What are the Padres doing with Luis Urias? Is there a plan? What does that mean for his outlook? Altuve is blasting. Buxton is slashing. Chapman is surging. Correa looks healthy. Khris D. is socking. DeJong was overlooked. Dozier is finding his footing. Goodrum has been good. Grandal is getting on base. Heyward, Jason is ripping. LeMahieu is batting over .400. Meadows looks sublime in Tampa. Pham looks just as good. Vogelbach is trying to carve out a full-time role.
What are the Padres doing with Luis Urias? Is there a plan? What does that mean for his outlook? Altuve is blasting. Buxton is slashing. Chapman is surging. Correa looks healthy. Khris D. is socking. DeJong was overlooked. Dozier is finding his footing. Goodrum has been good. Grandal is getting on base. Heyward, Jason is ripping. LeMahieu is batting over .400. Meadows looks sublime in Tampa. Pham looks just as good. Vogelbach is trying to carve out a full-time role.
THE CONFUSING CASE OF LUIS URIAS
I love the offensive game of Luis Urias. I think he’s going to be an ideal #2 hitter in the big leagues with his ability to rap out base hits and to control the strike zone. I would love to own him in dynasty leagues everywhere. He’s got an impressive hit tool, one that led Baseball America to write the following in their Prospect Handbook. “Urias’ pure stroke and elite eye give him a chance to contend for batting titles at his peak.” So, I was very confused when the Padres chose to demote him at the season’s start when they were going with other youngsters like Paddack/Mejia without a second thought. Apparently, four games in the minors was enough time for the Padres though as he went 6-for-20 with a homer and a steal leading to his near immediate recall back to the big leagues even though Ian Kinsler was/is healthy. In his first game back, Urias even hit leadoff for the Padres. However, in his second game back he didn’t start and was used a pinch hitter. In his third game he hit 8th. Really?
So, I will restate my confusion from last week. With a youth movement in full effect in San Diego, why isn’t Urias playing every day? If he’s not going to play daily, why have him in the big leagues? I reached out to Kevin Acee who responded writing the following. “Sorta depends on him. They have a problem at the lead-off spot right now. They called Urias up to play.” Well, let’s hope they do let him play cause not starting him in his second game up seems bizarre, as is batting him 8th in his third game back. I also, while doing a bit more digging, found an extremely strange tidbit from MILB.com. “Luis is a guy who’s going to play,” manager Andy Green told MLB.com. “We’re also looking at a guy who has come back from a hamstring issue. We’re not interested in seven or eight straight [games] at any point in time right now.” So, an injury to Urias’ hamstring last year will stop him from playing more than six games in a row this year? On what planet does that make any sense? Certainly not this one.
So, I’m not sure what the Padres are doing. I’m not sure what the plan is with Urias. I’m not certain you should be adding him in any mixed league, non-keeper, at the moment. He doesn’t have a ton of power, and isn’t a big base stealer, and with his uncertain workload and spot in the batting order… his short-term outlook is incredibly muddled.
BATS A BLASTING
Jose Altuve has at least two hits in 5-of-7 games and all of a sudden, he’s batting .314. Oh yeah, he’s also hit four homes the last three games. The little man can flat out rake.
Byron Buxton has six extra base hits and three steals through nine games, and the last six games he’s swiped all three of those bags while scoring six times. He also owns a .869 OPS and is showing the dynamic physical talents that have long made scouts mouths frothy with anticipation. He’s a game changing talent, with a bat, a glove or his wheels. Period. Can he stay healthy and consistent enough for those talents to shine through? That’s a question that we won’t have an answer to until five months from now.
Matt Chapman has six runs, six RBI and two homers his last three outings.
Carlos Correa looks healthy once again, and he’s ripping it up. Through 10 games he has two homers, four doubles and a .960 OPS. It was easy to dismiss him in a variety of leagues this season, but the early returns, even after that neck issue right at the start of the campaign, are damn impressive.
Khris Davis hit two homers Wednesday to give him seven homers and 14 RBI in 15 games played including three homers and eight RBI his last three outings. He’s even hitting .254 thanks to a 6-game hitting streak. He’s, simply put, as reliable a homer/run producer as there is the game, and there is little reason to think that will change any time soon.
Paul DeJong was an afterthought in many drafts this season. Sure, he doesn’t have much speed, but once the big names were gone up the middle, he certainly had one of the power bats to target. He’s really been on his game this season, and the last nine times out he’s gone deep three times, has four doubles, a triple, and has driven in seven runs. The 1.063 OPS through 12 outings is more than .300 points above his solid .815 career mark.
Brian Dozier has started off in a funk with one RBI, no steals and five runs scored in 10 games. On the plus side he’s caught a bit o’ fire very recently with a 3-game streak of five hits and five runs scored. #Patience
Niko Goodrum has a homer and no steals through 12 games. Still, he’s been a useful, nay, impressive offensive performer. It hasn’t resulted in much fantasy value, not with that .289-1-6-5-0 line, but his .289/.413/.526 slash line does impress. Don’t overlook his game is he’s floating around on waivers.
Yasmani Grandal’s last five games have produced three homers, four RBI and seven runs while he’s tossed up there a patented on base run with a .500 OBP.
Jason Heyward has a .371/.452/.714 slash line with four homers and two steals in 10 games. Oh, he’s also the owner of a .650 OBP his last five games. Yeah, me neither.
D.J. LeMahieu has killed it in the early going hitting .410 over his first 11 games with the Yankees. The man can hit, even if he’s not a power bat, doesn’t run much anymore, and has playing time concerns once the Yankees get healthy. Heck, IF the Yankees ever get healthy.
Austin Meadows has scored four runs, gone deep twice, driven in seven runs and produced seven hits his last two outings. The dude is a monster right now. It’s not really surprising given his overall game, though many have slept on Meadows recently because he’s had so many physical setbacks through the years. His hit tool is impressive, he has the power to go deep 20 times, and he certainly can swipe double-digit bases if his lower half cooperates. Even with the tremendous work to this point he’s struck out 13 times in 12 games, but that rate should actually normalize even as his slash line decreases. Given when it cost to roster him this spring, folks are going to be mighty happy with the return they get.
Tommy Pham is a fantasy star. Way back in January when I took him in the FSTA Draft I wrote that he was one of seven guys to go 20/15 last season with 100 runs scored. He’s often dealing with some physical issue, and playing for the Rays doesn’t help raise his “Q”, but the dude can flat out play. Wednesday he hit two homers and his slash line sits at .286/.419/.408. In addition to that line, and his five thefts, Pham has reached base in 45-straight games, the longest run in Rays history. Probably well past time that we start to view him as a fantasy star.
Nick Senzel (ankle) is doing well, but he’s still a couple of week away from playing in a game. Clearly, he won’t be seeing the big leagues in April.
Dan Vogelbach was playing in place of a beat-up Edwin Encarnacion. Now, he’s in the lineup cause of a beat-up Jay Bruce (Achilles). No matter who has been out, when DV has been in the lineup he has mashed with four homers, nine RBI and six runs scored his last five games. Often compared to Kyle Schwarber because of his build and need for a platoon mater, DV can hit. However, he’s a poor fielder, painfully unathletic, and in each of his previous three seasons he’s totally failed to step forward when given a change. This time though he’s posted a near 1.700 OPS through nine games, and that is likely to get him a good deal of run here in the early going. A top end Vogelbach like is a Schwarber-like effort, but with 12 strikeouts and a .103 average versus lefties in 29 at-bats, it’s nearly impossible to envision him playing daily.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday-Friday, 8-10 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). Follow Ray’s work on Twitter (@baseballguys) and be sure to listen to his podcast work too.
