Scott Hairston:
Hairston continues to be an underrated commodity in fantasy. Hairston’s owned in an astoundingly low 9% of ESPN leagues despite posting a .914 OPS while on pace for a 20-20 season. Hairston’s bounced around quite a bit at the major league level, plays in the obscurity of San Diego’s horrid offense, and has generated just 24 Runs and 28 RBI’s; so there are some reasons to explain low ownership, but under 10% is rather absurd. The Run and RBI production will continue to be limited and the average will come down some (.362 BABIP), but the power-speed combination is real and Hairston (a minor league career .320-.400-.568) has enough skill to maintain the batting average. He really should be owned in all formats and is being rather radically overlooked right now.
Rafael Soriano:
I keep reading across the fantasy industry analysts referring to Mike Gonzalez as the closer and I’m not really sure why? In June, 10 of Rafael Soriano’s 13 appearances were in the 9th inning or later, while just 7 of Mike Gonzalez’s 15 appearances were in the 9th inning or later. It’s apparent the role is still split for the most part, but the trend of Gonzalez picking up more save opportunities than Soriano is a dated trend that fantasy analysts and owners need to recognize. The job is still shared but Soriano is the clear lead here both based on recent opportunity and skill.
Cole Hamels:
Wednesday’s awful outing should provide a nice little buying opportunity for Hamels pursuers. Hamels K, BB, and HR Rates are all in line with previous years’ production as is his velocity, but more than anything some horrendous luck is destroying Hamels season. A .374 BABIP against and .360 BHIP% against are the primary detractors from his performance and both are due for an inordinate amount of regression. Given the injury concerns Hamels had earlier in the season and the extremely heightened hit rate, recent struggles, and ugly season long totals; Hamels should be an excellent trade target for savvy owners.
Aramis Ramirez:
It’s welcome back Ramirez day here at Fantistics! While a bigger name Ramirez will be making his return to the big leagues tonight, Aramis Ramirez will be down on the farm in Peoria playing his first rehab game since dislocating his shoulder early in the season. Ramirez is planning on playing through the weekend and then returning at the start of next week. Upon return it will likely take some time to return to form and the power will likely be a question mark throughout the season as the injury occurred to Ramirez’s front shoulder, but the Cubs and fantasy owners will be happy to have him back. For owners who may have been able to fill his void through astute waiver wire maneuvering (Mark Reynolds, Pablo Sandoval, etc), I’d actually consider dealing Ramirez upon return. When healthy, Ramirez is an elite (Top 5 1B), but the effects of this shoulder injury on his power production the rest of the way are unknown and if you have a capable replacement on hand, I’d imagine his value will be at a peak upon his return when owners associate his name with draft day (or early season) production in excitement of his return and shrug off the downside of lingering shoulder effects.
Ryan Church:
I’ve always been a fan of Ryan Church, though he may fall into the “better in real life” than fantasy category, but being that he’s sort of the “last man standing” in the Mets OF, Church deserves some attention in all formats. Church’s main issues throughout his career have been playing time related (either through poor management see Nationals, Washington, or injury) and with everyone hurting on the Mets roster, Church is pretty much guaranteed everyday playing time. He hit .307/.361/.453 in June while scoring 14 Runs and swiping 3 bags. Citi Field is going to limit the HR production (just 2 all season), but the Mets added emphasis on small ball should allow him more SB opportunities. He’s scorching hot right now going 10-18 in his last 4 games, but he’s more than just a short-term hitch and ditch player. As long as Church’s playing time is stable he can produce at a pro-rated .280-70-15-70-15 line.
