OK, folks. We are heading into the ninth week of fantasy baseball at the NFBC, so it’s getting real. I don’t know of any league that anyone ever won before June, so it’s time to dig deep and make sure our lineups are getting as many at-bats as possible.
The Cubs play a whopping nine games for the coming week, while four teams play eight games (MIL, STL, DET, and MIN). Every other team plays six or seven games.
What follows is a list of 10 players who are noteworthy heading into Week 9. In shallower formats (say, 12-teamers), these guys are probably more suited for your watch list. But they could be helpful in a dire situation or a shallow league with large rosters. In 15-teamers (a la the NFBC), most of the guys who follow should somehow slot into your lineups.
Lastly, for recordkeeping, the majority of this was penned ahead of Saturday’s games. So any Saturday heroics may not be included.
Catcher
William Contreras (C – ATL)
The Braves have done this in the past, producing a pair of fantasy-viable backstops. Contreras’ smoking hot bat is getting prioritized recently, as he’s seen time at catcher, DH, and even in left field. In two-catcher or 15-team leagues, he should absolutely be in someone’s second catcher slot. Over a mere 50 at-bats, Contreras is the No. 7 backstop in 5×5 formats. He is currently producing at an absurd pace, batting .280 with a whopping seven homers. Only Daulton Varsho (8) has more home runs, and he’s done so in more than triple the amount of at-bats. Next week, Contreras and the Braves have a full seven-game slate, including a four-game set at Coors Field. Better get Contreras’ top 8% max exit velocity goodness into your lineups, gamers.
Danny Jansen (C – TOR)
Jansen was featured in this space two weeks ago, before his imminent return from the injured list. And over the last two weeks of action, he is the No. 5 catcher in 5×5 formats. He has a .259 BA and four homers over that stretch. The only drawback is the splitting of time–he has just 27 at-bats over the last two weeks, averaging about 14 at-bats per week. But if Jonah Heim and William Contreras have taught us anything so far, part-time catchers can be valuable commodities. Jansen qualifies as such in the stacked Toronto lineup. The Blue Jays catch a tough break with Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech scheduled for the first two games–but hopefully, Jansen will only see one of those matchups. At the back end of the week, the overperforming Minnesota starters await. The Twins’ starters boast a 3.06 ERA but a 3.41 FIP and 3.92 xFIP. They also have the league’s lowest HR/FB rate, at just 7.5%, a top 10 .275 BABIP, and a top-five mark in LOB%. I think some of that will normalize soon enough.
MJ Melendez (C – KC)
And as for one of last week’s mentions, the Royals will still prioritize Melendez’s bat despite Salvador Perez‘s return from a thumb injury. Per manager Mike Matheny, Melendez is slated to see work at DH and in the outfield, much like Contreras for Atlanta. Last week, I worried Melendez might be just a one-week rental. But he’s hit well enough to remain in consideration for Week 9. Over his 20 games this year, he’s batting .246 with four homers, two of those coming in his last four games. In Perez’s return to the lineup on Saturday, Melendez was behind the dish with Perez occupying the DH slot. That could be a thing for the near future, especially as Perez gets settled into the swing of things. Roll with Melendez safely for Week 9, in my opinion. The Royals are projected to avoid the aces of the Cleveland and Houston staffs. No Shane Bieber or Justin Verlander on tap is a good thing.
Corner Infield
Frank Schwindel (1B – CHC)
Schwindel gets nine games to slug some homers next week. Remember, the Cubbies have nine games on tap, the most of any team for Week 9. Schwindel’s season-long slash line of .234/.271/.392 may turn you off. However, his batting average numbers have been tolerable over the last three weeks: .263, .259, .286. And he’s given us a pair of home runs in each of the last two weeks. He’s also lifting the ball more and hitting it harder in May after getting off to a poor start in March and April. Lastly, for the first part of the NFBC week, Schwindel is projected to see at least three left-handers, which is the split we want him in. I can justify him as a corner infield play this week in leagues where I need power.
Pavin Smith (1B, OF – ARI)
Smith could get a boost this week, so monitor the status of Daulton Varsho. With Varsho a late scratch on Saturday, the defensively-challenged Smith bumped to the second spot in the batting order and mercifully occupied the DH spot in the lineup. This is good news. Smith will face six right-handed pitchers next week, which is the split we want him in. You’ll have to stomach the lack of speed and batting average, but Smith is still young and quietly doing good things. His quality of contact metrics are mostly 50th to 60th percentile, but he’s not chasing (82nd percentile), he’s walking plenty (75th percentile), and he’s 93rd percentile with a whopping 15.1% barrel rate thus far. For reference, Aaron Judge (16.5% barrel rate) leads the majors, and Joc Pederson (15.2%) is second overall. If Smith qualified, he’d rank third in the majors. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that either.
Middle Infield
Gio Urshela (3B, SS – MIN)
Urshela has mostly occupied my fantasy baseball benches this year, but he is tolerable to me as a middle infield play for Week 9. The Twins have eight games on deck, so the at-bats should be there. Urshela has a disgusting .086 ISO on the year, but he’s walking plenty, not striking out, and his .259 BA is tolerable if underperforming a bit (.273 xBA). Like Schwindel, Urshela gets at least something of a boost with three left-handers on tap for Week 9. It’s his more powerful split, and where he hits for an additional 14 points of average (.280 to .266). It’s not the sexiest of plays, but the volume makes him worthy of considering.
Enrique Hernandez (2B, OF – BOS)
He’s back to the leadoff position for Boston, perhaps one of the best spots in baseball ahead of Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, and Xander Bogaerts. Sure, it’s a ghastly .205/.272/.335 slash line on the season, but that comes with a .229 BABIP and a better-looking .240 xBA. Also, over the past 14 days, Hernandez is batting a much improved .273 with a pair of home runs and 18 hits. Only eight batters have had more hits over the past two weeks.
Hernandez had a .337 OBP in his first stint with Boston last year, and he was able to do so with a solid 10.4% walk rate, one of the better walk rates of his career. His current 7.8% walk rate is 46th percentile, but he’s trimmed his strikeout rate to 15.5%. Boston would probably prefer a better option up top, but they seem to like Hernandez there. I’m not questioning it, as I’m forced into playing Hernandez in a few spots. Here’s hoping he can start to get on base more and level out his swing. A career-high 51.9% fly-ball rate seems less than ideal in his role as a leadoff man. Surely the Red Sox are smart enough to find a remedy, especially with a solid veteran like Hernandez.
Ramon Urias (2B, 3B, SS – BAL)
Hear me out. Urias has a .238 batting average, but his .279 xBA is in line with previous performances and ranks inside the 73rd percentile. He also boasts a stunning 50.9% hard-hit rate (top 7% of MLB). He’s not a home run threat due to a league-average 6.5% barrel rate, but good things are bound to happen for a guy who doesn’t chase (75th percentile) and hits the ball this hard. Over the last week of games, Urias is batting .423 and has scored seven times. You can’t use some BA and runs help in your middle infield slot? If you’re in a desperate situation, I say kick the tires on Urias. After all, the Orioles catch a full slate of seven games for the week ahead.
Outfield
Christopher Morel (OF – CHC)
Morel has batted leadoff for Chicago for four straight games since Tuesday, and he swiped his third base in eight games on Saturday. He’s also played all over the diamond, including games at second base, center field, third base, and shortstop. Who knows if he’ll continue drawing starts with superstar veterans like Jason Heyward and David Bote slated to rejoin Chicago soon. Still, with nine games on tap for the week ahead, you can safely plug him into one of your outfield slots for a runs and stolen bases boost. Over his small sample, Morel has just one barrel on 26 batted balls. That works out to a measly 3.8% barrel rate. So while his launch angle may not frequently be optimal, he’s hitting the ball hard (46.2% hard hit). In all, I think the two early homers are fortuitous. If you roster him or chase him with FAAB dollars, you’re hoping he continues capitalizing on that 93rd percentile sprint speed and not necessarily banking on the home runs to keep falling.
Tyrone Taylor (OF – MIL)
Taylor has been getting everyday playing time with Milwaukee due to Hunter Renfroe‘s hamstring injury. The projection for Renfroe is two weeks out, and hamstrings can be tricky. Given Taylor’s recent performance, I expect him to have another week of relevance in Week 9. Renfroe did resume running on Saturday, but Taylor’s bat should give the Brewers enough reason to take things slowly. Taylor doesn’t walk much, and he’s a bit of a free-swinger, but his Statcast page is littered with red, and he’s a plus in speed (76th percentile). Still just 28 years old, there’s reason enough to trust his career-best marks in average EV, sweet spot rate, xBA, and hard-hit rate. Taylor has given us a pair of useful weeks in a row at the NFBC, and he’s even logged three walks against just five strikeouts over that time frame. The Brewers have eight games on deck for the coming week and a whopping four left-handers projected. For his career, Taylor hits for an extra 15 points of average against southpaws (.265 to .240) even if he does give up some power (.162 ISO to .228 ISO). He’s worked himself up to the cleanup spot a few times recently…I think you have to find a way to play him for Week 9 due to his recent performance and the volume.
That’s about it for me on this holiday weekend…let me know who I missed out on, gamers. Who are you shifting into the circle of trust in your deep leagues?
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Beyond our fantasy baseball content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.
Heath Capps is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Heath, check out his archive.
