With the hope of a bounce back season from McCutchen the 2017 season did not get off to a thrilling start.  In April he hit a lowly .244 with three home runs and two stolen bases.  He followed that up with a month of June which saw him hit .206 with five home runs and three stolen bases.  At this point a batting average hovering just above .200 is not at all what I was hoping for but the eight home runs and five stolen bases were solid.  Then suddenly things started clicking for Cutch and since the start of June McCutchen is hitting .377 with 15 runs, five home runs and 16 RBI.  The eventual return of Starling Marte who was suspended for 80 games back in April should provide a boost to the Pirates lineup and should benefit McCutchen as well if you believe that Marte was a talented player regardless of his recent PED usage. The peripheral numbers with McCutchen suggested a bounce back was possible and he is somebody I am expecting a strong second half from.

Sell

Jason Vargas SP, KC

The Royals apparently struck gold with Jason Vargas this season. Vargas has been with the Royals since 2014 but injury limited him to just 12 starts over the past two seasons.  Vargas has gone out and become a Top 15 fantasy starter through the first half of the year as he is 10-3 with a 2.27 ERA over 14 starts.  In my opinion now is the time to sell high and here are my reasons why.  First, Vargas though durable during his early seasons in the majors has only thrown 55 innings over the last two seasons. He is already at 87.1 innings this season coming off Tommy John surgery which begs to question how he will hold up over the second half of the year.  Secondly, there are a some peripheral stats which suggest some regression.  Most notably his xFIP which sits at 4.66 and his SIERA which is 4.47.  The idea here is that while Vargas owns a 2.27 ERA he is getting relatively lucky and should that luck turn we could be looking at a pitcher that is closer to his career marks of a 4.05 ERA and 4.55 xFIP.  Now of course Vargas could continue to limit the number of home runs he is giving up which currently sits at a career best 5.3-percent HR/FB rate and his K/9 could continue to be the second best of his career which has helped him boast a career best 84.2-percent strand rate but I am a believer that something has to give and that the 34-year old southpaw will regress in the second half.