Taylor Ward OF LAA
What's hotter than a 100% Sweet Spot percentile of 43%? Step into the burn Ward: Over the last two weeks, Ward has warmed from hot to scalding: .347 BA with 5 HR and 11 Runs scored. For the month his OBP is .433 and his OPS is .885. With a 13.5% Barrel Rate and an elite 21% Chase Rate, Ward should continue to boil down the stretch, so, unless you have bonafide better options for home-cooking, don't put the lid on Taylor for 2024. Is this repeatable for 2025? If he keeps the barrel rate in tandem with a keen eye chase rate, 25 HR is believable for 2025.
Spencer Horwitz 1B/2B TOR
Don't ask why, simply sus-Spencer your disbelief and ride the wave of fire: 4 HR, .357 BA with 7 runs scored over the last two weeks. He's finding the sweet spot at 40% of the time and whiffs just 19% of the time, so Spencer for hire could go even higher. Honestly, it's at the point in the season when we stop asking how, when and to what extent: if you need help at 1B or 2B, haul in Horwitz. His keen eye, in concert with a low K rate suggests that 2025 could hold a steady .275 BA floor and a solid OBP for Horwitz.
Lawrence Butler OF OAK
This one hurts, as Butler was dangled as trade bait back in July when I was shopping the likes of Luis Castillo in my 13-team mixed league. My quote for denying Butler was something like "I don't trust Oakland to handle him right." Sound reasoning, completely wrong move. The Butler keeps doing it: 7 HR, 3 SB, 12 Runs and .411 BA over the last two weeks. He's off tonight (hopefully doing nothing to change his stride) but Butler could be your Lawrence of Euphoria if you ride him through the end of the season and into 2025. Keep an eye on his high Whiff Rate and K Rate for 2025 which could cut into his productivity.
Seth Brown 1B/OF OAK
Speaking of Oakland, Seth Brown is knocking the ball all over town the last two weeks: 4 HR, 14 RBI with a .378 BA. We know who this guy is (wasn't he an extra in Moneyball?) but like I said before, what matters all year matters not in September. If you have a hot hitter, ride him to glory, StatCast be damned. If you need to hear some sweet StatCast noise, he is hitting the sweet spot an effective 38% of the time. For 2025, Seth Brown may be rostered, but probably not on your fantasy team. He's a waiver-wire, hot-hand play now and in 2025.
Johnny DeLuca OF TAM
Johnny come lately, new bat in town...and to quote another (far better) song: "When logic and proportion having fallen sloppy dead..." you start Johnny DeLuca and dance to the 2 HR, 3 SB, .364 and 9 Runs scored over the last two weeks. And you can tell your fantasy team, as you load up for the final weeks: "Let's win this one for Johnny." Finally, if he's on your fantasy team, do yourself a favor: don't even look at StatCast..if you do, just imagine it's blue on behalf of the Rays. For 2025, DeLuca may be a good baseball player but the deep blue in StatCast suggests that his good fortune in 2024 is unlikely to be sustained in 2025.
Eugenio Suarez 3B ARI
It happens two, sometimes three times a year. Suarez goes off and you just dropped him. Or, he's going off and you picked him up and now he sucks again! Well, it's too late to overthink it: just add Suarez if you need CI help because right now he's on a 6 HR two-week tear, with an entirely unsustainable .333 BA, 15 runs scored and 11 RBI. Listen, it's September, he's on the unstoppable Arizona Diamondbacks and he's on a classic heater. Just hold your hands over the flame and enjoy the warmth. Suarez in 2025 is likely to be the same as Suarez in 2024...as long as he gets ABs, he is likely to get near 30 HR.
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