BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
Folks, it’s Monday, so that means it is once again time to give out the week’s players for week 5! For this week, we have a couple of sleeper bats that could turn into league-winning pick ups, as well as two softer throwing pitchers that both threw no-hitters.
AL Batter: Adolis Garcia (Texas Rangers OF)
Week Statistics: .464 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 6 R, 1 SB, .929 SLG
Arguably the biggest surprise of the fantasy baseball season has been the breakout of Adolis Garcia. Coming into this season, Garcia had only 2 career major league hits and just 24 games played as he spent most of his career in the minors. At age 28, Adolis Garcia is having a breakout year in his first full MLB season. On the year, Garcia is batting .297/.339/.604 with 9 home runs, 26 RBI, 16 Runs, and 2 SB. He has become an everyday player in the Rangers outfielder and is currently the 8th ranked outfielder in all ESPN leagues.
This week Garcia has exploded with a slash line of .464/.500/.929 with 4 Home Runs, 12 RBI, 6 Runs, and 1 SB. Garcia registered a hit in all seven games he played this week, including 4 multi-hit performances and 4 different games with a home run. Adolis also led the major leagues with 12 RBI’s this week and ended his week with a 7/12, 2 HR, and 7 RBI outburst in the series against the Seattle Mariners. Besides the incredible production, the advanced numbers are also in Garcia’s favor. So far this season, Garcia has an exit velocity of 92.3mph (MLB average: 88.6mph), a hard-hit rate of 53.6% (MLB average 39.2%), and a home run rate of 8.3% (MLB average: 3.3%). The only concerning stat for Garcia is his 30.3% strikeout rate, but that will affect his batting average going forward. Even if we see regression for Garcia’s average, he still will be very viable in fantasy for just his power alone. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see any of this coming from Garcia, but he has exploded this season and should be an everyday player and a great source of power for the rest of the year.
Honorable Mention: Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros DH)
AL Pitcher: John Means (Baltimore Orioles SP)
Week Statistics: 1 GS, 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP
There should be no surprise for who the pitchers of the week are. We had two no-hitters this past week, and one of the pitchers who threw one was John Means of the Baltimore Orioles. This week on the Trainwreck Sports Fantasy Baseball podcast, we discussed John Means and the gem he threw on Wednesday afternoon vs. the Mariners. In that start, Means threw 9 scoreless innings, struck out 12 batters, allowed no hits (obviously), and didn’t walk a single batter. The only reason for Means’ start not being a perfect game was because of a wild pitch strikeout in the 3rd inning where Haggerty made it first safely. Haggerty was later caught stealing second, so Means was still able to retire all 27 batters he faced in order.
The no-hitter was just another amazing start for Means as he’s having a CY Young caliber season. John Means has a 4-0 record on the year with a 1.37 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts. Means is currently the number 2 ranked SP in all ESPN fantasy baseball leagues and has gone from a waiver wire pick-up to a must-own starting pitcher in just a month. Means has also done so by pitching, unlike most of the popular aces in today’s game. Means only throws 92-93mph, so he has to rely on location and off-speed to keep opposing hitters off-balance and create weak contact. That has not been a problem for Means this season as he has relied on two dominant off-speed pitches, curveball and change-up. This year, Means has thrown his curveball 84 times and has yet to allow a single hit when he throws it. Means has also thrown his change-up 200 times with a 41% whiff rate and an opposing batting average of just .102. It may be difficult for Means to sustain these numbers for the entirety of the season, but he looks the part of an ace and should be owned and started in all leagues going forward.
Honorable Mention: Cole Irvin (Oakland Athletics SP/RP)
NL Batter: Miguel Rojas (Miami Marlins SS)
Week Statistics: .458 AVG, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, .917 SLG
The NL batter of the week for this week is Miguel Rojas, who is still available in over 60% of ESPN leagues! Miguel Rojas has always been a good contact hitter and now shows more power this season. Rojas batted an NL best .458 average this past week with 2 home runs, 1 triple, and 3 doubles. Rojas was hitting the ball to all parts of the park, and his offensive spark helped lead the Marlins to a 4-2 record. Rojas had a hit in every game this week, including 4 multi-hit games and 9 runs scored. His phenomenal week pushed his season averages to .286/.370/.455, and he is now the 9th ranked shortstop in all ESPN leagues.
Although Miguel Rojas is not a popular name, there isn’t any real reason why you shouldn’t look to acquire the 32-year-old. Miguel Rojas has been a steady source of average over the past few seasons and should continue that this year. Rojas is the everyday shortstop for the Marlins, and even though their offense isn’t the greatest, Rojas is still putting up enough counting stats to make up for it. Rojas now has 22 runs scored, which ranks 5th among all shortstops, and has 2 home runs and 3 steals to go along with it. Rojas bats lead-off for the Marlins and will have plenty of opportunities to add to his steals and runs totals for the rest of the year. After a week batting .458, it was time to show some love to Miguel Rojas, that has quietly been a very consistent contact hitter for over three years.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants SS)
NL Pitcher: Wade Miley (Cincinnati Reds SP)
Week Statistics: 1 GS, 9 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.11 WHIP
Last but certainly not least on today’s list is Wade Miley of the Cincinnati Reds. If you have been following the Trainwreck Fantasy Baseball podcast all season long, you would’ve heard Nick mention Wade Miley as one of his “pick-ups of the week” a month ago. I hope you listened to him because Miley has become a top 25 starting pitcher, and this week he threw a no-hitter. On Friday night, Wade Miley picked apart the Cleveland Indians lineup en route to his 4th win of the season. Miley threw 114 pitches, 72 for strikes, and allowed just one walk the entire game. Miley struck out 8 batters and didn’t allow a single hit as he became the 4th pitcher already this season to throw a no-hitter.
The no-hitter by Wade Miley made his season averages that more impressive and pushed his overall ranking to the 21st best starting pitcher in all ESPN leagues. Miley is now 4-2 on the year with a 2.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 27 strikeouts across 36 innings. Wade Miley has 3 quality starts on the season and has only had one start where he allowed more than 2 earned runs. Despite being 34 years old, Miley is on pace to have a career-best season and is still owned in over 50% of ESPN leagues. Miley has done nothing but help his owners this season, and if you listened to Nick and picked him up already, you probably won your pitching categories this week.
Honorable Mention: Huascar Ynoa (Atlanta Braves SP)
In case you missed it make sure to check out last week’s Fantasy Baseball Podcast – TWS Fantasy Baseball – Episode 5
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