BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
Folks we are back with another edition of pick-ups of the week! With the fantasy baseball playoffs right around the corner these week’s picks are crucial to help you get in good position and make a run at the championship! The best news is that all of the players on this week’s list are available in over 70% of ESPN leagues!
Harrison Bader: St. Louis Cardinals OF (21.9% ESPN Ownership)
The first player on today’s list is the “do it all” outfielder for the Cardinals, Harrison Bader. Bader is normally known for his elite defense but has been swinging an incredibly hot bat since the All Star break. Bader has an absurd slash line of .457/.513/.714 with two home runs, eight RBI, and six runs in just ten games since the all star break. Of those ten games, he has multiple hits in six of them as well as four walks. His recent success goes back even further as Bader is slashing .362/.421/.609 with four home runs, 15 RBI, 10 runs, and two steals in 19 games in July.
On the year, Bader has a slash line of .289/.358/.507 with eight home runs, five steals, 18 runs, and 24 RBI in just 41 games due to a rib injury. On a 162 game pace Bader would be right around a 30 home run and 20 steal season which is incredibly valuable for fantasy baseball. However, what I am most impressed about with Bader this season is his strikeout rate with a career best 16.4% that is 11.1% better than his career average. Don’t be afraid of the small sample size, Bader is going to be in the lineup everyday unless he gets injured and has potential to be a top-20 outfielder in the second half of 2021.
Tylor Megill: New York Mets SP/RP (26.0% ESPN Ownership)
The second player on today’s list is a rookie pitcher who is having a very good start to his career. Tylor Megill was called up to the Mets rotation because of injuries and has done everything to stay in through his first six starts. On the year, Megill has a 2.10 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 3.35 FIP with 33 strikeouts and 10 walks over 30 innings. Although he’s only averaging 5 innings per start, Megill has gradually been pitching longer into games and has made quality starts in his last two outings. In fact, Megill currently has a scoreless inning streak of 12.2 innings where he’s struck out nine batters and surrendered just two walks.
Although it’s a very small sample size, there isn’t anything to suggest that Megill should regress a giant amount. He has a strikeout rate (27.1%), walk rate (8.2%), and hard hit rate (38.5%) that are all above the major league and he’s had success at every level of minor league ball. Megill has thrown three seasons in the minors and never had an ERA higher than 3.52 and a strikeout/9 lower than 11.6. He’s been effective no matter who he pitches for and he is definitely someone I want on my team as long as he’s in the rotation.
Daulton Varsho: Arizona Diamondbacks C/OF (24.3% ESPN Ownership)
The final player on this week’s list comes from my favorite streaming position in fantasy baseball, catcher. If you have listened to any of us from TWS Fantasy baseball this season you would know how we feel about catchers. Catchers are a position that we love to stream off of free agency and ride players when they are hot. Guess what? Daulton Varsho of the Arizona Diamondbacks fits that description perfectly. His season numbers do not look great. Varsho is slashing .202/.310/.358 over 126 plate appearances with four home runs, 15 RBI, three steals, 17 walks and 30 strikeouts. However, Varsho has been on fire since the All Star Break with a slash line of .400/.500/.840 and three home runs and two steals. It is also worth noting that he has started in seven of the eight games since the break and has a walk to strikeout ratio of 5:6.
I do want to preface that Varsho is a little different than previous catchers I have suggested and I would give him a longer leash than those players. For starters, Varsho has mashed the ball at every minor league level with a career average of over .300 and an OPS around .900. Varsho is also one of a few players who is catcher eligible and can steal bases. He stole 49 career bases in the minors and only got caught ten times. It is not out of the question to think Varsho could steal up to 10 bases in the second half of this season. On top of his speed Varsho has very good power and in a full season could be one of the few players to reach 20-25 home runs and steals. I also didn’t even mention that he has had very good walk and strikeout rates throughout his career. The sky is the limit for Varsho and right now he is free in over 75% of ESPN leagues. Take a chance and pick up Varsho who could very well be the best fantasy catcher in the second half of this season.
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