Andrew Benintendi (knee) ran the bases on Friday. The hope is that he might be able to return to the Sox by the homestand next week. He’s missed more than two weeks with that knee issue as he left behind him a .324/.365/.485 slash line in 21 games (10 RBI, 11 runs scored). Tough to trust him down the stretch though cause of the knee and the time he will have missed. Will he be rusty?
Ryan Braun doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s batting .309 with 26 homers and 14 steals with a .911 OPS. The only man in baseball who can match the three numbers of Braun is Mike Trout.
Yoenis Cespedes has 28 homers and a .292 batting average to compliment an impressive .926 OPS. That’s great work. However, he’s appeared in just 111 games as injuries have, yet again, crushed him. He has 59 runs scored. That’s one less than Leonys Martin. He has 71 RBI. That’s four less than Nick Markakis. He’s stolen two bases. That’s less than Cody Asche. Cespedes is not Giancarlo Stanton with injuries, but he’s awful close, and it’s why you shouldn’t be building your fantasy squad around Cespedes (or Stanton) next year. Speaking of Martin, he’s one homer away from a 15/15 season.
Chris Davis is jacked up and he won’t be 100 percent until the offseason. The issue is his thumb/hand. Davis has been a bit disappointing to some cause he’s batting .229, but the big fella has blasted 35 homers with 78 RBI and 89 runs scored. Davis only hit .214 in May, but he’s rebounded to hit .444 in five games this month. He’s also blasted 13 homers his last 34 games. His OPS is .827 by the way. His career mark is .834. He’ll just have to play through the injury.
Ian Desmond has hit .238 hit last 50 games with a .282 OBP. He will be a very interesting case next season. He was insanely good in the first half but in the second half he’s been the 2015 version of himself, and that’s a flat out spotty player. As an outfield only eligible player next year he’s not going to be a player I will reach on.
Jarrod Dyson has a .257/.326/.361 slash line this season. His career marks are .256/.321/.347. He’s been the same bat he’s always been. He’s also stolen 26 bases, a 5th straight season that he’s reached that level. He’s also posted 249 at-bats as he tries to reach 300 at-bats for the first time. Over his last 10 games he’s produced at least two hits four times but it’s been his insane work on the base paths that draws your attention as he’s swiped eight bases. That guy can flat out motor.
Freddie Freeman has a .949 OPS folks. That’s the 7th best mark in baseball this season. He’s also one homer away from 30 homers. I’ve been saying it for years now – dude is legit.
Brett Gardner has seven homers and 13 steals. The last two season the vet has averaged 17 homers and 21 steals. Man has he been a letdown. Oddly though, his bat has been very similar to years past. His slash line this season (.259/.348/.360) is nearly identical to his career marks (.263/.346/.388).
Carlos Gomez has been effective with the Rangers. In 14 games he’s hit two homers, stolen three bases, posted a .353 OBP and has scored seven times with nine RBI. Hitting .233 with 18 strikeouts, but still, not bad in terms of his fantasy output.
Did you ever consider using a Bulldozer to get revenge?
Is Jason Heyward really hitting .229? Yes, he is. He has six homers and eight steals as well. Massive disappointment thy name is Heyward.
Manny Machado is crushing it with a .307 average, 34 homers, 90 RBI and 96 runs scored. That’s all elite level stuff. All of it. He cannot steal a base for the life of him. He stole 20 last season. He has zero steals right now. None. Zero. In five years in the majors he has just one season with at least seven steals.
Yoan Moncada has 17 at-bats with the Red Sox and he has produced… four hits. He’s also struck out 10 times in 17 at-bats including, get this, seven strikeouts in his last seven at-bats. I warned about a potential slow start in Young Elite Talent.
Is it really OK to eat that food that falls on the floor if you pick it up quickly?
Melvin Upton has hit .214 with a .608 OPS over 38 games with the Blue Jays. Awful. He’s only had three homers and five steals as well. Note though, that the next homer he hits will give him a 20/25 season. Holes and all, that’s damn impressive.
If we’re gonna talk one Upton, let’s talk the younger one too. Justin Upton has been on a roll of late. Seriously. Over his last 17 games Justin has nine homers and 24 RBI. He’s also batting .344 with a .408 OBP and .828. His season long numbers are going to disappoint (.241-22-70-66-9), but if you’re in the fantasy playoffs are you going to care if he helps to bring you a title?
Danny Valencia isn’t starting Saturday. He’s slowed a bit this season, but his .294/.465/.465 slash line is still pretty solid work, as are the 16 homers, 47 RBI and 60 runs scored over 402 at-bats. His value was overstated by many early in the year. He’s solid, not more.
If you’re a James Bond fan, then this video is for you.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).