BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
Folks, we are back with another installment of pickups of the week! For week 9 I am giving out a few names that you are most likely familiar with that could help your teams make a playoff run and a catcher who has been destroying the baseball this past week. Let’s get to it!
Justin Upton: Los Angeles Angels OF (46.9% ESPN Ownership)
The first player on today’s list is the 33-year-old Angels outfielder, Justin Upton. Now normally I’m not one to recommend older veterans as they usually regress as the season goes on, but for Upton that has been the opposite. Justin Upton started this season on a miserable cold streak batting just .231 AVG in April and .188 AVG in May with 56 strikeouts and only 15 walks. However, since the calendar has turned to June, Upton has found the fountain of youth! So far in June, Upton is batting .364 AVG with four home runs, eight RBI’s and a very impressive 7:7 walk to strikeout ratio. On top of that, Upton has a ridiculously good .517 OBP and 1.091 SLG in the month.
His recent success goes even further back than just June as over his last 12 games Upton is batting .302/.412/.767 with five home runs, five doubles, nine RBI’s, and 11 runs scored. There could be many reasons for this success, but it’s no coincidence that Upton has been bashing the ball ever since he moved to the lead-off spot. Batting in front of Ohtani and Rendon has given Upton new life and he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity. Although his current pace is unsustainable, Upton is hitting the ball much better than he did at the beginning of the year. Upton now has 14 home runs this season (T-9th in MLB) and I expect the power to continue as Upton currently has the highest exit velocity (92.3 mph) of his entire career along with his third highest hard hit rate (49.2%). Don’t get scared away by Upton’s season average of .228 AVG because he can supply your fantasy lineups with power and counting stats batting at the top of the Angels lineup.
Luis Severino: New York Yankees SP (43.8% ESPN Ownership)
The second player on this week’s list is a name I am sure all of you are familiar with but probably don’t know if he is owned or not in your leagues. I would assume that we will see Luis Severino back in the MLB in about a month and as you know, I love to jump out ahead of the curve on pitchers returning from the IL. This past Sunday, Severino just completed his first rehab start as he threw 34 pitches in Low-A and was able to register 98.8mph on his fastball. This is a very encouraging sign for Severino as he is coming back from Tommy John surgery and hopes to be an important piece of the Yankees pitching staff for the remainder of the season. I will say that I expect the Yankees to treat their young stud pitcher with a ton of caution but there is also no reason he should not be owned in your league.
Prior to the injury, Severino was absolutely dominant for the Yankees. In the two seasons before his injury Severino went 33-14 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 225 strikeouts per season. He was pitching like a top 15 pitcher and when healthy Severino is a staple of any fantasy rotation. For his potential alone, I would reccomend grabbing Severino now before the other members in your league realize he is close to returning. Severino is probably only 3 to 4 weeks away from pitching for the Yankees and if you have the luxury to stash someone for that long then Severino should be your number one priority this week. Even if he starts off in the bullpen, Severino will give your teams key pitching stats as you make your fantasy playoff push!
Eric Haase: Detroit Tigers C (18.5% ESPN Ownership)
The final player on today’s list is someone who can help a lot of teams at a position of need. There’s no way to sugarcoat it, catcher has been by far the weakest position in fantasy over the past five seasons. Unless you have one of the few studs at the position, you are probably switching between different catchers on a weekly basis. Eric Haase is a catcher who is owned in just 18.5% of all leagues, but has been on a tear recently and can absolutely help at a shallow position. In just 72 at-bats Haase is currently the 12th ranked catcher in all of fantasy and has put up some solid numbers. Haase has eight home runs which is 6th among all catchers despite Hasse having half the amount of at bats as all others. Haase also has a 1.014 OPS which ranks highest among all catchers in baseball and only trails Acuna, Vald Jr., Tatis, Castellanos, and Mike Trout. I would say that’s pretty good company.
Recently, Haase has been on fire with nine hits and six home runs in his last six games and his manager has taken notice. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said on Tuesday that Haase will be getting a larger role and regular playing time going forward. I know the sample size is small but Haase has shown a lot of promise so far this season and if he can continue to hit how he’s been he will become a must add and one of the more valuable catchers in all of fantasy. If you are in need of a catcher I would highly recommend taking a chance of Eric Haase and hope that he continues the electric start he’s had to this season.
Be sure to check out this week’s TWS Fantasy Baseball Podcast and if you missed it check out last week’s episode
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