Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto enters Week 11 of the fantasy season with 14 runs batted in. Fourteen! Not over the past week or so, not for the past month, but in 10 weeks of the season and 58 games. As you might have guessed, this does not please me, mainly because I foolishly spent big auction money on Votto in one experts league that, I have calculated, could have obviously been better spent. If it were New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, for example, my lead would be so big I might be closer to a title than either the St. Louis Blues or Boston Bruins.
Alas, Votto entered the weekend in Philadelphia with 11 RBIs, or the same total that new Phillies outfielder Jay Bruce managed to supply in his very first week with the club. Votto homered to left center field on Friday night -- a wall-scraper but a home run nevertheless -- then he singled in a pair of runs late in Sunday's comeback win. I saw Votto's plate appearances. He barely
What caught my eye, other than the ridiculous RBI comparison with Bruce: Votto is on pace for a pathetic 35 RBIs. Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell had 31 RBIs in May alone! I thought Votto would get to 20 homers, 80 RBIs. Alas, he will not. I was wrong and it could cost me a fantasy championship. Batting second in an NL lineup plays a big role, but man, things are even worse than last season when Votto at least knocked in 67 runs. This is simply awful. Votto remains rostered in 85% of ESPN standard mixed leagues based on his reputation. I cannot move on in a 12-team NL-only format. Even Jedd Gyorko is rostered. In a mixed league, go for it.
Anyway, the 14 RBIs represents one of the saddest numbers of this fantasy season, at least in my mind. Here are others for hitters who dispirit me -- and in general, I simply do not see things changing.
Ian Desmond, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies: It finally happened on Saturday night, while Steven Matz was striking out Brendan Rodgers. Desmond ran for second and made it. His first stolen base! For a player with 179 of them in his career, including 20 or more six times, including last season, that is bad. If Desmond is not a 20/20 option, and it appears he is not, move on.
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians: The fantasy bust of the year (a top-five pick!) totaled 183 home runs plus stolen bases plus runs in 2018 over 157 games. Awesome season! This year, in 64 games, he has 43 of those valuable things, and more than a third are steals. You should not drop him in a mixed league, because he might be among a handful of guys to swipe 30 bags, but there is nary a sign things will improve.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, OFs, New York Yankees: In 2018, this fearsome duo hit 65 home runs in 270 games. Yes, Judge missed time, but still, there were numbers. In 2019, these fellows have played in 23 games and hit five home runs. Five. Keston Hiura hit five in three weeks.
Keston Hiura, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers: They gave him 17 games. He hit .281 with power and got demoted because Travis Shaw needs to play. By the way, the Shaw numbers are terrible too. Sad emoji all around.
Jeff McNeil, 2B, New York Mets: I thought McNeil had some speed. He certainly gets on base. However, he is not much of a base-stealer, as he is 0-for-4 in stolen base attempts. OK, so I did not expect tons of steals, but he was 7-for-8 in steal attempts over 63 games as a rookie. I penciled in double-digits for sure in a deep league. McNeil and each of us each has nary a steal.
Zack Cozart, 3B, Los Angeles Angels: Not that I expected him to hit .297 with 24 home runs as he did over 124 games in 2017 for the Reds, but a .124 batting average this season -- and it was .219 last year -- is hard to believe. Cozart is hitting .190 in two seasons as an Angel. I have long ago cut him in a deep mixed league.
Tyler White, 1B, Houston Astros: He slugged .533 last season and hit eight home runs in August alone -- and yes, I was relying on him in a deep league. So far, through 43 uninspiring games and 149 PA, he is slugging .291. That is not his batting average or OBP. It is hard to slug that low and keep playing, and I imagine playing time is just about done for him. White has Billy Hamilton numbers sans the speed.
Weekend takeaways
• Hey, I am just glad Madison Bumgarner did not throw a fastball at the head of Max Muncy in the next at-bat. I am sure you have seen this ridiculousness by now, but my original take was good for Muncy for hitting a monster home run off a tough lefty! Muncy gets platooned, but his numbers off lefties are very good. He might hit 30 home runs again. It was not a fluke! Bumgarner might not win 10 games, but otherwise he looks good to me statistically. As for their argument, whatever.
• Good for lefty Dallas Keuchel for landing a job, and with an NL team too. That is more strikeouts because pitchers are anemic at the plate. Still, even if Keuchel pitches in the majors this month, I would not activate him. I think he is overrated in fantasy terms, with a 1.31 WHIP last season and low K rate. The Braves need innings, and he provides that, but should the Phillies or Mets be scared they did not get a pitcher who in two of the past three seasons was below average? Among lefties in fantasy, give me Jon Lester, Joey Lucchesi, Andrew Heaney, J.A. Happ and Steven Matz. Yep, even Matz. We cannot remove the one awful outing, but don't you have a bad day once in a while? Matz, and Pablo Lopez for that matter, have been very good other than one very bad game.
• Those needing catching aid should look at the hot players for the past week, as several backstops hit for more power than expected. In a few weeks, they will not. They include Tom Murphy, Roberto Perez and Travis d'Arnaud. Just stream the position -- and yes, I would punt Buster Posey to free agency and go with the hot players each week or so.
• OK, so Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito is amazing and yes, I did not see this coming. I don't know who did. Giolito was awful last season and this April as well. Now he is a top-10 fantasy pitcher? Well, I cannot go that high yet, but at the least, Giolito should be rostered in every league in case he is Walker Buehler, which he appears to be. Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu or Giolito, the Nos. 2 and 3 starters on the season Player Rater after Justin Verlander? I say Giolito is more likely to make more starts and keep the whiffs going, but there is more danger of him blowing up too.
Health report
• We will not talk about what happened to Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, but I do think he will return by the All-Star break and improve his numbers. Haniger is still a top-30 fantasy outfielder, on pace for 35 home runs and 107 runs scored. He will not get there now with the missed time, but he will recover and be a fantasy asset. Speaking of the Mariners, Dee Gordon likely comes off the injured list Tuesday, and there are merely a handful of players likely to steal more bases the rest of the season.
Closing time
• I do not think Miami Marlins right-hander Sergio Romo lost the closer role on Sunday, despite an ugly outing. Nick Anderson throws darn hard and has that closer stuff, and there has been nary a free pass in his past five outings, but still, I see Romo saving 20 games.
• One save in five weeks for Arizona's Greg Holland and none of it is his fault! So frustrating. Of course, none of this is predictive, either. Holland could save 10 games the rest of June. Streaks like this are unlucky. That noted, if someone cuts Holland, I would add and bench. Do not put him in the class of the Seattle, Baltimore and Kansas City closers. The Diamondbacks are a .500 team.
W2W4
• The Marlins will finally have to go to a new starter on Tuesday, as Caleb Smith hit the injured list, but on Monday it is right-hander Sandy Alcantara. He has pitched well in three of four outings but is not turning his stuff into big strikeout totals yet. He is 23. I think a top-30 starter lurks here, and I like Monday's matchup at home with the reeling Cardinals. Michael Wacha has been so bad I might even look to several Marlins as DFS options.
• I am prepared to admit I was wrong about Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish, but we are not there yet. He still issues too many walks and most of the time cannot go deep into games. It is why he is 2-3 in 13 starts. He averages five innings per outing. On Monday, he is at Coors Field, and there is no way I would trust him there. Yes, Darvish has been better over the past month, but a 1.28 WHIP in that span hardly foretells greatness. Perhaps it happens in 2020. On the Rockies' side, I do not understand leaving Brendan Rodgers in the majors to platoon with Ryan McMahon. Rodgers is not hitting lefties, either. Plan ahead.
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