The Pagemaster
For starters, it should be known that his name is pronounced Andy Pa-hez. Feel like that should be established. Now if you are unfamiliar, The Pagemaster was an animated movie released in 1994 starring Macauley Culkin as ten-year-old Richard Tyler, who fears everything in life and finds comfort and safety in statistics. After getting caught in a storm while running an errand, he takes shelter in a library. There the eccentric librarian realizes Tyler’s need for an adventure and tasks him with finding a special book and the story takes off from there.
The Los Angeles Dodgers also use numbers (in their case, billions of dollars) to assuage their fears of baseball inferiority. To begin the season, the strategy has not paid off particularly well and the likes of James Outman, Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernández were not getting the job done. So Los Angeles decided to veer out of their comfort zone and call up 23-year-old prospect Andy Pages to inject some life and adventure into the young season.
The move paid off on Sunday, when Pages went 2-for-4 with a three-run blast to center to help the Dodgers fend off a sweep at the hands of the Mets. The powerful Cuban smashed 57 combined HRs in 2021 and 2022 and has shown improved plate discipline each year through the minors. He had already hit five HRs in AAA before his callup and could be an interesting deep-league pickup if he can lock down an everyday spot in the talented Dodgers offense.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday
Jesus Sanchez (MIA): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB.
Jesus Sanchez finally got on the board with his first HR of the season, a towering 460-foot blast to help lead the Marlins to a 6-3 victory over the Cubs. The 26-year-old does have some crazy power when he can tap into it, which unfortunately is rarely. He could possibly be a fun DFS dart throw, but I wouldn’t be too interested in the volatile outfielder for fantasy purposes.
Wilyer Abreu (BOS): 3-5, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI.
Wilyer Abreu is going to be bummed to be leaving Pittsburgh after he enjoyed two three-hit games over the weekend. The 25-year-old got a taste of the Majors last season after hitting 22 HRs in AAA and he profiles as a solid MLB outfielder. With the Red Sox decimated by injuries, Abreu has been batting in the top half of the lineup and could be a solid under the radar add, especially in OBP leagues.
Eloy Jiménez (CWS): 1-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI.
As someone who believed heavily in a big year for Eloy Jiménez in 2023, his fall from grace has been disappointing. The 27-year-old finally hit his first HR of the season and his 31-HR year in 2019 seems so far away now. Injuries have derailed Jimenez’s career and unfortunately I am going to have to see him play and produce consistently for a while before I entertain playing him in fantasy again.
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 1-1, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB.
Kyle Schwarber decided he was not getting out on Sunday, as he sandwiched a solo HR in between three walks as the Phillies routed the White Sox. At this point in his career we know exactly who Schwarber is going to be. He is going to hit for a low average, walk and strikeout a ton, and hit anywhere between 40 and 50 HRs.
Amed Rosario (TB): 2-4, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI.
Amed Rosario continued his strong start to the season with two hits on Sunday, including a two-run double that cut the Rays deficit in half. That brings his 2024 line to .351/.360/.527 and he is making a case to remain in the starting lineup for Tampa Bay, even when Josh Lowe returns.
Alex Verdugo (NYY): 3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB.
The Yankees managed to pull off a win on Sunday despite making three errors and hitting only singles against the Rays. Alex Verdugo had three of those singles and has an excellent 1.25 BB/K ratio so far this season. Verdugo is a much better real life baseball player than fantasy one as he doesn’t really do anything particularly well aside from limit strikeouts. Still with that Yankees lineup and friendly stadium, I’m sure there will be a few big days ahead for the 27-year-old in the Bronx.
Josh Naylor (CLE): 1-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI.
Hey look, its my favorite (non-Pirate) player in baseball just getting big hits again. Josh Naylor was hitless on Sunday until his bases-clearing double in the 7th inning sealed the 6-2 win for the Guardians. It is time everyone accepts that Naylor is a stud and good on you if you were able to draft him this season.
Jordan Westburg (BAL): 2-3, HR, 3B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB.
Speaking of guys I am high on, Jordan Westburg continued his torrid start to 2024 with his 5th HR and first triple of the season on Sunday. He now boasts a .333/.392/.639 line and has three SBs to boot, all from the bottom of the Baltimore lineup. If they ever dared to move him up in the order, look out.
Xander Bogaerts (SD): 2-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB.
Xander Bogaerts has drawn quite a bit of ire from Padres fans and fantasy baseball managers alike this season and hopefully his performance Sunday will set him in the right direction. Its clear that he will never sniff the 33 HRs he hit in 2019, but Bogaerts is still an above-average hitter especially now that he has 2B eligibility. A .233 BABIP shows he is getting a little unlucky right now and if you can buy low on him I would.
Evan Carter (TEX): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 1 RBI.
Evan Carter got the Rangers rally started on Sunday night with a solo blast off Braves starter Darius Vines. The 21-year-old burst onto the scene during the Rangers’ 2023 World Series run and he has had a predictably tough start to his sophomore campaign. Don’t be afraid though, the talent is still there and if you remain patient with Carter he will reward you in the end.
Cal Raleigh (SEA): 2-4, HR, 1 R, 3 RBI.
While Raleigh went 0-for-5 in the first game of the SEA@COL doubleheader, we are going to focus on Game 2 when he crushed his 5th HR of 2024. That gave the switch-hitter his 3rd HR in four games and he also had 7 RBI over that span. Catcher is a relatively deep position in fantasy this year and Raleigh is certainly someone you can roster, especially if you are in need of power. The 27-year-old led all catchers with 30 HRs last season and he certainly looks poised to lead the league in that category again this year.