After rightfully throwing flowers at Ronald Acuna for a season we may never see again unless he does it all over again next season, let’s present the case for Kyle Schwarber‘s outlier season. Why Schwarbs? Well, for hitting below the Mendoza Line, he’s been quite productive.
On Sept. 4, he hit his 40th home run. Two days later, he tacked on his 41st. He has 40 singles on the season. The ghosts of Dave Kingman and Rob Deer’s past must be smiling somewhere. That’s not the productive part. Schwarber has 90 RBI and scored 90 runs. The 112 walks he’s drawn are a big reason for his hitting leadoff for the Phillies and his high run total. At .195, he’s on the way to running away with the title of the player with the lowest batting average in major league history while hitting 40 home runs and driving in and scoring 100 runs each. Curtis Granderson hit these high-water marks in 2012 but did so with a .232 batting average. Schwarber came within six RBI of beating Granderson with a .218 batting average. (Thank you, StatMuse)
So time to root for history. Root for Schwarber.
And it’s time for some Deep Sleepers, which at this time of year usually means young players. Here are players rostered in under 30% of leagues.
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Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleepers & Waiver Wire Pickups
Jordan Lawlar (SS – AZ) Rostered 8%
The Diamondbacks’ top prospect blew through the top two levels of the minors with a .278 average, .874 OPS, 20 home runs, and 36 stolen bases. Lawlar went 1-for-4 in his debut for Arizona, which could use a boost to keep its playoff hopes alive. He’d be a good follow-up to Corbin Carroll‘s rapid rise to one of the top rookies in baseball.
Ronny Mauricio (2B/SS – NYM) Rostered 16%
Mauricio has gotten off to quite the start, getting a hit in all five games since he debuted and going 8-for-19 with three stolen bases. The only downer is that he’s hitting in the lower third of the lineup, so he’s only scored a single run and driven in one run. He may move up in the lineup since the Mets are out of it and may just want to see over a few games how he handles the upper part of the order.
Jordan Westburg (2B/3B/SS – BAL) Rostered 11%
Westburg has hit primarily in the bottom third in the lineup, so he hasn’t been much of a threat to score or drive in many runs. He’s heating up, though, as his 6-for-17 mark in his last five games has picked up his average to .274. The Orioles are going to need every last bat to finish out the tough AL East, and Westburg has become a fixture in the lineup.
Logan O’Hoppe (C – LAA) Rostered 7%
The catcher appeared to be done for the season, but he was able to come back in August from shoulder surgery. He had gone out on April 20, hitting .283 with four home runs. If O’Hoppe can get anywhere near that production for a catcher, that would be very valuable either in pennant races or for fantasy teams outside the races.
Emmet Sheehan (SP- LAD) Rostered 4%
Sheehan appears to be a good streaming option tonight, pitching in Washington against a Nationals lineup that’s playing out the string of remaining 2023 games. On Sept. 2, he returned to the major leagues with four innings of relief work, allowing one run and striking out six. He had a no-decision. With Julio Urias on administrative leave, this kid has an open door for a rotation spot the rest of this year. And next.
Ryan Pepiot (SP – LAD) Rostered 16%
Pepiot flirted with perfection on Sept. 7 but gave up a hit with two outs in the seventh inning of what became a 10-0 victory over Miami. He’d thrown just 84 pitches and 60 strikes, but with the pitching depth really being tested in Los Angeles, the Dodgers can’t risk him getting hurt with the playoffs just weeks away. Since the Dodgers are one of the top offenses in the majors, he could be a source to win anytime he gets a start.
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