The first half of the baseball season is over, and as we gear up for the second half there is a break in game action so that we can gain some perspective. Ray Flowers will share some of his random thoughts in what follows below. Who is he found of? Which players is he concerned about? Which players was he correct about back in March? Which players have surged passed his lowly expectations? What witty phrases does he have up his sleeve? Read on to find a readable/enjoyable take on the state of baseball at the break.
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Willians Astudillo is awesome.
Harrison Bader, we hardly knew ya.
All those people who said I was wrong about Jose Berrios… you were wrong.
Some folks thought Charlie Blackmon was slowing on the bases, so they weren’t interested this season. They felt vindicated when he started slowly. Well, he’s on pace to be the same superstar performer he’s been for years with the bat, and has been one of the best hitters in baseball the last month.
Archie Bradley’s new nickname – the Hindenburg.
To think, folks said that Kris Bryant was washed up.
Byron Buxton has arrived. He only has to remember one piece of advice to take his game to the next level – it’s ok to play defense at 93 percent of your capacity. Stop flinging your body around the baseball diamond like you are Wolverine.
Robinson Cano has been hurt, but he’s also been awful. I still believe in the skills and wouldn’t be shocked to see him have a nice second half. Nothing magical, but usable.
Nick Castellanos started slowly, but he’s come on of late, and there’s a good chance he ends up being pretty close to what we expected by seasons end.
Luis Castillo has tremendous stuff. Period. He also has a very loose control of the strike zone, and sooner or later that always catches up to a pitcher. Always.
I still believe that Carlos Correa will be a 5-7 time All-Star.
Nelson Cruz is older than me, actually I’m older (damn), but the man can still rake. Shots everywhere off the Boomstick.
Jacob deGrom continues to pitch like a star, and his team continues to let him down at virtually every turn.
Has Paul DeJong gotta a hit in three weeks?
Rafael Devers didn’t show any appreciable growth last season, like none. This year he’s been stupendous. Still, I do caution that he is swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone than ever before, a sure sign that his batting average is coming down as the at-bats pile up.
I’m sorry about Brian Dozier. I pushed him all spring, and though he’s had a couple of nice weeks of late, there have still been as many down times as positive ones. Just doesn’t seem like he’s getting over the hump this season.
Mike Foltynewicz had no chance to improve upon his effort of last season. I also warned this preseason that expecting anything close to his numbers from last season was foolhardy. Still, didn’t predict his total meltdown.
Someone please make a trade for Clint Frazier and just let him play every day.
Freddie Freeman is one of the five best left-handed hitters in baseball. If you went top-3, I wouldn’t argue one bit. In fact, he might be #2.
Can Joey Gallo actually keep the batting average up? I doubt he maintains his current pace, but he’s gonna bat better than the league average in the AVG category, and that’s helping to propel him to one hell of a season.
It’s hard to decide which player has had the wilder season: Mitch Garver or James McCann? Seriously. You could have rostered both players for a $1 in an AL-only league and they have both been top-10 catchers overall to this point.
Paul Goldschmidt will be better in the second half, can pretty much bank on that, but the fact is that he’s been a dismal disappointment based upon expectations.
Didi Gregorius has a .726 OPS in his return from elbow surgery. Not many players have ever built their entire fantasy reputation off of one month.
As I write this, the most overrated player in baseball is Vladimir Guerrero. He was amazing in the Homer Derby, but he should not have been there.
We’re all cheering for you Mitch Haniger.
Bryce Harper continues to be really good, but he’s simply put not an elite player. The numbers just don’t support the continual love we, as a fantasy universe, give him each year.
Austin Hedges you vex and disappoint me.
Just to reiterate a point I’ve made many times… I don’t think there were any legitimate baseball sources that had Yordan Alvarez ahead of Eloy Jimenez four months ago. Don’t give up on Eloy. As we’ve seen the last month, his bat will be something special.
It’s a shame we lost Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve to injury in the first half. That’s the tall and short of it.
Clayton Kershaw… age… back… doubts… still gets it done.
Jose Leclerc is a prime example of why some folks just won’t invest in closers on draft day. Sergio Romo had an ADP of 446, and he has 16 saves, 11 more than Leclerc and his ADP mark was 116. Three-hundred thirty spots later, and 11 more saves.
German Marquez isn’t a top-15 pitcher. If someone told you he would be in March, and many did, you might want to move on from their advice.
Nomar Mazara is the most consistent player in baseball. His career slash line is .259/.320/.428. The marks this season are .261/.317/.443. Here are his yearly OPS marks: .739, .745, .753 and .760. Too bad he’s consistently average.
Mike Minor has an ADP of 369 this spring.
Adalberto Mondesi skills scares me. His approach is so unrefined, I worry about him establishing long-term consistency.
Wil Myers has stunk, seemingly forever. He’s still on pace to go 20/15. Remarkable, right?
Should the Angels let Shohei Ohtani pitch, or just let him hit? The offensive game is elite, and it sure seemed like the arm was last season as well. He’s a truly remarkable talent.
Matt Olson could easily be a top-5 homer bat from this date forward.
Chris Paddack needs a third pitch.
I know Jeff Mans won’t read this so I’ll take the chance to say three words… Daniel Palka, ha.
Jose Peraza isn’t a superstar, but no player inside the top-100 ADP this spring has been worse, unless they were hurt. Wait, Travis Shaw is right there with him, isn’t he?
Kevin Pillar is a bad offensive player. Don’t care if he’s been hot the last month.
In the time it took me to write this sentence I’m pretty sure that Nick Pivetta allowed two homers.
Buster Posey’s numbers appear to paint him as a shell of his former self. Watching him, there’s not much outward difference.
In 65 appearances with the Astros, Ryan Pressly has a 1.14 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP, 11.3 strikeout per nine over 63 innings. There isn’t a better reliever in baseball.
Jurickson Profar took about five years to find his groove. Seems like he lost that groove in five months this offseason.
At least Jose Ramirez is running, but it’s extremely rare to see a top-5 pick bomb completely without an injury being the cause.
Have to think that Alex Reyes is Fool’s Gold at this point. He’s yet another example of why it’s so dangerous to build around pitching in keeper leagues.
Anthony Rizzo is Mr. Consistency.
Anthony Rendon isn’t just a professional hitter. He is, but he’s more than that. He’s just damn good, and it’s a shame he doesn’t get more love given his excellence.
Hunter Renfroe has a promise to keep. He swears he will hit two homers in the second half with someone on base.
Miguel Sano has 13 homers in 148 at-bats. He’s gonna hit, remarkably, 30 homers this season.
Max Scherzer’s run of dominance is getting to the point where he is pretty close to being up for pitcher of the 21st century.
Blake Snell has great stuff, but with each start I grow more firm in the belief that he’s already had his career best season.
Juan Soto is going to have a better career than Bryce Harper.
Matt Straham is no longer usable in fantasy leagues. Hard to see there being a significant turnaround in the second half.
Is it possible… could Stephen Strasburg actually stay healthy?
Yet again, Noah Syndergaard is failing to live up to draft day expectations.
Is it possible that Fernando Tatis is already a top-25 fantasy performer?
Mike Trout is the Truth. Still, Christian Yelich is the best hitter in baseball.
Joey Votto has been better of late, but what the hell has happened Joey?
Zack Wheeler has the stuff, but just like his teammate Noah, putting it all together inning after innings has been a chore.
Just how long can a sore back keep you out? Ask Alex Wood if you see him at the local diamond around the corner from your house.
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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.
