Week That Was: Week That Was: Mookie Mania
In most fantasy leagues, Mookie Betts was drafted somewhere in the 20-to-40 range. What an amazing value he’s turned out to be.
As the leadoff hitter for a Red Sox lineup that is by far the best in baseball, Betts is in prime position to put up huge numbers and he has taken full advantage. The right fielder leads the majors with 53 runs scored and ranks second with four triples. He’s 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts. Oh, and he’s got a little power, too.
On Tuesday night Betts belted three home runs and drove in five. A day later he added two more solo homers, pushing his season total to 14. Last year he finished with 18, so he’s on track to easily set a new career high, maybe by the end of June.
If we have one quibble it’s that we wish Betts would lift his pedestrian .337 OBP a bit, but with the way he’s filling the stat sheet it’s hard to complain.
* Alex Colome did a splendid job filling in at closer for the Rays while Brad Boxberger spent the first two months recovering from March core surgery, but was nonetheless on track to be supplanted when the incumbent was finally activated this week.
Although Colome hadn’t recorded a save in his career entering this season, he was cool as a cucumber in the ninth inning while serving as Boxberger’s interim replacement, converting all 12 of his save attempts while posting a 1.23 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 22 innings. Despite the resounding success, he was prepared to dutifully step aside for Boxberger, who notched a league-leading 41 saves for Tampa in 2015.
However, in his first outing of the season on Tuesday, Boxberger looked extremely shaky before exiting with pain in his side. He was diagnosed with a strained oblique, which could keep him out until the All Star break.
The door is now wide open for Colome to lock up the job for good. If he keeps performing as he has, it’s difficult to envision any other outcome.
* Last year, Anibal Sanchez allowed 29 home runs, most in the American League. This year he is once again pacing the league in that category, and the Tigers have evidently seen enough. After watching him give up three gopher balls in Anaheim on Tuesday, manager Brad Ausmus indicated that he is shifting the 32-year-old righty to the bullpen for the time being.
The move means that Matt Boyd‘s spot in the Detroit rotation is safe for now, making him a fairly intriguing deep-league option. Shane Greene could shake things up when he returns from his rehab assignment but the Tigers are considering sliding him to the bullpen as well.
* The hits just keep on coming for the Minnesota Twins. Actually, that might not be accurate. Hits will be harder to come by now that Miguel Sano has landed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring, suffered while beating out a double play on Tuesday. Sano was the team leader in home runs and RBI, and was heating up over the past couple of weeks. He is accompanied on the DL by Danny Santana, who tweaked his own hammy a day earlier.
Replacing the two outfielders are Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, two top prospects that saw time in Minnesota earlier this season. Both were performing well in Triple-A and Buxton in particular is interesting because of his elite speed, but fantasy owners must take a wait-and-see approach at this point.
* The Mets are shutting David Wright down for a while. The veteran third baseman was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his neck and will stay away from baseball activities for six to eight weeks. During his absence, New York will use some combination of Ty Kelly, Wilmer Flores and Matt Reynolds, but it’s not a group that inspires a ton of confidence. Look for GM Sandy Alderson to be active in trade talks.
* The Phillies have been a nice surprise overall but they have received very little from their offense, which has scored the second-fewest runs in baseball. In an effort to bolster the lineup, the Phils acquired Jimmy Paredes on Wednesday after the outfielder was designated for assignment by Toronto earlier in the week.
It’s a huge boost for the fantasy value of Paredes, who wasn’t playing much for the Jays but was in the Philadelphia lineup batting third on Thursday, and on Friday he hit fifth. The 27-year-old owns a .276/.310/.423 slash line in the majors dating back to the start of 2014 and is capable of decent production in both power and speed categories. Give him a look if you need outfield help.
* Another outfielder that should be emerging on fantasy radars is Jarrett Parker. Hunter Pence suffered a severe hamstring strain while legging out a grounder on Wednesday, and is expected to require surgery and miss at least two months. Parker figures to be the regular right fielder during his absence. The former second-round draft pick has a 960 OPS in limited MLB playing time and was a .262/.365/.457 hitter in the minors with solid home run pop and the ability to swipe a bag.
* The Nationals called up top prospect Trea Turner, who went 3-for-3 with a double and a walk in his season debut on Friday. In Triple-A, he was raking to the tune of .310/.376/.472 with 17 steals on 17 attempts. It’s not entirely clear what the Nats plan to do when Ryan Zimmerman returns from paternity leave, but with Danny Espinosa batting .197, it’s only a matter of time before Turner takes over as the everyday shortstop.
* For a second time in four years, Marlon Byrd has tested positive for PEDs. His latest, announced this week, results in a 162-game ban that might signal the end of his MLB career. The 38-year-old outfielder was already due for free agency after this year, and his suspension will carry over into next season.
* Bryce Harper gave his fantasy owners a bit of a scare when a pitch nailed him directly in the knee on Monday, but the superstar slugger fortunately suffered no structural damage. He sat out Tuesday and Wednesday’s games to rest up but returned to the Washington lineup on Friday.
* Carlos Carrasco returned on Thursday from a DL stint that lasted more than a month after he strained his hamstring in late April. The 29-year-old was a bit rough in his outing against the Royals, giving up three runs on nine hits over five innings, but we’re chalking it up to rust. He’s a quality option next week with two starts scheduled.
