J.D. Martinez has been on fire of late for the Tigers. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)
MLB Fantasy Scoop: Who’s Hot/Who’s Not
By Matt Johnson, Lindy’s blogger/intern
Who’s Hot
J.D. Martinez, OF-Detroit Tigers
A somewhat scary fantasy term to throw out to describe players is post-hype sleeper. This term is fitted to a player who was once on everyone’s radar as a sleeper but failed to meet lofty expectations, but has since then showed some signs of life. That in a nut shell describes J.D. Martinez this year. Since being recalled from Triple-A, he has posted a slash line of .314/.344/.593 with eight home runs in 122 plate appearances. His career average mark is .250 and he has an unsustainable .937 OPS and 26.3% line drive rate. On the positive side, he has played himself into the positive side of a time share with Rajai Davis once Torii Hunter comes back from injury. He is as hot as they come in the Majors right now!
C.J. Cron, DH-1B-Los Angeles Angels
The only thing standing in the way of C.J. Cron and absolutely mashing this year was playing time. The Angels waived Raul Ibanez last week, which opened up every day at-bats for Cron. He has rewarded the Angels brass with their decision by mashing three homers over the weekend, the last of which was a mammoth shot off of Rangers ace Yu Darvish. He is currently hitting sixth in a potent Angels lineup. He has shown throughout his minor league career that he can hit for average and slug some homers. He won’t walk much, but the power is for real. Watch out for Cron.
Carlos Santana, C-1B-3B-DH-Cleveland Indians
Odds are if you looked at this slash-line of .214/.354/.382 you would not think it belongs to Carlos Santana. Well, it does. The Indians third baseman/catcher/DH has really struggled through the first half of the season. However, he has shown signs of life. After coming back from a concussion in early June, Santana has hit eight homers and collected 15 RBI. His average is still low 200s but his superb plate discipline, 18.4% walk rate, would likely see that continue to improve. Props to those who have held on through the early struggles; and to those who do not have them on their squad the buy-low window is closing fast on the Indians slugger.
Oh and he also went 4-for-5 Tuesday night with a homer and two RBIs for good measure.
Who’s Not
Chris Davis, 1B-Baltimore Orioles
Remember when Chris Davis took the baseball world by storm last year and ran away with the home run crown with 53 dingers? I bet you wish you didn’t as Crush Davis is only on pace for 28 long balls this season. His is striking out at an amazing clip this season with a 30.8% K-rate. He has always been a free swinger but it seems to have caught up with him this year. If he does not adjust his plate discipline he could end his two-year streak of hitting over 30 bombs. There is still time to turn things around, but he is in a bad funk right now.
Jose Reyes, SS-Toronto Blue Jays
There is always some kind of injury buzz going on around Jose Reyes. He has stayed fairly healthy this season, other than a mild hamstring issue to begin the year. Reyes can always be counted on for stealing bags, providing decent pop for the SS position and hitting for plus-.300 average. His average sits at a lowly .247 at this point in the season, well below his career average of .290. Since hitting a home run on June 17th, Reyes has been in a 1-for-24 slump with only two runs and an injury scare to boot. His knee seems fine, but he needs to start producing more from the top spot in the potent Jays lineup.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B-Boston Red Sox
Pedroia has seen his home run and stolen base numbers decline since the 2011 season. He hit 21 homers and swiped 26 bags in 2011, and saw those numbers drop to 9 and 17 last year. Age and injuries to his wrists seem to be the culprit with Pedroia. He is currently hitting .268, which is well off his career mark of .300. Pedroia’s slugging percentage has also dropped for four straight seasons. His other numbers have not slipped much from his career averages, but he’s struggled against right-handed pitching. He has a .842 OPS against lefties, and a .674 OPS against righties. That combined with his age and injury ailments have led to a lackluster season from the Red Sox star thus far.
