What should be your final determination when it comes to setting your lineup each week? Should it be how many games a player has that week? Perhaps it should be opposing pitchers being faced or is it the venue? I mean, we all want any and every player that is playing in Coor’s Field. All of these should be factors in your final decision including the health of a player. I almost never, in a weekly lineup league start injured players. I never want to risk a zero. There are exceptions of course if we’re talking about a superstar who is only supposed to miss a game or two, then I might roll the dice, but generally when in doubt, make sure you have a healthy player.
Risers
Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins: There was a time when the Twins thought that young players like Aaron Hicks, Miguel Sano, and Max Kepler would lead this organization into being a perennial playoff machine. That time has come and gone as Hicks was traded to the Yankees and Sano is still a work in progress, to say the least. As for Kepler, he may finally be coming into his own. Not only is Kepler almost a certain lock for 30+ HRs, but that power is likely to come with an AVG that won’t hurt you. Not bad for a player you took late in your draft.
Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox: Devers has been on both sides of this column this season. In the early part of the year, he struggled both offensively and defensively. There was even some thought that if Dustin Pedroia returned from injury, Devers and Michael Chavis would platoon at 3B. Devers has eventually put all of those rumors to rest and looks to be the next big star in the Boston lineup. He’s batting in a plum lineup spot, right behind J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, and Mookie Betts. Not to bad if you ask me.
Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers: At this point last season, Muncy was a nobody, but it does look like the Dodgers have struck gold here. His power is legit, and another 35-40 HR season should be in the offering this season. That being said, he’s not perfect. The Dodgers, much like the Yankees, have more position players than they do starting spots. Someone has to sit almost every game and Muncy could be that someone when the Dodgers are up versus a tough left-handed starter, although that didn’t stop him from taking Madison Bumgarner deep.
Howie Kendrick, Washington Nationals: I’m at a loss to explain the season that Kendrick is having. Through most of his career he has been a solid/average MLB player who has value because he can play 2B and the OF, but nothing truly special. This season seems to be all about setting career highs as he already has 12 HRs, 18 is his career high in 2011. He’s batting .333, which would also be a career high. His OPS .985, that’s 140 points more than his career high. Do I believe he can keep it up all season? Probably not. It would seem now is a good time to sell high on Kendrick as playing time could also be an issue as the season moves along and the Nats return to full health.
Derek Dietrich, Cincinnati Reds: Dietrich is the type of player that has good and bad. The good is that he cost you next to nothing to acquire. He probably wasn’t drafted. You probably grabbed him off of the waiver wire. He also has 17 HRs already this season. His career high is 16. The problem is that the power comes with an AVG that will hurt you. It seems that Dietrich has decided to sacrifice AVG for power. That is not all that uncommon in today’s game.
Fallers
Nomar Mazara, Texas Rangers: First the good news. Mazara is likely to avoid the injured list despite suffering a hamstring injury. Now the bad news. He is having yet another ho-hum season. Sure, he’s startable with nine HRs, 39 RBI, and .265 AVG, but we always expect more from Mazara. His talent should play to that of an OF2, not an OF4, especially playing in that ballpark.
Zack Wheeler, New York Mets: The Mets season is on the brink of disaster and if that is so, the fire sale could begin at almost any time. Wheeler can be a free agent after the season. If the Mets don’t have any plans on re-signing him, the smart move would be to deal him. The problem is that although Wheeler has vast potential, he’s not pitching up to it. Perhaps the trade rumors are catching up to him, but over his last two starts he has given up nine ERs and five unearned runs in just 10.2 IP. The Mets will want a big haul for him and may not get it if he doesn’t start to pitch better
Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs: Baez isn’t the only Cub that the month of June hasn’t been kind to. Contreras has been batting below the Mendoza line this month and because of that slump, he has been losing playing time to Victor Caratini. Oh, he’s still the starting catcher for the Cubs, but Caratini has started five of the past 13 games. That’s not far off from a straight split. You would’ve thought manager Joe Maddon would’ve had more patience with Contreras who is off to a great start this season, but apparently not. Fantasy owners will just have to be patient here.
Brett Gardner, New York Yankees: You probably shouldn’t be rostering Gardner anyway, but if you are, it’s time to cut bait. The addition of Edwin Encarnacion over the weekend, the return of Giancarlo Stanton from the IL on Tuesday and Aaron Judge possibly later this week will be the end of Gardner as a starting player. Let’s face it, if Gardner was righthanded, you can make a pretty strong argument that Gardner should be the one the Yankees release when Judge returns and not Cameron Maybin. That won’t happen as the Yankees will state loyalty to Gardner but with Stanton in left, Hicks in center, Judge in right, and Encarnacion at DH, there just isn’t playing available for Gardner.
