Lucas Duda quietly producing and other fantasy quick hits
Mostly MLB Notes: Talking Lucas Duda and a look around the league
Lucas Duda missed time with an elbow injury earlier in the year, but he’s quietly posting a .979 OPS with seven homers and 16 RBI over 91 at bats, and he’s recently been moved to cleanup in the Mets’ order. Duda is somehow owned in just 11 percent of leagues. If he qualified, his 17.1 BB% would rank third in baseball (tied with Joey Votto), and his .319 ISO would rank No. 8 (one spot ahead of Eric Thames). His average exit velocity ranks among the top-45 batters in baseball, and the big flies should continue to come, as he’s an extreme fly ball hitter (his 0.65 GB/FB ratio would be tied with Nolan Arenado for sixth highest in MLB). Again, Duda is available in nearly 90 percent of leagues, which needs to be fixed soon.
Headlines of the Week: Jelly Belly Sued By Woman Claiming She Didn’t Know Jelly Beans Contain Sugar…Cable Guy Fixes Plugs, Then Plugs Toilet…Man Angry He Can’t Pump Own Gas In New Jersey Punches Worker…Man May Have Collected Blood Of More Than 200 People…Naked Man Caught On Video Trying To Hide A Statue Of A Swan Worth About $25,000.
Quick Hits: Jackie Bradley Jr. entered the All-Star break last season hitting .296/.378/.548. He’s hit .226 over 368 at bats since…Joey Votto’s current BABIP (.275) is a whopping 80 points lower than his career mark. His K% (12.4) is a career best. His already terrific season may be even better moving forward…Crazy that Danny Salazar has remained healthy and sports a 30.9 K% that ranks No. 4 among all starters in baseball, yet he’s being moved to the bullpen…Julio Teheran has an 8.40 ERA with a 1.80 WHIP at home this season and a 0.71 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP on the road…Jameson Taillon, Steven Matz and Carlos Rodon are three pitchers currently on the DL who may very well be available in your league (all are unowned in more than a quarter of Yahoo leagues right now) who need to be added ASAP. All have the upside to be difference makers upon their returns (which shouldn’t be too far away).
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Police Blotter: Indy Racer Robbed At Taco Bell Drive-Thru…Stale Fries Incite Drive-Thru Mace Fight At Wendy’s…‘Mission Impossible’ BBQ Bandit Falls Through Roof, Makes Dinner…Pigeon ‘Caught With Backpack Full Of Drugs’…Man Accidentally Reveals $500M Opium Crop To Cops.
Quick Hits Part Deux: Tommy Pham has a .333-12-5-14-3 line coming over just 66 at bats this season. He’s obviously not this good, but there’s definite upside here, and he’s now going to see regular playing time with Randal Grichuk getting sent to Triple-A. I’d be adding Pham anywhere in which he’s available…In case you missed my latest “MLB Stock Watch” column, here it is…I’m through the first four episodes of the new “Twin Peaks” and to say I’m blown away would be an understatement. Just wow…Jose De Leon is an intriguing prospect, but it sounds like he’s ticketed for nothing more than a middle relief role after being called up, so he can be ignored for now in fantasy leagues…The Giants recently ended an epic streak of 19 straight solo home runs, but they remain the only team in MLB without a three-run shot this season…Ty Blach has a 1.18 WHIP with a 19:13 K:BB ratio over 49.1 innings. That’s not easy to do.
Bonus Police Blotter: Judge Denies Clown’s Plan To Juggle For Jurors As Centerpiece Of Defense…Off-Duty Police Officer Catches Serial Robber While Shopping For Doughnuts…Iguana Attacks Suspect During Attempted Burglary At Indiana Pet Spa…Two South Carolina Men Charged After Forcing Alligator To Drink Beer.
Song of the Week: The National – The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness
Longread of the Week: Fire On The Mountain
Quick Hits Part Tres: Over the first 76 at bats this year, Jose Bautista was batting .145 with one homer (.485 OPS). Since then, he’s hit .308 with eight homers over 104 at bats (1.009 OPS)…Ryan Schimpf update: he now has 24 hits on the year. And 13 homers. He’s hit nearly as many pop ups (12) as groundballs (15). He sports a 0.25 GB/FB ratio. The leader in that category last year finished at 0.57…This is easily the funniest strikeout you’ll ever see… What has gotten into Alex Avila? He owns a .337/.459/.618 line with six homers (and 20 walks!) over 89 at bats this season. With James McCann now on the disabled list, Avila is looking at regular playing time, and especially considering the sad state of the catcher’s position, he needs to be owned in all formats…Brad Hand may or may not be the favorite for saves in the Padres pen right now, but he might soon be the closer on a better team such as the Nationals (albeit that might be temporary) with trade rumors swirling, and he’s still available in more than 70 percent of leagues. It’s not just a role thing either, as he’ll help your ratios regardless. Since the beginning of last year, Hand sports a 2.69 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP with 147 strikeouts over 117.1 innings…Warriors in five.
