Crewsin’ For A Bruisin’
Dylan Crews (WSN): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
This season seemed like a make-or-break point for Dylan Crews. As a former second-overall pick out of LSU, he had thus far underwhelmed with a 76 wRC+ over 454 PAs. OK, in fairness, that’s not necessarily a definitive sample size. Still, he had plenty to prove. Unfortunately, this season has been more of the same; he entered Labor Day with a 79 wRC+ across 375 PAs. That’s not gonna cut it.
Yesterday, Crews put the Nats on the board with a two-run bomb against Kyle Hart in the sixth inning. Yes, that’s a career-high 11 home runs. But it’s also a microcosm of his struggles; he entered yesterday’s game with a career 96 wRC+ against LHP compared to a 69 wRC+ mark against RHP. Not great. That’s especially concerning for his outlook next season, considering Lile’s 124 wRC+ vs. RHP.
In the meantime, Crew’s 99 Process doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm. Whiffs remain a concern, and his power is hovering two ticks above average. Now for the good news. He has not been caught stealing on nine attempts! There’s that, at least. Could Crews improve? Sure. But right now, there’s little reason to support his case as a difference-maker.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Coby Mayo (BAL): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Hellmann’s Best strikes again! Mayo gave the O’s a 2-0 lead in the third with his 20th home run, a solo jolt off Joey Cantillo (425 feet, 110 EV). He popped his second home run of the afternoon three innings later against righty Slade Cecconi (411 feet, 104.7 EV). Mayo’s poor splits against right-handers (41 wRC+ in 236 PAs) have kept him off the fantasy radar, but he has been a printing press against southpaws (209 wRC+ in 144 PAs).
Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB.
Trevor Megill had not allowed a home run until yesterday afternoon, when PCA barrelled his letter-high fastball to deep right-center (400 feet, 107.9 EV). Are you surprised? Unfortunately for him and the Cubbies, the bases were empty. Nonetheless, his 41 home runs trail Schwarber by two for the most in baseball. He’s also fifth with 35 steals; one more will be a new career-high. He has also more than doubled last year’s walk rate (11.6%). All hail the NL MVP.
A.J. Ewing (NYM): 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI.
The two-run double came on a lucky, inside-out swing on a knee-high 99 mph heater from Eury Pérez; the humpback line drive over third base just stayed fair inside the left field line. Ewing hit sixth yesterday and hasn’t led off since August 28th amidst a second-half swoon (55 wRC+ in 194 PAs). Whiffs (95 Contact, 26% K rate) haven’t helped. Still, Ewing’s metrics (109 Process+) suggest he isn’t too far from figuring it out. At the very least, the 22-year-old rookie has remained a decent source of speed (22 SBs on 29 attempts).
Pedro Ramírez (CHC): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.
Ramírez broke a 0-for-18 slide, which coincided with a three-game absence due to back spasms, with his fifth home run, a solo shot in the fifth off Brewers lefty Robert Gasser. He was also robbed of an extra-base hit in the ninth by a great catch by Luis Lara. The 22-year-old switch-hitting rookie, who has played second base with Swanson injured, has posted a .740 OPS through 211 PAs and has also swiped seven bags.
Moisés Ballesteros (LAA): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
Mo Baller put the Halos on the board in the sixth with a solo bomb into Fenway’s visitors’ bullpen off righty reliever Wyatt Olds (407 feet, 104.7 EV). He has struggled mightily since the trade (.525 OPS). However, he showed some juice in the minors last season (123 wRC+) and remains an option for deep 2-catcher leagues thanks to the Halos feeding him DH at-bats.
Walker Jenkins (MIN): 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI.
Not surprisingly, Jenkins hasn’t lit the world ablaze, with this being just his fourth hit. At the very least, he has drawn five walks (16.1%). Gauging risk/reward with rookies remains, for me at least, one of the biggest challenges in redrafts. Especially when we are dealing with stupidly small sample sizes. You know Jenkins has big-time talent (150 wRC+ in the minors), but will it show up in time? History says to bet against rookies, and yet I also admit I’m excited he hit three balls hard last night according to Statcast. So you’re saying there’s a chance!?
Teoscar Hernández (LAD): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.
Teo blew the game open in the sixth with a three-run bomb against lefty Brandon Williamson, who replaced Chase Burns in the fourth inning. Hernández is quietly riding an eight-game hitting streak, and his .738 OPS matches last year’s mark. His 115 Power and 107 Process are pretty decent. Nope, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a difference-maker in RBI and HR down the stretch.
Kazuma Okamoto (TOR): 1-2, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB.
Okamoto jump-started Toronto’s seventh-inning rally with a leadoff bomb against Jacob Lopez (423 feet, 109.8 EV). The 29-year-old rookie is one home run short of his first 30-home-run season. However, his splits against right-handers have been a bit lackluster (100 wRC+ / 31% K rate).
Riley Greene (DET): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Greene’s 19th dinger was a three-run shot at the expense of Connor Prielipp. He hasn’t missed a beat since returning from the IL on September 1st (10-for-26). He owns a career-best .843 OPS and has done a pretty good job against left-handers this year (119 wRC+ in 162 PAs).
Zack Gelof (ATH): 1-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB.
Gelof has been one of the waiver wire gems of the year. His .788 OPS would rank behind only Brandon Lowe (.808) among qualified second basemen. He also has stolen 14 bases on 16 attempts, putting him on a near-30 full-season pace. He has also tied a career-high with 17 home runs. His K rate has settled at 25.2%. That’s still higher than league average, but a tremendous improvement from 2024 (34.4%). His metrics (108 Process) are pretty solid too. Now the question is, what can he do across a full season? We can only wait till next year.
Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on Bluesky)
