Do-overs can be good. Sometimes better than the first go-around.
Godfather II won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1975 just like the original two years prior. Many Star Wars fans consider Empire Strikes Back the best of the classic saga. Taylor Swift seems to be doing fine re-recording her songs as Taylor’s Versions.
This is meant for Trea Turner, the All-Star shortstop who signed an 11-year contract this past offseason, then promptly found himself hitting .250 with 12 home runs in mid-August. This after Turner hit .298 or better each of the past four seasons. Sometimes players grip the bat a little too tightly when they sign a mega-deal in a new city.
Just ask Francisco Lindor, who had a rough landing in New York in 2021, hitting .223 and missing time due to injury. Lindor then rebounded to hit 26 home runs, drive in 107 and steal 16 bags last year. And he’s already gone 20-20 this year. All this to say that Turner may just need a year to acclimate to playing in Philly. Wouldn’t be the first player. So there is hope for Turner.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver-Wire Sleeper Pickups
Below are some deep sleepers to consider grabbing off the fantasy baseball waiver wire. The group is made up of players rostered in under 30% of leagues at time of writing.
Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET): 23% Rostered
If there is one hitter who needs to graduate from Deep Sleeper status, it’s Torkelson. In his last seven games, he has six home runs, seven RBI and eight runs. His OPS in that small sample is 1.510. He’s hitting cleanup for the Tigers, who need to see if he’s the long-term answer at first base.
Ezequiel Tovar (SS – COL): 24% Rostered
Tovar has had a pretty successful rookie season, considering that he mostly was at Double-A last year. In his last eight games, he has four multi-hit games, seven runs scored, two home runs and a stolen base. He’ll remain in the Colorado lineup, hitting at or near the top. He has a shot to finish with 20 home runs and 10-plus stolen bases.
Michael Conforto (OF – SF): 20% Rostered
Conforto has returned to health after missing 2022 due to shoulder surgery, and in the last week he had a four-game streak where he went 9-for-13 with two home runs. In the month of August he has a .302 batting average with a .912 OPS, hitting in the middle of the second-place Giants lineup.
Patrick Bailey (C – SF): 6% Rostered
Bailey needs to be rostered because of catcher scarcity, at the very least, in dynasty leagues. He looks to have supplanted Joey Bart as the catcher of the present and future for the Giants. Bailey has hits in seven of his last nine games, with six RBI in that span. Keep an eye on him in September, as he’s never caught this many games in his career.
Hyun Jin Ryu (SP – TOR): 16% Rostered
Ryu has not allowed any earned runs in his last two starts, with one of them coming against the resurgent Cubs on Aug. 13. So, he appears to be rounding into form after making his 2023 debut on Aug. 1 coming off Tommy John surgery. Ryu faces the Reds in Cincinnati on Aug. 20. The Reds are hitting .254 as a team against lefties, good for 13th in the league.
Emerson Hancock (SP – SEA): 11% Rostered
Top pitching prospects are worth a flier after they’re called up. Hancock is the No. 6 prospect for the Mariners according to MLB.com. He has a mid-90s fastball, which helped him strike out 107 batters in 98 innings at Double-A.
Hancock gave up five runs against the Royals last time out, and now he gets a road start against the World Champion Astros on Aug. 20. So if picked up, fantasy managers may want to exercise caution, unless in need of immediate starting pitching contributions.
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