What is up party people? Take a quick break from your hot dog eating contests and your firework shows for some fantasy baseball. Speaking of fireworks, Aaron Judge is putting on a one man show. I normally like to focus on potential adds here but Judge has been too good not to mention. At this point in time he is more than halfway to 62 and all that power has been backed up by a batting average hovering around .300. As a baseball fan a home run record chase would be fun, even if it is against himself. Enjoy the festivities and stay safe out there.
James Wood – He’s the hot name right now after his call up this week and he has all the tools to be a fantasy stud. Power, batting average and speed are all there. The only area that could be cause for concern would be his strikeouts (roughly 30% in the minors) but even if that persists in the majors he can be a star.
Mark Vientos – He is up to double digit bombs this season but that’s not the most impressive part. No, the part that I really like is that he is batting over .300 on the season, almost 60 points above his career average and about 20 points above his minor league average. He’s been a guy I liked as a deep league target, and I do mean deep, so it is very nice to see him start to hit. Is this just a blip on the radar? Maybe, but I do think that I am very interested.
Jackson Chourio – One of my favorite targets in draft season, I boldly predicted that he would go 40/40 and while that looks unlikely for this season, I still feel pretty confident that he will be great because the the talent is still all there. You never really know what you’re going to get with a rookie as they make the jump to major league pitching. Specifically for Chourio, the leap to facing better pitching has not gone as smoothly as hoped. For the season he is hitting about 40 points below what he showed in the minors. While he hasn’t run wild on the base paths, his power has actually been roughly in line with his past numbers. It was always a massive stretch to think he would get to 40 bombs in the first place, but bold predictions and all that. Anyhow, over the past week he has come to life to the tune of a pair of bombs and 1 swipe while batting over .400. If you’ve held him this long, your patience is about to pay off. I’m still a big believer in his talent and wouldn’t be surprised to see him really take off over the second half.
Brenton Doyle – July has been good for him with a pair of monster games to open the month. Those are obviously inflating his recent point totals but he has had some strong weeks before that. Any hitter who gets half their games in Coors is interesting, especially when he has a good spot in the order. Defense and speed should keep him in the lineup and give his bat time to catch up.
Nathaniel Lowe – The weather isn’t the only thing heating up, blasting a pair of bombs to commemorate his bobble head giveaway. That performance continues a strong last seven games for him with 4 of his 6 home runs. He’s on pace for just 12 bombs but I think he can push for 20 and if he gets back to his 2022 form he could do that in second half. That’s probably more than we can reasonably expect but there’s a solid chance he keeps heating up.
Wyatt Langford – It was rough going there for a while but since the calendar flipped to June he has turned into the guy we wanted him to be and turning in the first cycle of the year. Basically he looks like he’s gotten more comfortable with major league pitching and it’s great to see. Second half breakout here we come.
Jarred Kelenic – We could be looking at a post hype breakout for the second half. He’s already well on his way to setting a new career high in home runs and so far has maintained a solid batting average. I’m not suggesting he will suddenly become a star, but he could be very valuable down the stretch.
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