Neither of the Seager brothers made my initial top 100 for fantasy baseball this season, which, of course, looks quite ridiculous today since both are among the top 50 on the ESPN Player Rater! Sorry! The Seager brothers added to history on Monday night when each homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Seattle Mariners Should we have seen these rebirths coming?
While everyone raved about Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager when he came to the majors, he appeared to settle in as a solid, but for this era, unspectacular offensive product. Seager hit 26 and 22 home runs his first two full seasons, and better than .300. However, after his 2018 Tommy John surgery -- yes, hitters have them, too -- he was rather average in 2019, hitting only .272 with 19 home runs. That is fine but hardly special, especially when offering nothing in stolen bases. He was a solid player, but few coveted him.
Older brother and Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager has offered some helpful fantasy campaigns in the past but, over the past three seasons entering 2020, he hit a lowly .236 while averaging a mere 24 home runs and 76 RBIs per year. There's no shortage of corner infielders who can do this and we can find them quite easily in free agency during a season. At 32, and hitting in the middle of a likely-to-be poor lineup, there seemed little reason to think of Kyle at all in standard mixed leagues.
Yet today, the shortstop is slugging a cool .611 and has homered three times in the past week while the third baseman is slugging .536, has stolen his most bases in a season since 2016, and ranks fifth in the majors with 21 RBIs.
I do not think either will finish this truncated, irregular season as a top-50 option on the Rater, but that hardly implies either is an obvious sell-high option, either. Corey is barreling 1-in-5 batted balls, which is awesome but unsustainable. Everything else looks good -- in fact, better than ever. His strikeout rate is 10.3%! The doubles are now going over the fences. This is not a BABIP-fueled start. Perhaps he was not healthy in 2019 and he is now. If so, we have reason to believe this could be a 30-35 homer option who hits .300 in future seasons. That is a top-50 player.
Kyle joins his brother in the top 10 for best strikeout percentage. Is it a family thing? There's some weird stuff here but Kyle is hitting myriad more ground balls than ever, which is not good. That said, his unexpected batting average is not a function of luck. He, too, is hitting baseballs harder than ever, but this Seager closed 2019 in a positive (if overlooked) way, hitting .323 with nine home runs last August, and slugging .524 over the season's second half. While Corey bounces around a loaded lineup, I like that Kyle hits cleanup regularly, hitting behind the potential AL Rookie of the Year, Kyle Lewis. The RBIs should continue.
Ultimately, Corey is rostered in nearly every league, as he should be. Kyle is down a bit recently to 90%, which seems fair. I would not say I learned any absolute lessons in misjudging the brothers. It was not personal. Corey made actionable adjustments to his swing and plate discipline. Pretty clearly, his health played a role. He looks healthy. Kyle is not too old, though it is rare for someone on the other side of 30 to change this way -- and good luck explaining the stolen bases! In any event, enjoy this. Baseball is fun and there is room for brotherly love!
Random thoughts
It's time for a small rant. Enough with these ridiculous unwritten baseball rules! If you don't want Fernando Tatis Jr. to smack a grand slam off a 3-0 pitch in a seven-run game, then don't groove one in there so he can do it. Is it OK for him to homer on a 3-1 pitch or does he have to ground out meekly to show respect? Fantasy managers want the numbers and Tatis is certainly providing them. It is time for old-school thinking to go away. As for Tatis, just stay healthy, please.
San Diego lost outfielder Tommy Pham to a hamate bone injury on Sunday and now he might be done for the shortened season. When a player suffers this fracture, there is a tendency for decreased power upon his return. While we like Pham for the power/speed combination, feel free to release him and reinvest in 2021. He would not make my top-12 ranking for injured players that I discussed in this space on Monday. Do not read into the .207 batting average over 95 PA; Pham is a career .274 hitter, which is fine.
Pham's absence means more playing time for Jurickson Profar, Josh Naylor and one of my deep-league summer favorites in Jake Cronenworth, who won the International League batting title last season and can help a fantasy team across the board. He also qualifies at three infield spots. I thought it odd that Tampa Bay threw him into the Pham trade, but they did, and the Padres can and will play this versatile option.
I could not help but notice Jose Altuve hitting a lowly sixth in the Houston lineup Monday, and doing little in his four at-bats. Altuve was a top-25 hitter in ESPN ADP, and he is hitting only .176. Some (many) will say Altuve is struggling because he and his teammates no longer know the pitches in advance, and that they can no longer cheat. I say go get Altuve at a reduced price right now. This will get much better. Get Alex Bregman, George Springer and Michael Brantley, too. With Yordan Alvarez, I am concerned about the knee troubles, so be careful here in trading for him. I still see an injured list stint in his future and worry a bit about long-term viability.
Speaking of the Seagers and their K-rates, Angels infielder Tommy La Stella ranks second to Nolan Arenado with the lowest strikeout rate in the majors, at 6.2%. La Stella hit the walk-off home run off beleaguered Giants right-hander Trevor Gott (can this fellow get a few days off from closing, please?) and boasts a better OPS than last season, when he surprisingly swatted 16 home runs in half a season. Five strikeouts in 20 games... in this era! Can you imagine?
The wild world of closers
We saw the return of Yankees lefty Aroldis Chapman on Monday, and manager Aaron Boone made it clear all the saves are his moving forward. Thank you, Zack Britton, but back to a setup role. It might be tough to drop Britton (the league leader in saves) today for the likes of Cole Sulser, Jordan Romano or Rowan Wick but it is actually the right move.
Washington's Daniel Hudson was awful on Monday, and I do think the Nationals could turn to Tanner Rainey soon.
Left-hander Andrew Miller saved another Cardinals win and we have to consider this might be a trend, though Giovanny Gallegos remains a possibility.
Fellow lefty Blake Taylor saved the Houston win, with Ryan Pressly unavailable. I definitely could see more of this, though.
Saves are a ridiculous category and Mets right-hander Franklyn Kilome showed why. He allowed four hits, five walks and two runs in three ineffective innings, but now has as many saves as Edwin Diaz, Ken Giles, Jose Leclerc, Roberto Osuna and Hansel Robles. Awesome, wow!
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