Have You Noticed?

As we slog through the dog days and try to ignore the siren call of fantasy baseball, you might be locked in the bubble of your fantasy team(s) and missing some interesting performances going on lately. Have you noticed that…

• Kyle Seager is on fire, hitting 357/.419/.786 with 10 HR, 21 RBI, and 18 R since July 22nd.

Seager’s down 2018 carried over into 2019 when he started the season on the IL and then hit just .186/.260/.331 through 46 games before this recent run. His bottom line (108 wRC+) now looks a lot like the steady Eddie he was before last year and while he likely won’t remain this hot, he should continue to be a useful 3B or CI option.

• Homer Bailey has 4 QS in his 6 starts with Oakland.

Unfortunately, the other two starts have seen him allow 16 ER in 6.7 IP. That said, if you’re spot-starting Bailey, you could’ve easily dodged both duds as they were at the Astros and Cubs. Of course, by that same logic, we likely would’ve missed the Brewers gem (6 IP/2 ER), too. Some might’ve been inclined to skip the Rangers start (6.7 IP/3 ER), but they’ve been 27th in wOBA against righties (.293) since Joey Gallo went down on July 24th.

• Khris Davis has 1 HR in his last 165 PA.

The cold streak spans two months, starting back on June 19th, and has seen Davis post just a .190/.273/.231 line. It’s long past time to sit Davis and shallow leaguers can even cut him at this point.

• Hunter Renfroe is freezing cold since the All-Star break with a 64 wRC+.

Renfroe took an excellent 130 wRC+ into the break with 27 HR (tied for 5th-most). He’s hitting an icy .191 since, but his fantasy managers might not realize just how bad it’s been because he has 31 HRs and his season wRC+ is still a solid 110.  I wouldn’t cut him, but you might have a better option on the bench while waiting for Renfroe to heat back up.

• Luis Arraez has an MLB-best .348 AVG* in 59 games.

(*min. 230 PA)

Arraez came up for the second half of May and hit .375 in 30 PA. He was sent back down until June 18th and he’s been up since, hitting a cool .344 in 201 PA. There isn’t any real pop with just 3 HR and 20 RBI, but he has 36 R (a full season pace of 100). Arraez also hit .344 in 237 minor league PA this year and he has a .331 career average in the minor leagues over 1585 PA. Arraez has become a full-time player, has triple eligibility (2B, 3B, OF), and can give you some late-season AVG help.

• Juan Soto has 12 SBs in 13 tries.

Soto has essentially been the same hitter as last year, dropping just one point off his wRC+ to 145 (in basically the same amount of playing time). He’s more than doubled his SB output, adding seven to last year’s total thus far. His 12 SBs give him more than Mike Trout (10), Javier Baez (10), and Ozzie Albies (11) while matching Mookie Betts.

• Ryan Yarbrough .586 OPS against is an MLB-best*.

(*min. 100 IP)

Yarbrough was a fantasy standout last year, logging 16 wins in 147.3 IP, often as a “follower”. He’s jumped another level this year, posting a 3.34 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 105 IP. Perhaps the craziest part about his season is that he had a poor 5.59 ERA and pedestrian .719 OPS through June 13th. He’s been insane in the two months since then with a 1.43 ERA and .464 OPS in his last 11 outings (3 starts). I knew he was pitching well, but I was stunned when I learned that he passed Hyun-Jin Ryu (.589) in OPS after his gem against the Tigers on Saturday.

• Miguel Sano is 5th in wRC+ since June 28th with a 161.

Yes, June 28th is completely arbitrary and just so happens to be the day he hit two homers. That has spurred an incredible run for Sano as he’s not only delivered major power, but batting average, too, with a .284/.397/.619 line. His 14 HR, 35 R, and 35 RBI are all top 10 during the run, making him one of the absolute best hitters going of late.

• Ivan Nova inexplicably has a 0.85 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in his last six starts.

How?

Why?

This run includes two complete games – one against Houston – as well as two starts against Minnesota and a trip to Philadelphia. Of course, he also has a 12% K rate and 8% K-BB rate during this run. There’s also no velo boost, arsenal change, or any tangible differences at all. It’s a crazy good run and if you somehow caught any of it on your fantasy team, well done, but I don’t trust it at all and I’d be careful picking him up in any format regardless of opponent.