We’re heading into the long Memorial Day weekend, which is a great time to crush some cans, start some controlled fires in your backyard, and cook large amounts of meat for friends and family. I was a vegetarian for half the ‘aughts and even I can’t get away from a good backyard grill. American Razzballers — if you’re heading out early, give a shout down in the comments what fun things you’re doing.
Let’s see what we can do to save your team:
That’s What I Like
Abraham Toro (OAK, 2B/3B, 66% Rostered): Sometime in the midst of Covid, among the many dramatic things that happened — Tiger King, that Taylor Swift folk album, my peak fantasy dominance, among other things — Abraham Toro made his major league debut. There’s probably an entire genre of “Abraham Toro Sleeper” articles that all read the same: “Has a hot hand, but falls apart whenever the manager whispers regular playing time.” Myself, I’ve added and dropped Toro more times than I’ve taken up Grey on his offer to “Eat at this really good hamburger place in the middle of the desert.” That would be a few times, for those who want to do the math. But, when looking at the Player Rater, on the year that is 20 and 24, Abraham Toro is higher than Yordan Alvarez, Pablo Lopez, and Francisco Lindor. Over the last three weeks, Toro’s batting .376 with a .541 SLG and a dominant 16 runs. His stats are buffeted by a .346 BABIP, which seems unsustainable, but so does everything about Toro’s profile. You’re reading this column because either A) you love my stream of consciousness humor, B) your team is in deep shale and needs some fracking help. Most of your leagues can add, for free, a nice INF who is making contact and sticking in the lineup and out-performing other hot hands like Jackson Merrill. Add Toro to your bench in 12-teamers and hope that this is the year he sticks.
Davis Schneider (TOR, 2B/OF, 85% Rostered): As a parent who also dabbles in hippydom, I respect parental naming prerogatives. You want to name your kid Moon Unit? Good for you. I’ll even stand behind whatever Elon Musk named his kid, X-Y Cygnus Alpha Male or whatever. But those kids with two last names like Davis Schneider? Whew. I judge you, parents. Except for Grey’s mom. Grey Albright is a wonderful, intelligent name made for a child who would undoubtedly change the world. ENYWHEY. We’re here to change your team, not your name. Schneider came out of the depths of the minor league draft years ago. Y’all know the following about me: A) I’m not a big fan of rookies on your fantasy team, B) I am a big fan of actual performance over potential. Schneider is, technically, no longer a fantasy rookie (nearly 300 MLB at-bats) and he’s near the top 20 performers over the last month. His power profile is great — over AAA/MLB in 2023, he went 29/10 with a .275 average. His barrel % is a ludicrous 20.3%, which is basically the hit rate of all my jokes. Trust me, that’s a stellar rate. If Schneider keeps hitting like this over a full season, he’ll be a 25/10/.270 hitter, although the completely dead Blue Jays hitters might affect the R/RBI production. Davis is still available in a bunch of leagues — add him and start him.
Josh Rojas (SEA, 2B/3B, 88% Rostered): Y’all might remember that I featured Rojas a few weeks back, when he was naught but rostered in a handful of leagues and fighting for a job. Since then, Rojas has batted .302 and swiped a couple bags. The counting stats are terrible and he’s still not showing a lot of pop — which is expected. Rojas is here to buffet your average and steals, and not to be the next Adam Dunn. Rojas is in bit of a dry spell right now — .136 batting average over the past week and a 23 wRC+ — but over the last month, Rojas is top 40 in wOBA and has been batting in the leadoff spot. The BABIP is .188, meaning that he’s likely a bit unlucky and the numbers will improve. If a manager in your league drops Rojas during the dry spell, grab Rojas for your bench and see if he heats up again.
Ben Brown (CHC, P, 11% Rostered): Roleless Rob alert! Over his past 6 outings, he’s notched a Win, a hold, and 17 IP. What’s key is his 11.1 K/9 over that period, with a 14.3 K/9 over his last 5 IP. His FIP is better than his ERA, which means that his pedestrian baseball card stats will likely improve. Maybe what’s best, is his BABIP against is at .462 over the past few outings, meaning he could be lights out once the luck normalizes. RCL warriors, you’ve got an intriguing Roleless Rob to snag. If he gets some more IP chances, he could be a great snag for the rest of the season.
I’m the Problem – It’s Me
Bo Bichette (TOR, SS, 100%): This is really hard to say, “Problem” — like, how can a guy with a 19% CSW rate be in trouble? His swinging strike rate is 9%. So, he’s making plenty of contact. But much like my amateur baseball career, it’s not hard to fling the bat out there and make weak contact instead of striking out. BoBi’s barrel rate is at 3% and his line drive rate is 16%. BoBi’s power has plummeted year after year, and right now his ISO rate is .089, which is right around the rate of a bunch of catchers. You know what Adam Wainwright’s career ISO was? .099. I probably don’t need to remind you, dear reader, that BoBi is not a retired pitcher. It’s time to move BoBi to the bench and find yourself a new shortstop.
