Sound the fantasy alarm, the Nationals are set to call up hyper-uber-mega prospect slash outfielder slash your newest obsession James Wood on Monday and he hit two doubles and drove in three runs Friday night for a nice little preview of what’s to come. After dealing with a hamstring injury at the end of May, Wood returned in style last week with an immediate bombksi. The 21-year old is now slashing .353/.463/.595 in 52 games with a real nice 1.058 OPS to go with 10 homers, 10 steals and 37 RBI. Oh yes please, and more, I like that very much. If it wasn’t obvious by all the crushing and gushing I’m doing he is an add everywhere, like immediately. This is not a drill, even though we’ve been practicing for this since March when he outperformed pretty much every Nats hitter in spring training. He’s basically still doing that, and has some of the hardest hit beisbols of the year for a Washington hitter across all affiliates. No surprise here Wood goes hard. In addition, the 17% BB% is nice, but it’s the 18.2% K% that’s sticking out to me, as this was something he struggled with last year (33.7 K% in 2023). Yeah, so bro looks like he’s ready to rage. Downers might say he could struggle with contact out the gate but the power is real, folks, and it’s spectacular. For the nerds, his average exit velocity, hard hit% and barrel rate are all ridiculous. You. Will. Love. He could hit 30 homers this summer! OK, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself but my dude is a masher. Grey told you to BUY back in May, and he’s been The Itch’s number one prospect for weeks now. The Nats are hoping this Wood will help their performance, and I’m trying to keep this safe for work but this is one Wood we’re hoping doesn’t end in a bust. I’d add him everywhere I play fantasy baseball games. He could be a top 20 player going forward. He could cure your loneliness, fix your marriage problems, and make you be a better person. He could win rookie of the year. Nats are finally out of the woods as Wood is arriving. This kid’s gonna be a star! Ha-cha-cha!
Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night.
Cristopher Sanchez – 9.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 9 K, 6th win. How are the Phils gonna stay in the mix without two of their sigmas Harper and Schwarbs? Well, the simple answer most of the other teams aren’t any good. But the better answer might be their pitching. Still, I’ll take Turner/Bohm/Marsh over whatever it is the Marlins are running out daily. This game belonged to Sanchez though, and he allowed just three base runners, none that reached past first base and managed to notch his first career shut out with just 101 pitches. It was his third win in a row, he’s got a 18/1 K/BB in that stretch and gets the sad sack and sorry Cubbies next week. Yes, okay now and what did you say your name was again?
Bryson Stott – 0-for-3, 2 RBI, slashing .239/.332/.359. Bryson Stott Dechambeau was responsible for the only offense in the game, but I’m more intrigued by the fact that he led off and how much that could help his value if he continues to do so. Monocling closer than houses of dragons and the boys and Bears and all the the shows I still have to watch this summer instead of going outside.
Zach Eflin – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, 4th win. Thank Eflin God. This might have been his best start of the year. That’s not a compliment. He holds a 3.92 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 69/7 K/BB, not bad numbers by any means but mostly boring and about as exciting as watching the Karen Read jurors deliberate. Look at that fan go though!
Mitchell Parker – 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, BB, 5 K, 4th L. Seems like everyone around me is jumping on the Mitchell Parker train and I’m being left in the dust, so let’s have a look? 3.32 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 63/18 K/BB. He’s gone at least five innings in all but one of his last 11 starts. So he’s not going to hurt you, he’s also probably not getting you a win either. He looks like a streamer to me, frands, a safe one, but not a very good one. He gets the Mets next week and I’m considering the prospect of maybe thinking about mulling over the possibility of contemplating whether or not I should review the option of potentially picking him up. I still don’t know for sure though!
Jose Siri – 2-for-3, 2 HR (11). Siri, show me “twin bombs.” Oof. That’s not what I wanted and highly inappropriate. I guess I’ll try ChatGPT.
Jacob Young – 2-for-3, run, SB (19). He’s been one of the best outfielder in fantasy. Yup, it’s a really bad year for outfielders.
Colton Cowser – 1-for-4, HR (12). Case in point, I’ve been starting holy Cowser for about a month and a half now. Colton does have a home run each of his last three games, so I’m not complaining, but I agree it certainly sounds like I am!
Craig Kimbrel – 1.0 IP, 2 K, SV (18). CK is on some skibidi sigma rizz right now. The kids say fire. Everything is fire. Ten saves since May 19, and allowed just five hits in that span 13.0 IP with a 19/3 K/BB. He’s looked like the most dominant closer in baseball in June. Absolute fire.
Albert Suarez – 6.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 2 K, 4th win. Good bounce back for Al after allowing eight runs in his previous two, albeit against the Yankees and Astros potent line ups. The Ks are underwhelming but the ratios are nice and safe (2.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP). He lines up for a cherry match up with the Mariners or A’s next week while we all wait for the O’s to make a trade for a top line starter.
Max Scherzer – 5.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Max’s stuff ain’t what it used to be, sure, but considering the opponent he escaped this one relatively unscathed and I’d be feeling pretty confident trotting him out there next week for San Diego. Whether you enjoyed the Furiosa prequel or not, Mad Max is back.
Jeff McNeil – 3-for-4, HR (4), 3 RBI. If Grimace really cared about the Mets he’d tell Mets Manager Mendoza not to keep starting McNeil every day. Still, I’ll say it if no one else will: The Mets are a wagon, ya’ll!
Jose Altuve – 2-for-5, HR (13). This one‘s for the short kings! Someone should make a TikTok with the Minions sound bite and Altuve just ripping dingers. That one was for Gru!
Pete Alonso – 1-for-4, HR (17). Albombso!
Nick Pivetta – 4.0 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, BB, 4 K, 5th L. Yeah, um, welp, so he tends to do this every year. Not many pitchers are as streaky as Pivetta. When he’s on he looks like and Cy Young candidate, but when he’s off, boy howdy, batters tee off him like it’s derby day. That’s five tanks allowed in three starts and I’d say he’s a drop but he gets the Marlins next week who couldn’t hit five home runs off him if they wanted to.
Rafael Devers – 1-for-2, HR (17). His third straight game with a home run, he’s hitting close to .450 over the past week. Raffy’s .941 OPS leads all MLB 3rd baseman yet Jose Ramirez remains the top All Star vote getting. Can we fix this?
Jackson Merrill – 1-for-4, HR (11), 3 RBI, slashing .282/.318/.439. Dude is capping off his June in style, eight of his 11 bombs have come this month, I guess someone’s gotta take over while Schwarbs is on the shelf. He’s also got 18 RBI and 2 steals this month batting .287. Name a better NL rookie, I’ll wait. Jackson can’t stop till he’s got enough!
Kyle Higashioka – 1-for-3, HR (9), 2 RBI. BUY! Four dongs in the past week hitting .412 with 12 RBI, seriously what is your catcher doing cause it’s not this. Yeah, you should probably add him?
Charlie Morton – 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, BB, 7 K, 5th win. Last week I said that Sale and Lopez were carrying this staff but aw jeez Rick I forgot Morty’s been just as solid. The win gave Charlie a W against every team in MLB, and he saved the ‘burgh for last because, well revenge is the short answer. Yinzers gonna yinz. Outside of a a clunker versus the Yanks this month he’s rocking some purdy June ratios (3.10 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Braves staff looker sweeter than a peach.
Austin Riley – 1-for-4, 2 runs, HR (9). Speaking of nice June’s, Riley’s slashing .297/.373/.560 with six of his nine homers coming this month including this shot. I never doubted burning my second pick on you, just please don’t open any of the letters I sent you in April.
Colin Rea – 5.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 7th win. The eight Ks was a career high! No wonder I want nothing to do with him. Still those seven wins! Including three in June, guy hasn’t taken a loss since late May. He’s had some favorable match ups lately but credit where credit is due! If I were a braver man I might even start him in Coors next week, but I’m not. I’m a coward.
Trevor Megill – 1.0 IP, SV (17). Are we sure they’re just going to let Devin Williams slide back into the closer role? T-Megs has converted 11 straight save opps (ELEVEN), and has a sparkling 1.71 ERA with a 30/7 K/BB. Devin Williams has some prime experience setting up Josh Hader, right? I’m just saying! Don’t take my best closer away from me, please!
Jackson Chourio – 2-for-3, Grand Slam HR (9). JC’s batting .400 in the past week with this knock. The youngest Brewer to salami in team history. Yum. Cold cuts. If you keep this up I won’t regret drafting you in the third round as much. I’m almost not regretting it now!
Frankie Montas – 6.0 IP, 2 hits, ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 6th L. Frankie says relax…he’s looked quite useable lately but a lot of this was the match up as he allowed some fly outs that would have been homers in most other parks. This is a round about way of saying don’t start him in Yankee stadium next week.
Ryan Helsley – 1.0 IP, K, SV (29). Once again, Busch stadium saves the day, also Brendan Donovan, but let’s not take anything away from Helsley who converted his 28th straight save chance Friday, four more than the next closest player! The best part about this was me checking Cardinals twitter this morning and getting to read how confident Cards fans were Helsley would blow this game. Ahh, the bitter diehard. Gotta love it. They must know something I don’t?
David Fry – 3-for-4. Don’t look now, but he’s hitting close to .400 over the past week. The power hasn’t been there but could he be on the cusp of another mash fest? Idk!
Vinnie Pasquantino – 2-for-4, HR (9), 3 RBI. I don’t think I’ve mentioned him once all year which tells me all I need to know. KC fans can berate me in the comments, but it seems like he’s been a better real life player than fantasy, but also that defense is not great.
Salvador Perez – 2-for-4 with a HR (13). Sally’s got a five game hitting streak with two homers in that stretch. Hate to tell you what I’ve accomplished in the past five days! Unless you’re impressed by television watching and shit posting about Bronny.
Maikel Garcia – 2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 SB (21). He’s almost a top 50 player on the player rater, despite him seeing the waiver wire in some leagues more than I see my therapist. I’m joking!! My father won’t let me see a therapist! Anyway! Trauma dump aside, how are the Royals so bad again?
Luis Rengifo – 2-for-4, HR (6), 2 RBI. Imagine they’d played him to start the year? Angels could be in first place!
Logan O’Hoppe – 1-for-3, HR (11), 3 RBI. When you’re an Angels fans you’ve got to have high O’Hoppes!
Carlos Estevez – 1.0 IP, K, SV (16). Converted 10 saves in a row and oh boy does someone want to be traded! He’s capping off an excellent June with 8 saves in 9 IP, he has yet to allow a run, and has surrendered just one hit! Sweet sassy molassy! He’s also has struck out 10 and walked no one. Batters are hitting just .036 off him in June. Channeling his inner K-Rod I guess? Keep it up, Carlos!
Logan Gilbert – 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3 K. Should I call you Logan, Weapon X? Are you as excited as I am for Deadpool? What do you mean Taylor Swift’s not gonna be in it? Well, I’m not quite as excited now. Here’s something else to get excited about–more June player stats! Gilbs has a 31/1 K/BB in June, with a 1.51 ERA, hitters batting just .167 against him. Yes, he’s been that good! This has translated to just two wins because the Mariners can’t hit anything. They should try changing their walk up songs to Taylor Swift bangers maybe. It couldn’t hurt!
Carlos Correa – 2-for-4, HR (9), 2 RBI, slashing .312/.381/.506. CarCo could be in the midst of a career year, assuming he doesn’t get hurt which is like assuming half the country won’t vote for a 75 year old for president. I’ll vote for the president who can use rizz better in a sentence. We’ll end up with Sketch for prez!
Bailey Ober – 6.0 IP, 2 hits, ER, 3 BB, 9 K. Ober and over again. That’s 27 Ks over his past three starts but man has my dude had it easy, Oakland, Oakland, C-Attle. Welp. He gets the Tigers next week so let’s keep those good times rolling!
Drew Thorpe – 6.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, 2nd win. He hasn’t looked particularly great but hosting the Rockies is always the right match up, even if you’re on the Shite Sox.
Michael Kopech – 1.0 IP, K, SV (7). Saves on back to back days after going more than a month without one, that’s gotta be a goocher! His last save was on May 15th but he’s blown three saves in the meantime so I guess my argument is invalid.
Brenton Doyle – 2-for-4, HR (7), SB (19) as he led off. Oh Doyle rules! He’s one of the top outfielders in all of fantasy and he’s keeping me in this thing, baby! I saw he was leading off and nearly jumped for joy that Manager Black was doing something right but I’m 99% sure he’ll lead off Blackmon when he’s activated this weekend or something even dumber. Still I’ve got this one game!
Michael Toglia – 1-for-4, HR (9). Grey told you to BUY! Three homers in the past week, we call that a Toglia party!
Landon Knack – 4.2 IP, 5 hits, ER, 7 K. He’s go a Knack for getting outs but apparently not for pitching very deep into games. Still I’d definitely use him next week against the Diamondbacks. They’re terrible.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – 2-for-4, HR (11), 2 RBI. Oh hey, we were just talking about you! How much of that did you hear? Anyway, look at this shot! That’s a 420+ footer, folks. Blaze it indeed! This team was in the World Series last year and now they’re getting bullied by the A’s. Sad!
Logan Webb – 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, ERA at 3.12. Against the Dodgers, yeah I’m impressed! Talk about a dude that always goes his six innings. That’s 10 straight. It doesn’t get much more reliable than Webb. Reliably mediocre, but still reliable.
Matt Chapman – 1-for-4, HR (10), 2 RBI, SB (7). Two homers and two steals in the past week! I honestly thought he’s retired!
Brett Wisely – 2-for-4, Walk Off 2-run HR (3). Well this looks fun! Anyone else getting shades of Bonds? Nope? Just me then.
Shea Langeliers – 3-for-5, HR (15), 2 RBI, SB (3). I want a swing like Shea Langelierssssss! Like Shea Langelierrrrsss! I brought back the Sia ref, now that I can spell his name right. The DBags gave up three ninth inning home runs including bombs to Brent Rooker (2-for-5, HR (15)) and Daz Cameron (2-for-5, HR (3)). I’m not a baseball Manager but I’d think that’s something you don’t want to do at the end of a game.
Yusei Kikuchi – 5.0 IP, 4 hits, 4 ER, BB, 7 K, 8th L. His third loss in a row, more like Yu-don’t-sei! He’s given up 13 runs over his past three starts, but its been quite a gauntlet lately and the Ks are there (93/21 K/BB). I might actually be buying low here, but I’m addicted to Ks and am too drugged up to understand why the Jays are so bad.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 2-for-5, HR (12), 2 RBI. He’s got five ding dongs in the last seven games with 14 RBI including this one. He’s hitting close to .400 in that stretch and the Jays keep losing so I guess we can’t blame Vlady Daddy anymore. They can’t actually be considering trading this guy, right?
Juan Soto – 2-for-4, 3 runs, HR (2), 3 RBI. Sexy Dr. Pepper is fully aware he’s the second most popular soda in America right now and if you’ve ever made it on the weird Dr. Pepper side of TikTok you know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t unsee those. Why pickles tho? Anyway, watch him destroy this baseball. If this is what the slump looks like just wait till he gets hot! Spicy Dr. Pepper!
Gleyber Torres – 2-for-4, HR (8), 3 RBI. The Yankees scored 16 runs on 18 hits, but were trailing 3-1 when they entered the sixth. They were looking all puppy dog sad-eyed and pathetic after their three game slide and losing the Subway Series, “Ho hum, woe is us. Carlos Rodon actually isn’t this good? What ever will we do?” Actual quotes from the team! Marcus Stroman (4.1 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) seemed to have some harsh words for his teammates, in particular Gleyber Torres, but big bro Judge was like, “Nah yo, you don’t talk to my bestie like that,” and then Gleyber did this. Gone-zo! Looks like Stroman hit a nerve and awoke the beast(s)! Perhaps MaStro’s outburst was dot, dot, dot…orchestrated? Regardless, props to Stro AND Judge for this whole good cop bad cop routine, seems like it woke everyone up! Or more likely Toronto’s bullpen is just that bad.
Thanks for reading! Questions? Problems? Complaints to management? Advice, small gifts or large bribes? Please leave it in the comments below. Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy baseball continues next week, all week long!
