Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu certainly seemed to enjoy his weekend, smashing six home runs in the three games at Wrigley Field, giving him 11 blasts with 28 RBI in 29 games. For the week, Abreu hit seven home runs and knocked in 15, which should result in Player of the Week honors. Abreu is now the No. 6 option on the season-long ESPN Player Rater, which should be of only mild surprise. Then again, fantasy managers seemed kind of disinterested in the slugger back in preseason drafts, overlooking his valuable career credentials.
Abreu was not quite himself offensively in 2018, ending years of consistent power production and solid batting averages. In 2019, he certainly bounced back by hitting .284 and leading the league in RBIs. What more could a fantasy manager want? First base has never been less productive in fantasy. OK, so Abreu is not a top-25 overall fantasy option, but falling to the eighth round in ADP seems quite silly as well. Last year was the fifth time in six seasons that Abreu was both very good and underrated. If these current production levels keep up, we must consider him among the top-five options at the position for sure.
Of course, it seems as if all the White Sox are raking these days, with 27 home runs over the past seven games, which you might have guessed is a record. Perhaps Abreu's recent hot streak coincides with the strides his offensive mates keep making. After all, shortstop Tim Anderson won a batting title last season, even as the metrics told us it was unrepeatable. Yet here he is doing it again -- and even better (and peripherally perhaps even more unrepeatable). At some point, we have to presume Anderson is, put simply, just different. Abreu and Anderson lead the Player Rater for the past seven days.
But wait, there's more! Rookie outfielder Luis Robert boasts a profile much like Anderson's, with hard contact and a high BABIP, albeit with little plate discipline. Robert has struck out 36.8% of the time, but in terms of fantasy value, as long as he hits his current .265, we'll love the seven home runs and four stolen bases. Outfielder Eloy Jimenez is a 40-homer threat in a full season and Yasmani Grandal is a top-three fantasy catcher. Third baseman Yoan Moncada was fantastic last season and Edwin Encarnacion has seemingly eclipsed 30 home runs every year since the Reagan administration. An offense that outscored only six teams last season is a top-10 force today. Heck, if Nomar Mazara and Danny Mendick break out, then I might really believe anything is possible with this offense.
Back to Abreu, because some might be wondering how the eighth round underrates a 33-year-old power hitter when there is power everywhere. First of all, consistency matters, and Abreu is consistent. He should have been more like a fifth-round selection. Secondly, first base has never been so weak. We could argue that after Cody Bellinger and Freddie Freeman, Abreu deserves consideration for the next option at the position as Pete Alonso slumps in his second year, Paul Goldschmidt fails to steal bases, Matt Olson and Anthony Rizzo fail to hit for average and Josh Bell fails in everything. Abreu as the No. 3 first baseman and in Round 4 next season is not so silly, judging by what is happening right now.
Other random baseball thoughts
Marlins right-hander Sixto Sanchez and Indians right-hander Triston McKenzie each starred in their weekend debuts, but Sanchez is the safer bet, even on the lesser team. He regularly hit 100 mph with his wicked fastball, and there seems little reason for his rotation spot to be in jeopardy. McKenzie could start this week, but one assumes Cleveland will eventually remove right-handers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac from their peer-ordered timeouts. Just be careful of rookie hurlers, as we have seen with the likes of Nate Pearson and Spencer Howard.
Seattle wisely gave up on designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, despite the power and the walks, because he is now a career .196 hitter. Toronto already has Rowdy Tellez filling a similar role and from the same side of the plate, so this trade seems weird. Move on from Vogelbach, as Toronto will likely soon do.
Forget about any new league struggles for Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts. He homered twice and stole two bases on Sunday and sits behind only Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shane Bieber on the season-long Player Rater. Mike Trout sits at No. 24, which is still great, but the reason the "best player in the sport" is not likely to be the No. 1 player in 2021 drafts is that he no longer steals bases. Trout has one more steal than I do. Tatis and Betts and Ronald Acuna Jr. steal bases.
Impressive rookie Giants catcher Joey Bart smacked doubles in each of his first three games and should warrant near-regular playing time due to his defensive acumen. Is this a top-10 fantasy backstop already? Well, I moved on from Wilson Ramos and Carson Kelly in some leagues, and Salvador Perez and Mitch Garver are both hurt. So yeah, a top-10 ranking at the position makes sense to me.
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is done for the season with nerve surgery in his hand, but it should not hold him back in 2021 drafts. He figures to end up being ranked in the SP12-14 range in the spring.
Yankees lefty James Paxton might be done for the season, but even if he returns in a month, that doesn't seem worth the wait. Paxton is not Clayton Kershaw. We had a good debate about Paxton vs. struggling and injured Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner on the Sunday night Fantasy Focus Baseball podcast. Yeah, nobody knows if Bumgarner will pitch better when he returns, but at least he will pitch. He also was more valuable than Paxton last season.
Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco seems likely to land on the most-added list soon, since his past two games featured two home runs, four RBIs and two steals. He is still, however, hitting a meager .151 for the season. Polanco, 28, still boasts potential, but he is an automatic out against lefties and cannot stay healthy. Look elsewhere.
Bullpen banter
Closer candidates keep dropping in Tampa Bay, and with Nick Anderson (forearm) now on the injured list, I guess Peter Fairbanks and Jalen Beeks stand in line for saves. Eight different Rays have saves, but half of those fellows are injured. By the way, the Pirates, as a team, have two saves. Stop waiting on Keone Kela.
How long ago was it that the Padres had two top-10 relievers in fantasy? Well, Kirby Yates is now done and Drew Pomeranz has followed him to the injured list, though he could return soon. Emilio Pagan joins the top-10 closer crew, so go and get him quickly. He has experience, and this is one of baseball's top teams.
Cubs manager David Ross is certainly keeping people guessing, but having Craig Kimbrel in a setup role over the weekend followed by Jeremy Jeffress seems to be a harbinger. Rowan Wick was bad on Saturday. Still, I would roster Wick first, then Jeffress, and ignore the wild Kimbrel.
It seems clear that Phillies manager Joe Girardi will go with newcomer Brandon Workman as the closer, so feel free to cut the struggling Hector Neris. Workman struggled in his first two Phillies outings, but there was some BABIP magic there too. Neris was supposed to be safe but has retired only half of the hitters he has faced so far. Relievers!
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