As we kick off Memorial Day Weekend, it’s a good time to take a moment and reflect on the connection between baseball and the military. This being the original national pastime – yes, we see you NFL – the feeling of Americana at a baseball game never goes away, especially when so many MLB teams honor members of the military before and even during their games.

Thanks to the good folks at Baseball Almanac, it was easy to find that 34 players who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame served their country during World War II. Just imagine how the career statistics would have looked for Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio had they not lost seasons to serving in the military. DiMaggio was away from baseball his age 28-30 seasons. Williams even served in two wars – WWII and the Korean War – losing his age 24-26 seasons and a chunk of the 1952 season.

Later, after military service was no longer deemed mandatory across the United States, MLB stars like Dusty Baker and Rick Monday served in Marine reserve units, often talking about how that time in these units helped them in their careers. There were even baseball careers cut short, as 20-year-old Roy Gleason smacked a double in his only official Major league at-bat for the Dodgers in 1963. He was wounded in the Vietnam War and received the Purple Heart, but never put on a big league uniform again.

To all these and many other baseball players and the countless number of women and men who are both active and retired from the military, a hearty “Thank You for Your Service!” This country is safe because of you.

Okay, back to the regular programming and time for some Deep Sleepers.

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Deep Sleepers & Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9

Nolan Gorman (2B,3B – STL) ECR: 208
Gorman has four homers in his last nine games, leaving him at 13 on the season thus far. He’s been hitting third in six of those games, though he’s now hanging in against southpaws. He took lefty Victor Gonzalez deep on May 20. If that continues this could be a major breakout season for the former top prospect.

Michael Conforto (OF – SF) ECR: 218
The Giants outfielder took most of April to shake the rust off after missing all of 2022 with shoulder surgery. In the last 15 games, Conforto is triple slashing .364/.419/.782, and has seven home runs along with 15 RBI in that span. San Francisco can use all the offense it can get, and Conforto is now hitting either third or fourth in that lineup.

Mickey Moniak (OF – LAA) ECR: 488
The 2016 No. 1 overall pick seemed to have been thrown to the scrap heap by Philadelphia, yet here he is at age 25 and hitting .419 with four homers in his first 10 games of the 2023 season. Sometimes, high school hitters can take a little extra time to develop, and Moniak may have needed to fill out a lanky frame. That year’s draft has several players where one would ask, “What if?” Moniak is worth a flier as a last man in a deep league because of his youth and opportunity.

Josh Lowe (OF – TB) ECR: 297
Lowe went 12 picks after Moniak in that same ’16 Draft, yet unlike the Phillies, the Rays held onto the outfielder and are reaping the benefits. The lefty swinger is practically on pace for a 30-30 season, with 11 homers and nine stolen bases almost one-third of the way through the season. He has taken a seat against tough lefties, but Lowe is still doing plenty of damage and should be rising in these rankings. His hard-hit rate is a solid 41.3 percent, so he’s making great contact.

Bobby Miller (SP – LAD) ECR: N/A
The Dodgers’ rotation is looking like a land of opportunity for your pitchers after a rash of injuries. Michael Grove and Gavin Stone have debuted with the big club before Miller, who is MLB’s No. 19 prospect and the most ballyhooed of all the LA pitching prospects.

Miller stared down the Braves’ powerful lineup and limited it to one run on four hits in five innings. He punched out five hitters with his triple-digit heat. He gets the Nationals’ subpar lineup on Memorial Day evening at Dodger Stadium, which should be electric with every 100-MPH radar gun reading. While he could be on a plane to AAA in the near future, the Dodgers do like to employ six-man rotations to give their starters extra rest, so Miller could be around a little while to help fantasy managers needing strikeouts and possibly wins.

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