Continuing our weekly series, we will take a quick look at hitters you should consider adding in deep mixed leagues and AL/NL-only formats. All of these players have less than 10% ownership.
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Raul Mondesi (2B/SS – KC) 6%
The former highly-rated prospect secured the second base job for the Royals. He has not had the start to 2017 at the plate that was hoped, going 2-for-15 with five strikeouts, and he has yet to take a walk.
Despite the .133 OBP, the 21-year-old has already stolen three bases. No one across baseball has stolen more than three bases in this first week.
If Mondesi can start to relax at the plate and be able to come close to the .259/.331/.448 Double-A slash line he posted last year as a 20-year-old, he could offer elite stolen base numbers.
Marwin Gonzalez (1B/3B – HOU) 1%
The 28-year-old has appeared in five of the Astros’ first six games. He started at first base and hit a home run. He started at third base and hit a home run. He started in left field and collected two RBIs.
The switch-hitter will not be the first choice at any position for the Astros, but if he continues to hit, he will see an uptick in playing time which might just make him viable in your deep league.
In some leagues, Gonzalez already has multi-position eligibility, but in others, the possibility of adding outfield eligibility increases his value as a bench player for your roster.
Mallex Smith (OF – TB) 1%
In the seemingly endless preseason, Mallex Smith was tipped as a sleeper to pick up for cheap steals, but then it looked like he would spend the first half of the season in Triple-A and the hype dwindled. The 1% ownership for a player with a 92-stolen base season to his name in the minors is extraordinary in an era when speed is so hard to find.
The 23-year-old has played left field for the Rays in four of their six games and is tied as a league leader with three stolen bases. The left-hander has reached base seven times (four hits and three walks) in his 15 plate appearances. A high OBP obviously helps maximize a speedster’s threat.
Jed Lowrie (2B – OAK)
The veteran infielder has failed to play 100 games in four out of the last six seasons. It is easy to see why he has become an underappreciated asset in fantasy.
Lowrie has started every game for the Athletics this year, mainly at second base, hitting 8-for-21 (.381 AVG) with one home run, two doubles, and three walks.
While he is healthy, the switch-hitter will offer a patient approach at the plate (career 9.1 BB%) and decent bat-to-ball skills (85% contact rate). Don’t expect any stolen bases, but Lowrie could contribute in all of the other four standard categories and also in points leagues.
Freddy Galvis (SS – PHI) 6%
There is no love for the Phillies’ shortstop within the fantasy world. His 20 home run season was dismissed as a combination of an unsustainably high home run to fly ball rate of 12.5% combined with the uptick in power across the game.
He has started 2017 the way he finished 2016, with an all-or-nothing approach to hitting. The 27-year-old has four extra-base hits, more than any other player with ownership below 10%, including two home runs.
With Manny Machado, Carlos Correa, Brad Miller, Corey Seager and Trevor Story, the shortstop position is more powerful than in recent years, but none of those five have hit more than one home run this year.
No one is predicting a breakout, but while he is hot, Galvis could offer cheap power off the waiver wire.
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Gavin Tramps is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Gavin, check out his archive or find him @_tramps.