We have to bend the rules at shortstop.
It's the one hitter position (unless you count catcher, where few would even qualify as "hitters") where we don't have a Fantasy surplus in an age when 20-plus homers is the norm.
So while we should know who Andrelton Simmons is by now, him being a 27-year-old in his sixth major-league season, some of us are still holding out hope for more.
And so far this year, we're not having to squint too hard.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrelton Simmons
LAA SS
| .277 BA | 6 HR | 8 SB | 25 K |
Simmons has never struck out at a particularly high rate, but he's no stranger to a low BABIP either, which makes this year's .285 mark not necessarily a sign of better times ahead. But he appears to have recaptured the power stroke that yielded a 17-homer season in 2013, which itself would raise his batting average, and he's finally stealing bases like he did in the minors. Both contributions have some history behind them, in other words, and if he's able to sustain them, no other part of his profile suggests he couldn't be the top-12 shortstop he has been so far.
| Last 15 games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cameron Maybin
LAA LF
| .414 BA | 2 HR | 10 SB | 13 BB |
Chris Towers touched on Cameron Maybin Monday, but to drive home the point, the aggressive approach the Angels are taking on the base paths (see Simmons, Andrelton) has raised Maybin's ceiling in a way that makes him relevant even in three-outfielder points leagues. Since taking over as the leadoff man May 16, he's the eighth-best outfielder in that format and sixth-best in categories leagues -- and that's with a DL stint during that time. His batted-ball profile suggests his year-long batting average still isn't up to speed yet.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Josh Harrison
PIT 2B
| .311 BA | 8 HR | 6 SB | .862 OPS |
Josh Harrison was a Fantasy stud in 2014 thanks in large part to his .315 batting average, and what he's doing this year in terms of his line-drive and hard-contact rates mirrors that season. Hitting his eighth home run Monday gives him a chance of joining the everybody-who's-anybody 20-homer club, but for the season, he checks in seventh at second base in points leagues and 13th in categories. Certainly in daily formats, where his triple eligibility is so useful, he's must-own.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trey Mancini
BAL LF
| .289 BA | 10 HR | 11 BB | 46 K |
Trey Mancini is eligible at outfield and first base, the two positions where there are way too many hitters to go around. But even so, he's up to 10 homers in just 173 plate appearances -- a rate similar to Michael Conforto's -- and could be in line for honest-to-goodness everyday duty if Chris Davis' oblique injury is as bad as feared. I'm not saying he's must-add, bad plate discipline and all, but in leagues that use a standard Rotisserie lineup, meaning an extra corner infielder and five outfielders, he's certainly in the conversation.
| 2017 minors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Francis Martes
HOU RP
| 5.29 ERA | 2.10 WHIP | 32 1/3 IP | 38 K |
I ranked Francis Martes dead last among the 12 young pitchers who caught our attention on the waiver wire this weekend, and word of him moving out of the bullpen to make his first major-league start Wednesday doesn't change that. But he has caught our attention, if only because he's a top prospect who the parent club has decided is ready for this opportunity. I tend to disagree considering his numbers at Triple-A Fresno, but there's a reason why the Astros haven't hired me to evaluate players. If you play in a league where most of those other young pitchers have been scooped up already, it's worth adding Martes now in case he dazzles from the get-go.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jose Pirela
SD LF
| .500 BA | 2 HR | 26 AB | 7 K |
Jose Pirela would be easy to dismiss as a 27-year-old who has bounced around the minors, but his production has steadily improved there over the past few seasons, culminating in a .331 batting average and 1.022 OPS at Triple-A El Paso this year. For whatever reason, perhaps a lack of a standout tool, he hasn't gotten a fair shake in the majors, but as manager Andy Green puts it, he's a legend in the Venezuelan winter league for his hitting prowess. Going 13 for 22 with two home runs and four doubles in his past six games should at least attract some attention in deeper leagues.
