We’re halfway home, people. Eighty-or-so games down for most MLB teams, with another 80-or-so remaining. We can’t all have Kyle Schwarber on our rosters, so many of us have work to do. Let’s hit the wire, looking for enhancements.
He’s been hitting sixth for the Red Sox, behind JDM, Bogaerts, and Devers, so he’s well-positioned to drive in a bunch of runs. The man is also swatting moonshots for Boston …
… while batting a perfectly respectable .273. He opened his week with a two-homer game against KC, giving him 11 for the year. Renfroe has exceeded 25 home runs in three different seasons, so there’s nothing fluky about his 2021 total. Add wherever you can use a power boost.
We’re only three games into the 23-year-old’s major league career, but it’s pretty clear he has some stuff:
Muller is a 6-foot-7 left-hander with high-90s velocity and that put-away curve. He’s whiffed 13 batters in 10.0 frames for the Braves to this point, plus he struck out 120 over 111.2 innings at Double-A in 2019. Walks have been the issue for Muller in the minors, but the issue hasn’t yet surfaced in the bigs. He’ll face the Marlins for the first time on Saturday, which seems like a good spot to test-drive him. Stream as needed.
Amir Garrett, RP, Cincinnati Reds (42%)
Yup, this is a terrifying pickup, because Garrett’s ERA and WHIP are horrendous. He definitely has the potential to detonate your fantasy ratios. We’re not gonna give you a hard-sell here. But Garrett has been getting saves for the Reds in recent weeks and actually hasn’t given up a run in any of his last six appearances. Cincinnati’s bullpen is dealing with a few key injuries (notably to Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims), forcing Garrett back into the ninth-inning mix. Do what you need to do if you’re chasing saves.
And while we’re on the subject of obviously flawed players who can nevertheless contribute for fantasy purposes …
Mike Zunino, C, Tampa Bay Rays (29%)
Look, this guy is homering basically every other day. Here’s one of last week’s missiles:
Zunino is up to 17 homers on the year as of this writing on only 34 total hits. Sure, his batting average is dreadful (per his usual), but that’s less of a concern in a year in which all of MLB is hitting just .239. Also, Zunino receives so few at-bats that he’s really not much of an AVG liability. Catcher is such a messy position that it’s nice to simply roster a player who at least possesses a clear and undeniable skill. His OPS against left-handed pitching is a ridiculous 1.223, so at least think of him as a go-to DFS matchup play.
Amed Rosario, SS/OF, Cleveland Indians (40%)
Somehow, Rosario is still only 25. It feels like a generation ago that he was a consensus top-10 prospect, but apparently, that was just 2017. He entered this season in a battle for playing time, but that hasn’t been a concern since April. He’s hitting .276 at the moment with five homers and seven steals, en route to another double-digit power/speed season. (He went 15/19 for the Mets in 2019.) Since the beginning of May, Rosario has been sneaky-great, slashing .313/.359/.436 with 12 extra-base hits. His dual-position eligibility is helpful, too.
Willy Adames, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers (22%)
Can you possibly use a little power from a middle-infield slot? Well, Adames just did this on Wednesday afternoon …
… launching his 12th homer of the year and third in his last six games. He entered the day slashing .279/.354/.504 for the Brewers over 144 plate appearances. Adames is a heart-of-the-order hitter at a premium position who’s helping in the power categories. He can help your mixed league squad.