Nobody has driven in more runs since September 4, 2020, than Los Angeles Angels 1B/OF Jared Walsh. If that date seems like an arbitrary endpoint, it is actually not. That was the day, more than halfway through the truncated 2020 season, when Walsh finally got a legitimate chance to play regularly. He knocked in his first runs of the season, homering off Houston Astros RHP Luis Garcia and later adding a sacrifice fly. Now, including his two-run double off Trevor Bauer on Sunday, which gave the Angels a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Walsh has managed 53 RBI in his last 52 games.
Walsh is hardly "nobody" in the fantasy baseball world. He was in the news last week because the Angels and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols agreed to part ways, the organization mercifully figuring out what the term "sunk cost" means. Some folks are blaming/crediting the emerging Walsh for the move. The truth is that Walsh was already playing regularly, albeit in right field instead of at first base to accommodate Pujols, who was last valuable in fantasy several seasons ago. Meanwhile, Walsh is very valuable and deserving of his own attention.
A trio of hallowed halos?
The Angels feature three of the more valuable hitters in fantasy baseball, with third baseman Anthony Rendon lurking. You know all about the great Mike Trout, who already has Hall of Fame numbers -- just as Pujols did before he left the St. Louis Cardinals halfway through his career. You definitely know Shohei Ohtani, a fantastic hitter with speed who also pitches very well on occasion. Thanks to his inherent advantage of providing both hitter and pitcher numbers, he may well end up as the most valuable fantasy option. Walsh is the forgotten Angels slugger among the top fantasy hitters.
In fact, Walsh is doing quite a bit more than knocking in a run per game. He is also among the league leaders in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. Not only that, he stole his first base of the season in Sunday's win. The University of Georgia product destroyed Triple-A pitching in 2019 for Salt Lake with a .325 batting average and 36 home runs in 98 games, and the Angels were slow to give him a true big-league opportunity, even last season. Now he is a lineup fixture, protecting Ohtani and Trout in the lineup.
Asking Walsh to hit .300 the rest of the way may be a bit much, as a .388 BABIP overshadows rather ordinary exit velocity numbers, but this sure seems like someone capable of hitting .260 with 30 home runs over a full season. Plus, thanks to the hitters in front of him, he may surpass 100 RBI before September. Yeah, I believe. I noted on a recent Fantasy Focus Baseball podcast how Walsh reminded me, statistically, of Oakland Athletics slugger Matt Olson, only at a huge fantasy discount. Today, perhaps that discount is minor.
Who's on first?
Anyway, there's a lot going on in the fantasy baseball world and someone else probably tossed a no-hitter while you were reading. That said, since Walsh is a first baseman, I thought it would be relevant to write about others at that position:
Luke Voit, New York Yankees: The organization claims last season's home run leader will make his 2021 debut on Tuesday after having had knee surgery late in spring training. Voit did not come with much of a spring discount in average live drafts and remains universally rostered, which is smart. He can still rake 30 home runs. Activate him immediately in weekly formats.
Dominic Smith, New York Mets: On the other side of town, the "first baseman handling left field duties" is off to a sluggish start, hitting a mere .222 and taking the occasional seat versus left-handed pitching. Of course, Smith is struggling on the surface against right-handers, but now is a wonderful time to see if you can trade for him. The struggles will not last. Smith is hitting more ground balls than we would like, but his expected slugging percentage is more than 200 points higher than its current mark. I would not worry here. He can still provide more value than his teammate Pete Alonso, who is fine, but exactly as he was in 2020. Smith can be better.
Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies: He was banished to the No. 7 lineup spot on Sunday night for the first time since his debut in 2017 -- and for good reason. Hoskins has seen his walk rate crater from typical levels, from 15.7% a season ago to just 6.3%, while his strikeout rate is up from 23.2% to 33.1%. His contact rate has plummeted and there would be no reason to roster this version in fantasy if this continues. I wonder if offseason Tommy John surgery is playing a role. Still, Hoskins is a proven slugger with patience, so we should try to be patient.
Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox: He smacked a few doubles this weekend and made a diving catch in left field, his new position. The overall numbers remain unimpressive with a hollow .712 OPS, but he can clearly handle left-handed pitching. I would give him a chance to hit right-handed pitching before platooning him, but there remains potential value here for those in daily formats.
Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox: His rough start could actually be more of a problem than I thought, in case you were thinking of trading for him. This .220 batting average is not BABIP-fueled. Abreu is hitting a ton of ground balls -- he's among the league leaders -- and he is not a fast runner to start with. His K-rate is far higher than anything we have ever seen from him, and he is one of the rare hitters with a high hard-hit rate in conjunction with a low exit velocity. What does it mean? This version of Abreu is not going to hit .292, which is his career batting average. However, he did hit doubles in each weekend game at Kansas City, so this may just be a slow start. Still, I dropped him some in my most recent rankings.
Hunter Dozier, Kansas City Royals: He went hitless in the weekend series against the White Sox, but I cannot help but notice he ranks second-to-last (behind Cincinnati Reds infielder Eugenio Suarez) with a .175 BABIP. That is bad luck. Dozier has other issues, like falling walk and hard-hit rates, but I expected a .260 batting average this season with 25 home runs, and I still do. No, don't trade Abreu for him, but yes, Dozier should improve his numbers soon.
Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins: Healthy after a short injured list stint, Sano did little this weekend. So, I moved on from him in a rather shallow roto league in favor of Jesus Aguilar. I actually believe Sano, with his 37.7% strikeout rate -- which is better than it was in 2020 -- may hit something awful like .175 for the entire 2021 season. He should pop his share of home runs along the way, but Sano is just not worth it in a roto league. In a points league, perhaps, but we still crave base hits there -- and he does not make contact enough to supply them.
Colin Moran, Pittsburgh Pirates: He was doing precisely what I expected, looking like an underrated, somewhat forgotten 25-homer option with a decent batting average, until suffering a groin injury over the weekend. Ugh! If this is a minor setback and he returns in two weeks, try to keep him rostered. Perhaps Moran should be in a platoon with Todd Frazier, but he can help your fantasy roster. If he is out six weeks, then move on.
Albert Pujols, free agent: Look, the Angels have a DH and first baseman while right field remains a possibility for Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, or perhaps another young player like Taylor Ward. He played there this week and we should remember that, as with Walsh, he was great at Triple-A in 2019 with a 1.011 OPS, showcasing both power and plate discipline. I bet Ward starts hitting really soon, for those in AL-only formats. As for Pujols, perhaps he finds new work somewhere. If not, we should remember him from his Cardinals days. What a fantasy monster that guy was!