Welcome back to the midseason edition of the Rookie Hitter Report. Back in May, I took a closer look at five rookie hitters, but since then we’ve seen a number of impact rookies called up to the majors. My goal here is to give you a detailed analysis of each player and some thoughts on whether you should be adding or stashing these players in year-long fantasy leagues and whether or not you should be utilizing them daily in your DFS lineups. Here are five rookies you need to be paying attention to in all fantasy formats.
Yordan Alvarez, OF – Houston Astros
.317 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 1.139 OPS, .417 ISO in 69 plate appearances
80% Owned in Yahoo Leagues
Alvarez burst onto the scene in early June and immediately hit home runs in four of his first five games. He had been absolutely dominating competition at the AAA level and was needed by the Astros to help fill in while George Springer was out of the lineup injured. Now, the Astros veterans are getting healthy and Alvarez is sticking in the five-hole in the lineup because of the power and production he’s shown. I’m not sure why he isn’t closer to 100% owned in year-long leagues, he’s no flash in the pan. If anything, he’s an emerging potential superstar. He was a chalky play in DFS at first because his price was pretty low, but now that his price has adjusted you can roster him in good spots at more normal ownership. I love this kid’s potential and he’s showing that even after his hot start, his numbers are sustainable. I’d be adding him everywhere and I’ll be targeting him in DFS in the second half of the season often.
Luis Arraez, 2B – Minnesota Twins
.414 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 runs scored, .481 OBP in 81 plate appearances.
2% Owned in Yahoo Leagues
The young infielder has been up two different times for Minnesota has shown that he can hit major league pitching. Arraez’s 12% walk rate compared to a 7% K rate is really impressive and bodes well for his on-base percentage going forward. He’s been hitting all over the lineup, but projects as a great leadoff hitter with his ability to put the ball in play and get on base. Right now he doesn’t have a ton of season-long value with his lack of power and the fact he hasn’t stolen many bases, even at the minor league level. But if he nails down an everyday spot in this excellent Twins lineup then he is someone to keep an eye on. In DFS, his price has remained low and he’s a great cash gameplay on a nightly basis as he has reached base safely in all but two games that he has played in so far.
Cavan Biggio, 2B/OF – Toronto Blue Jays
.246 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB, .835 OPS in 141 plate appearances
46% Owned in Yahoo Leagues
Biggio has been one of Toronto’s best hitters since being called up and has worked his way into the cleanup spot for this young Blue Jay’s offense. The son of former Astros legend Craig Biggio, Cavan plays second base like his dad but is a left-handed hitter who has shown some nice pop in his bat with six homers already. He is only 24 years old but has all the tools to be a consistent major league player and fantasy producer. He only spent a few months at AAA before getting called up (like another second-generation talent on this team, Vlad Guerrero Jr.) but he hit 26 home runs in AA last year and stole 20 bases. You simply don’t see that type of power and speed combination from the second base position and he is putting up the type of stats already that reminds me of Jason Kipnis or Brian Dozier in their early days. He’s an add-in season-long leagues for me and I’m blown away that he’s available in over half the leagues out there, people must be asleep at the wheel! Scoop him up everywhere you can. As far as DFS goes, I love targeting Biggio against right-handed pitching and the field seems like they have yet to realize what a dynamic young hitter he is because he’s often lower owned than he should be in DFS contests.
Oscar Mercado, SS/OF – Cleveland Indians
.289 AVG, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 29 runs scored, 6 SB in 182 plate appearances
41% Owned in Yahoo Leagues
Mercado has become an everyday player for the Indians and has been slotting into the 2-hole in the lineup. He’s injected some badly needed life into the Indians’ offense as they were slumping pretty badly for the first month and a half of the season. The dynamic young speedster stole 37 bases at AAA last year and spent most of his minor league career in the Cardinals farm system. He has a .337 OBP so far this year in the majors and is benefitting from hitting behind Francisco Lindor and in front of veteran Carlos Santana. For me, he is a guy I would definitely want on my season-long team as shortstop is usually a really thin position. The stolen base upside is huge, especially if Mercado improves upon his 4% walk rate and get on base more often. In DFS, I have been targeting him mainly against left-handed pitchers, but he has actually been hitting for average better against righties, granted we are dealing with a pretty small sample size this season.
Austin Riley, OF – Atlanta Braves
.261 AVG, 15 HR, 40 RBI, .884 OPS in
76% Owned in Yahoo Leagues
Austin Riley has been a huge addition to an already potent Braves lineup. He smashed 15 homers at AAA before getting called up and has hit another 15 already in his first month in the majors. The power has been awesome and Riley is now sporting a .307 ISO rating. Like Alvarez, he is slotting into the middle of an already talented lineup of elite hitters and has been a key part of the Braves offensive surge over the last month. The only red flag I am seeing is his 33% strikeout rate, which is alarmingly high even for a younger player. However, when he is making contact the ball is flying out of the yard and I see no reason why you wouldn’t want this guy on your fantasy teams. I use him a lot in DFS as part of my Braves stacks, as there are no penalties for strikeouts in DFS and the bottom half of the Braves order often gets overlooked by DFS players.
I hope this info helps you and your thought process when building those DFS lineups. I’ll continue to keep looking at trends and stats the rest of MLB season with the goal of unearthing some data that we can use to our advantage.
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