David Fletcher- 3B- LAA- Hot- Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a walk yesterday. His slash line for the shortened season stands at .316/.377/.420. Fletcher has excellent plate discipline, with a Batting EYE of 0.83, almost as good as his 0.86 in 2019. He had shown some power earlier but hasn't hit any homers since August 11. The power surge was of limited duration, as all of Fletcher's 3 homers for the year came between August 4 and August 11. With a HardHit% of 18.9% and Exit Velocity of 84.7, power is not expected. Fletcher has a GB% of 53.6% and FB% of 22.0%. The start of his career is looking somewhat like a young Howie Kendrick, who began with the Angels, except with more walks. Average is where Fletcher can help and likely where he will contribute in 2021. He will have eligibility at all infield positions except 1B. He has also played one game in the OF.
Sam Huff- C- TEX- Rookie- Before the season was derailed Huff was projected to get time at AA Frisco, having never played above High A Down East. That where he spent most of 2019, slashing .262/.326/.425. With nothing to play for the rest of this season the Rangers have been looking at young players brought from the alternate site and Huff is one of them. He has played in a way to get noticed. Huff went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles last night and is slashing .292/.320/.542. He has 7 hits in 25 PAs since being called up and 4 of those hits are for extra bases. Huff has enjoyed a .429 BABIP in this micro sample size so nothing can be taken for granted. He is only 22 years old so while the Rangers will probably take a look at him next spring the odds are that he still needs some seasoning in the high minors. Huff is more of a catcher of the future.
Shane Bieber- P- CLE- Great Player- Bieber Fever hit a high this year and the Cleveland pitcher ended his regular season without giving up more than 3 runs in any of his 12 starts. Last night he gave up just 1 unearned run in 5 IP, allowing 2 hits, walking 3, and striking out 10. Bieber ends up with a 1.63 ERA, 2.05 FIP, 14.20 K/9, and 2.44 BB/9. The 25-year-old only broke the 110 pitch barrier once, a pattern of usage better than 2019. Bieber should be looking at being one of the elite pitchers available in 2021 and his easy usage is a very good factor.
Gary Sanchez- C- NYY- Cold- After a hot streak of 4 games last week when Sanchez went 6-for-18 with 2 homers and 2 doubles in 4 games his bat has cooled off in his last 3 games. After an 0-for-4 game last night he is hitless in those 3 games in 11 ABs. Sanchez as shown power this season, with 10 homers and 4 doubles in 166 PAs. His .143 average can be attributed to two things. First is a .145 BABIP. The second is an increase in his K% from 28.0% in 2019 to 36.7% this year. That may be a sign of frustration, although his SwStr% is only up from 13.0% to 13.6% and his overall Contact% is down just a hair from 70.2% to 69.7%. Sanchez has only had his Swing% increase from 44.0% to 44.9%. His Statcast numbers are also very close to 2019, with Exit Velocity actually rising from 91.0% to 91.7% and his HardHit% jumping from 41.9% to 47.1%. This gives Sanchez a very good chance to bounce back strong in 2021.
Tyler Glasnow- P- TB- Hot- After having his summer camp delayed due to a positive COVID test and since he lost most of his 2019 season to a forearm strain the Rays did not push him this season. It took a while to stretch Glasnow out and he now seems to be hitting his stride now that his regular season is over. He has given up 3 runs on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 18 in 11 IP over his final two starts. For Tampa Bay this is perfect timing as they head to the postseason. For fantasy owners it is a good omen that Glasnow will be back to the value projected for him at the start of 2020 once 2021 rolls around.
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