Is there anything going on in baseball besides Eli de la Cruz? I didn’t feel it this week. The Reds inside prospect was the talk of baseball this week and is the highlight of fantasy baseball’s assignment leagues where he’s still available. In most tournaments he is already on the list. Unless he is drafted to the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC), he is a free agent. In some leagues, you can’t add a player until they’re called up and with free agent pickups on Sundays, De La Cruz is also available in some of those formats. Almost every week there was a spinning win to spend and De La Cruz would go for the big money. He doubled in his first game, hit a 458-foot home run in his second game, stole a base in his third game and was the fourth-greatest hitter in the lineup. In his first four games with the Reds, he slashed .333/.412/.733 with a double, a triple, a home run, two RBIs and a stolen base. As a young player, he batted frequently and struck out 9 times in 15 at bats. De La Cruz would make big money as one of the best hitting bats in fantasy baseball’s job all the way. He has power and speed and plays his home games at one of the best parks for hitters. By now you should know how aggressive your fantasy baseball league is, and looking at the remaining budgets of others can help you gauge how much to spend. As always, take advantage of all of the Fantasy Baseball season tools, including predictions for the rest of the Fantasy Baseball season, Fantasy Baseball player rankings, and more to take control of your leagues!
The best lead hitters concede
We hope you’ve been reading this column over the past few weeks and see De La Cruz as a recommended getaway. If so, you’ve saved a lot of money. Hype was building for De La Cruz as the number one prospect in baseball. 633 with 38 runs, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 38 games.
Sanchez was sidelined for some time with a hamstring injury and has played well since his return. He’s started the last seven games and is 8-for-27 with four home runs, three home runs, and seven RBIs. Sanchez has consistently shown good power and slapped .306/.376/.582 with 13 home runs, six home runs, 17 RBIs and three stolen bases in 98 at-bats. Sanchez’s success rate is 46.4%.
Jones has been good since being called up and getting consistent playing time. 581 with four runs, two home runs, ten RBIs and four stolen bases. 356 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 39 games at Triple-A and would be broadcast-worthy at least for games at Coors Field in deeper formats.
Wiemer started strong and went through a long slump. Wiemer has started batting in the last eight games with five doubles, seven runs, three home runs, nine RBI and two stolen bases with a 1.563 OPS. In his last 19 games, Wiemer batted 0.28/.354/.576 with four homers and four stolen bases.
Rosario started the season slowly, but has improved a lot lately. He will be absent from most left-handers, but the Braves will face five right-handers in their seven games next week against the Tigers and Rockies. In his last 12 games, Rosario was 13-for-48 with eight home runs, three home runs, and nine RBIs.
Garver appeared in five games at wide receiver, so he’s eligible for some leagues and soon will be in others under league rules. Garver has been injury limited the past few seasons and was recently off the injured list. He started the first four games after his return and went 6-for-16 with five runs, one home run and three RBIs. Being able to track Garver’s path to catcher is all the more attractive and batting in one of the best formations in Major League Baseball.
The Brennan is a good option if you’ve lost your more expensive bats or just don’t have enough money in your budget. Brennan played every day and hit well. He has 18 hits in his last 39 games with four runs, two home runs, eight RBIs and one stolen base.
Sanchez was put on assignment by the Mets last month and has enjoyed great success since joining the Padres. In nine games with San Diego, Sanchez went .275/.318/.700 with eight home runs, five home runs and 12 RBIs. Sanchez has always shown good power, but he has a tendency to hit, which often results in a low average. He can be used as a second receiver in two leagues while hitting well.
Noda is more for deeper formats, especially in core percentage leagues. The A’s lineup is terrible, but Noda hit .25/.415/.473 with 32 runs, seven homers, 23 RBIs and two stolen bases. Although he strikes out 33% of the time, he has a walk rate of 19.8% and a hit rate of 45.8%.
Customization wire jugs
Garrett is still widely available on Yahoo Leagues. The overall stats look even worse due to the terrible performance against the Braves as he allowed 14 hits and 11 strikeouts in over 4.1 innings pitched. Since that start, Garrett has thrown 32 innings and allowed 25 hits, 12 earned runs, seven walks, and 38 strikeouts.
The 20-year-old started the season at High-A and is already in the majors. Smith Schover pitched his first relief game and started Friday night against the Nationals. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed three hits, two hits (none of which we earned), walked two and struck out twice. Smith-Shawver has a good fastball with a bad slider and between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A he had a 1.09 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with a K:BB ratio of 45:12 in 33 innings pitched. He gets another favorable game in his next start against Detroit.
Abbott was good in his major league debut Monday, going six scoreless innings and allowing one hit, four walks and six hits against the Brewers. He had a favorable game and only had ten turnovers and losses. He doesn’t throw too hard and bluffing is part of the reason he’s so successful. Cincinnati’s pitch doesn’t help either, so don’t break the bank.
Ceval missed nearly two months due to a gash injury and returned on June 2Abbreviation II. In his first two games, he pitched 10.2 innings pitched and allowed eight hits, two runs batted in, walked four times, and struck out seven. Ceval won’t get a lot of touches, but his speed increases and he keeps walking.
Barria started the season comfortably, but he’s been making three starts lately and looking good. He pitched 15 innings during that span, allowing nine hits, three runs, four walks and 15 strikeouts. Barria has a low critical damage rate of 24% and has an xERA value of 2.81.
Rogers is about to go home because he’s in rehab. It was scheduled to start on Friday, and the match collapsed, relegating the final rehab to Saturday. Rogers threw 70 pitches and five scoreless innings in his final rehab on Sunday.
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