What can we say in a universe where Yovani Gallardo and Wily Peralta suddenly have serious value to Major League teams, while the likes of Adrian Gonzalez and Melky Cabrera have worn thin?
Well, with a big week ahead, which brings both the summer Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) Conference to Minneapolis, and the first official days of summer to the calendar, let’s see some names I like for the week.
Actually, the week begins like deja vu all over again with a bunch of players we have already reviewed this season who are getting a different kind of second chance, while there are some vets on this week’s list as well.
Let’s start with Mr. Up and Down himself this past week, the Indians promising catcher Francisco Mejia. The 22-year old is hitting .243-6-32 this year at AAA, with a red-hot .452-2-9 line the last ten days. Mejia has a .287-46-277 line in the minors, and was actually brought up last Monday for a day, then sent back to the minors. Mejia did get 13 at-bats last September (.143-0-1) but if your league allows you to roster a player once brought up, try to make room for Mejia. He will be back this year, and if not frozen in your keeper league, again latch onto Mejia in these times of derelict backstops.
Willy Adames (SS, Rays): I wrote about Adames a few times of late: once when speculating some names that would come up in the wake of Ronald Acuna, Jr., and then again a couple of weeks ago when Adames was actually called up for the first time. Like Mejia, Tampa quickly sent Adames, who was up from May 22-25, packing. But, the 22-year old, hitting .286-4-30 at Durham, is back, and this time is likely here to stay. So, make room for him.
Almost on the same trajectory is the Athletics’ Franklin Barreto, who is up with Matt Chapman down with a bad wrist. Barreto looked like a different player in the box facing Andrew Heaney on Sunday, although he similarly had trouble with some basics. But, Barreto has solid skills, and good speed (94 swipes) as well, and can play all around the infield. The infielder might be back on the Nashville shuttle when Chapman returns, but expect Barreto to be up for good in September and on the 2019 roster all season barring something goofy.
It was indeed very tough watching Miguel Cabrera injure himself swinging the stick last week, and hopefully Miggy’s storied career is not over. And, the Tigers are definitely a team undergoing change, with Niko Goodrum likely to be the beneficiary of first base playing time. Goodrum, who was a second sacker, has logged 20 games at first, 12 at second, eight at third, and six in the outfield. Add in Goodrum is not only sitting on a .240-6-9 line, but has gone .313-1-3 this past week, and will indeed get the playing time for the near future. Goodrum makes an option in AL only and the deepest formats, but otherwise, act with caution.
The release of Adrian Gonzalez opens a window for Mets prospect Dominic Smith, drafted in 2013 in the first round, and owner of a .298-42-341 line in the minors. Smith is .260-2-25 at Las Vegas this year with a .343 OBP (28 walks to 48 strikeouts) and while those numbers are not as stellar as we would like to see, Smith has nowhere to go but up, while A-Gon, sadly, has had his day. Still, much like Goodrum is really only of potential value in AL-only formats, for now Smith’s potential value is in an NL-only format.
Half the Angels squad seems to be in tatters, and veteran sub Chris Young seems to typify the kind of hit-and-miss season, hitting at just the right time, that is keeping the Angels among the top teams in the division. Young, who is subbing covering for injuries–the Angels have 15 players on the DL to date – is hitting .181-5-11, but, over the past week has been smoking with a .313-3-5 line – meaning lightning in a bottle, but not much more.
Charlie Tilson was a second round selection of the Cards in 2011 who was swapped to the Pale Hose for Zach Duke at the deadline in 2016. Tilson has a minor league line of .289-19-164, though with 277 runs scored and 96 swipes. Add in a .349 OBP (151 walks to 322 strikeouts) and note that Tilson caught some fire the past week, hitting .348 with three RBI, a pair of runs and a swipe, making the outfielder of interest in deeper formats.
OK, if you are looking and waiting for some help in your shallower mixed league, let’s close with Padres hurler Matt Strahm, who showed us flashes at Kansas City but was swapped as part of a mega deal that included Trevor Cahill and Travis Wood at the 2017 deadline. Strahm has come along slowly, but has similarly posted a 1-2, 2.21 mark over 20.3 frames with 17 whiffs, but, over his past 11 innings has made three starts, won a game, whiffed 12, and posted an 0.82 ERA and ridiculous 0.273 WHIP.
