Each week, we’ll look at a handful of different hitters who fantasy managers should consider picking up in deeper fantasy baseball leagues. Many of these players will have the most value in larger leagues where waiver wire options aren’t as plentiful. Still, they could also occasionally be useful additions in other, more standard-sized leagues, depending on your options at their position.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via FantasyPros as of Wednesday afternoon.
Blaine Crim – 2%
Crim made his Major League debut with the Texas Rangers, logging 13 plate appearances in five games with the American League West franchise.
Now with Colorado, Crim has appeared in just 10 games (40 plate appearances as of the start of play on Wednesday) but has taken full advantage of the playing time.
So far, the 28-year-old is batting .294 with a .350 on-base percentage, four home runs, a .382 ISO and a .343 xwOBA and a 155 wRC+ for Colorado.
It’s a smaller sample size to be sure, and the Rockies finish the year with four games, starting Thursday, at decidedly pitcher-friendly ballparks in Seattle (one game) and in San Francisco (three games), but considering how impactful Crim has been at the plate as of late, he’s an ideal short-term addition for fantasy managers.
With a .501 xwOBAcon and a 16.7% barrel rate on the season for Crim, it’s possible this hot streak doesn’t slow down any time soon. Or rather, any time before the end of the season. He’s a quality streaming option for a game or two or as a rest-of-season option for fantasy managers in need of reinforcements at first base.
Nate Eaton – 2%
Playing a variety of positions across the diamond, the Boston Red Sox’s Nate Eaton has made an instant impact for the American League East club, hitting .299 with a .353 on-base percentage, a 105 wRC+, a home run and eight stolen bases in 37 games and 86 plate appearances.
Having seen enough playing time in the outfield and at third base to have fantasy eligibility at both, Eaton is a potential fit for most all fantasy rosters.
And while his underlying metrics – notably the combination of a .373 BABIP, a 20.9% strikeout rate and a .304 xwOBA – point to the 28-year-old’s production potentially not being sustainable over a larger sample size, with so little left in the regular season, he’s a quality fantasy option.
Particularly from a stolen base standpoint.
Eaton has eight stolen bases for the Red Sox on the season, including five since September 9. For fantasy managers in Roto leagues looking to close the gap in terms of stolen base totals, he’s very much worth a look. Among all hitters during that span, just two hitters have more stolen bases during that span.
Jared Triolo – 15%
Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jared Triolo was mentioned in this column last month as someone to add in fantasy leagues while he was accumulating multi-hit games, all the while sporting a low (at the time) BABIP.
For reference, Triolo’s BABIP was .261.
Entering play on Wednesday, it’s still just .277 now, but he’s continued to produce from a fantasy standpoint.
Since the beginning of September, Triolo is batting .269 with a .321 on-base percentage, adding a pair of home runs, three stolen bases, eight total extra base hits, 11 runs scored and six RBI in 84 plate appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Like with Eaton, he has fantasy eligibility at a number of positions, making him a fit for pretty much any fantasy roster in need of infield reinforcements.
Specifically, Triolo has fantasy eligibility at first base, second base, third base and shortstop.
With the exception of the last three games, the infielder has hit leadoff every start this month for the Pirates. In the last three games, though, he’s moved down to the second spot in the order.
Either way, the 27-year-old should continue to see plenty of fantasy-friendly plate appearances in the season’s final week.
Like Crim, he’s worth a look as either a short-term option for a few games or as a rest-of-season option at any of the four infield spots – or as a starting option as a corner infielder or middle infielder.
Graphic by Carlos Leano.
