September is almost upon us, and with that, most fantasy baseball owners will flip their attention to the minor league call-ups we have been expecting to see for some time now.
The A’s are likely to bring up Jesus Luzardo, the White Sox have a hot prospect in Luis Robert, and the Astros are finally expected to deliver us Kyle Tucker. But while the rest of your league fights for rookie supremacy, you easily can steal a victory by rooting through the discarded players currently being overlooked. Whether you need speed or power, saves or strikeouts, there is still something for everyone without having to fight your best friend for a kid who could flop just as easily as he could succeed.
If it is power you covet, we’re seeing plenty of that on display right now — and no, it isn’t just coming from Cincinnati’s Aristides Aquino. Royals outfielder Jorge Soler continues to rake, and though he is normally a sink-or-swim type of hitter, he has shown tremendous consistency here in the second half with a .324 average, 12 home runs and 28 RBIs. He has cut the strikeout rate from 28.9 percent to 18.9 in the second half and has almost doubled his isolated power mark.
Joining Soler in the realm of forgotten power are Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager and Indians first baseman Carlos Santana. Are the names sexy? No. But you want your team to win.
Speed has been a lot more difficult to come by. Though the last week’s top 10 hitters have combined for more than 50 home runs, the week’s top 10 in stolen bases have produced half that many in steals. Fortunately for you, there are enough low-profile guys swiping bags to help you out.
Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields has four swipes over the past seven days, and J.T. Realmuto and Jonathan Villar continue to chip in. Also keep a watchful eye on players like Victor Robles and Raimel Tapia and Ender Inciarte, all of whom are capable of lighting up the basepaths.
Pitching gets a bit more convoluted, as teams are using a revolving door to connect their big league club with their minor league affiliates. But we still have plenty of forgotten veterans who are in the process of turning their seasons around. Yu Darvish and Chris Archer have lower-than-usual ownership percentages. If your league has been scared off, it is time to swoop in.
It is time to stop looking at names. It is time to stop looking at season-long numbers. It is time to play the hot hand and get whatever production you can find. Leave the upside of the next big thing to the rest of the league, and take your production in any way you can.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at Fantasy Alarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice, MLB lineups and DFS weather updates.
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