Another exciting week of baseball is in the books. The weather is beginning to heat up, so hitters, in theory, should be heating up, as well.
As always, you can find my previous article here, and if anyone has any questions or wants me to answer their question in this weekly article, please reach out to my Twitter @TravisCain_.
Now, here are 10 burning questions I had from the previous week!
As always, these rankings and statistics are up to date as of June 7th via Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) and average draft position (ADP) from FantasyPros.
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1. Is Patrick Wisdom the real deal?
Patrick Wisdom has been somewhat of a journeyman through his MLB career. However, he looks like he may have found a home at Wrigley Field. It’s only been 13 games, but Wisdom is absolutely crushing the ball. Wisdom hit so well that he was able to get player of the week honors. Make sure to pick him up if he’s available in your league.
2. Is Dylan Bundy droppable?
Last season, Bundy was a steal given his ADP. This season, Bundy is borderline droppable. It’s been a steep fall-off for the Angels’ defacto ace. Bundy has yet to record an outing where he hasn’t allowed a run. He did have a few quality starts here and there, but now, Bundy’s stuff looks incredibly flat and easily hittable. It may be time to drop him if he struggles this week. Monitor the situation closely.
3. Is it time to look at offers for DJ LeMahieu?
Coming into the season, many fantasy baseball managers, including myself, were high on LeMahieu. He appeared to be as safe a pick as anyone. Unfortunately, LeMahieu has yet to put it all together this season. His poor .656 OPS is leaving fantasy baseball managers frustrated and questioning their selection. That being said, since 2015, LeMahieu has yet to post an OPS under .746. LeMahieu won’t put together the robust 1.011 OPS we saw from him last year, but we have to figure better days are ahead. I would hold onto him for now, unless you get an offer you can’t pass up.
4. Has Ryan Mountcastle found his stride?
Before the season, Mountcastle was generating plenty of hype. He was one of the Orioles’ top prospects and, in 2020, was coming off a very productive 35 game stretch where he posted an OPS of .878. But, like young players tend to do, Mountcastle hit a slump and struggled out the gate in 2021. For now, Mountcastle has appeared to put the struggles in the rearview mirror – as he and the aforementioned Patrick Wisdom took home player of the week honors. Mountcastle should be rostered in all formats.
5. Is Austin Meadows a dark horse MVP candidate?
Admittedly, I made the mistake of overlooking Meadows this year. He was coming off a very poor 2020 campaign where he barely hit above the Mendoza line. Now, it seems as though Meadows is hitting home runs every single day. His .533 slugging is amongst the highest in baseball. He’s a huge reason why the Tampa Bay Rays are having so much success. Meadows could be putting together a similar season that we saw in 2019. The Pirates have to be kicking themselves for what is one of the worst trades in recent memory.
6. Are Corbin Burnes and Jacob deGrom in a class of their own?
To answer this question, deGrom is in his own tier, and then it’s the rest, but there can be a very strong argument for Burnes being the second-best pitcher in all of baseball. Burnes currently leads the majors in FIP, WHIP, SO/9, and SO/W. Leading the majors in one of those categories would be impressive, let alone all four. So yes, deGrom is in his own tier, but when Corbin Burnes is on, he’s more than likely the second-best pitcher in all of baseball. Congrats if you own one or both of these pitchers and don’t even think about moving them.
7. Can Justin Upton continue his recent offensive surge?
Coming into the 2021 season, Upton appeared to be on the tail-end of his career. But, it appears as though he has found something in the tank this season, as he’s arguably putting together his best season as an Angel. Maybe Trout’s injury lit a fire in him, but Upton has been on a tear. He’s slugging well over .800 over his last seven games and doesn’t appear to be slowing down soon. Make sure to pick him up if he’s available in your league.
8. Is Luis Garcia the best free-agent pitcher pick-up this season?
Much like Framber Valdez last season, Luis Garcia looks as though the Astros have found another diamond in the rough for their pitching staff. Garcia has been nothing short of spectacular and may become the best free-agent pitcher we get all season long. He’s posted a respectable 3.72 FIP to go along with a strong 10.4 SO/9. He’s been absolutely dominant at times and must be rostered in all formats. Garcia may be due for some rough outings, but nevertheless, he has become one of the best pickups this season.
9. Will Jesse Winker ever slow down?
My gosh. There can be a very strong argument to be made that Winker has been the best hitter in baseball this year. It’s simply absurd what this man is doing at the plate. Winker made history last week by putting together multiple 3-HR games for a season. I don’t foresee him slowing down any time soon. It will be interesting to see which contending teams try and acquire him because I’m sure his services are well documented at this point. Pat yourself on the back if you picked him up or even drafted him.
10. Is Rich Hill back?
The literal definition of a journeyman. The 41-year-old Rich Hill continues to pitch at a high level. Now, in his first season with the Rays, Hill has looked brilliant through 12 games. It’s actually incredible what Hill is able to do at his age. His combination of offspeed leaves hitters completely off-balance and uncomfortable. His respectable 3.79 FIP shows that Hill’s start is not flukey, and he should be rostered in all fantasy baseball formats. It appears as though Hill is finding his groove yet again. The Rays and Hill appear to be a match made in heaven.
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All statistics were taken from FanGraphs, MLB.com, and Baseball-Reference.
Travis Cain is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Travis, check out his archive and follow him @TravisCain_.