Nate McLouth:
It seems like forever since Nate McLouth has put together one of his monster 3 hit nights with multiple extra base hits, and as such it seems like he’s finally slowed down a bit, but a quick look at his numbers and he’s actually hit safely in 6 of his last 8 games. An 0-3 against Brandon Webb on Friday night did bring his June batting average down to just .238 (5-21), but there isn’t too much to be concerned about from a peripherals standpoint. McLouth’s recent struggles have just been a bit of a regression in some of the good fortune he had on his BABIP and HR/FB Rates from earlier in the year. The real improvements in McLouth’s Power and his Plate Discipline continue to show even as the batting average has come back down to a more realistic .305. McLouth has truly broken out this season and made himself a legitimate Top 15 OF with room to move into the Top 10 once he starts running a bit more (only 5 SB’s on the season). Now might be the perfect time to swoop in on a doubting McLouth owner who thinks they missed their chance to sell high and nab a Top 15 OF for the rest of the season.
Fred Lewis:
We’ve been on Lewis since the pre-season with Schuyler leading the Fred Lewis sleeper bandwagon and he continues to produce atop the Giants lineup. Lewis went 1-3 with 2 more Runs scored on Friday night giving him 7 runs scored already in June and 40 on the season, ranking him in the Top 25 in all of baseball. Add in the 11 SB’s and you’re looking at a pretty underrated fantasy option who’s on pace for a .275-100-10-40-28 season, making him essentially Shane Victorino.
Brad Hawpe:
Hawpe’s return from the DL came in dramatic fashion on Friday as he hit the game-winning HR in a 6-4 win, off a LH pitcher no less. Hopefully this gets Hawpe’s power stroke going again because everything outside of the power had shown improvement pre-injury for Hawpe. The numbers weren’t coming around at all early in the year but he had made improvements in his EYE and his L/R splits weren’t as drastic as in years past, so if he could get the power going back again he should have a decent chance at replicating last year’s breakout. Hawpe’s been abandoned in a number of shallow formats so if you need help in the OF make a move before Hawpe gets scooped up by an opponent. The skills are still there, the power just needs to get going and Hawpe will be right back on track.
Jeremy Hermida:
Another 0-5 for Hermida on Friday night dropped his average down to .262 on the season. Even more of a concern, Hermida’s drawn just 3 BB’s in his last 80 AB’s, and during this time he’s struck out 20 times. I’m a big fan of Hermida’s talent and loved him coming into the pre-season as much as anyone, but I’m beginning to cut bait in shallow leagues (think 10 teams and below) as it’s becoming apparent Hermida’s lost his approach at the plate. Hermida’s best skill for a long time was his EYE and with that gone we’re looking at nothing more than a 15-20 HR OF with below average batting average skills and limited run production. If you have bench space I’d still hold on and hope for a rebound as this is really the only time in his professional career that he’s completely lost his ability to draw BB’s, but otherwise don’t feel ashamed to cut bait as it doesn’t look like things are getting better anytime soon.
Trevor Hoffman:
Hoffman picked up his 3rd win or save in the last 3 days pitching a scoreless 9th against the Mets on Friday night and locking down a 2-1 win. Hoffman looked to be done earlier in the season and his overall numbers haven’t looked to pretty on the year, but his peripherals actually show some pretty nice improvement in his K Rate and a lot of the damage to his season totals has come as a result of a .353 BHIP% and a .63 Strand Rate. Once those numbers correct, Hoffman should actually be right back in line with the production we’ve come accustomed to from the future HOF.
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