Each week we’ll look at a handful of different players whom 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 Friday afternoon.
All 2024 stats are as of the beginning of play on Friday.
Ty France – 7%
France struggled somewhat earlier this year with the Seattle Mariners, hitting .223 with a .312 on-base percentage, a 98 wRC+, eight home runs, and a .127 ISO in 340 plate appearances for the American League West club.
However, a mid-season trade to the Cincinnati Reds has seen the veteran infielder’s production improve considerably.
Of course, hitting .344 with a .403 on-base percentage, a .911 OPS, a .164 ISO and just a 9.0% strikeout rate at Great American Ballpark will help in that regard.
But France has been reasonably productive on the road as well, actually hitting for more power in a Reds uniform away from Cincinnati.
It’s still a reasonably small sample size, but that the 29-year-old has cut down on strikeouts has helped his production considerably his barrel rate in a Reds uniform sits at just 6.9%.
Though with all that being said, the infielder is also sporting a 46.0% hard-hit rate for the National League Central franchise. It’s again in a smaller sample size, but France has never finished with a hard-hit rate north of 40.0% in a full season. As long as that number continues, in conjunction with the lower strikeout rate, his numbers should benefit.
And while the Reds have just six home games remaining and won’t play again in Cincinnati until September 17, the former Mariner is very much worth adding in fantasy leagues with more than 12 teams given his run of form at the plate, even with a reasonably low xwOBA (.320) for the season.
Because even if France’s production is a tad bit unsustainable over a larger sample size, there isn’t a larger sample size of potential plate appearances left in the season. In fact, there’s only three weeks left.
Victor Robles – 9%
Switching to France’s former team in Seattle, Robles has been similarly impactful for the Mariners since joining from the Washington Nationals mid-season.
The outfielder is hitting .312 with a .372 on-base percentage, a 143 wRC+, four home runs, 19 stolen bases, a 5.6% walk rate, and a 17.9% strikeout in 195 plate appearances for the Mariners this season.
As with France, there’s some question on sustainability here from an overall production standpoint. For the season, Robles is still sporting decidedly below-average xwOBA (.321), xBA (.252), hard-hit rate (28.6%), chase rate (31.3%) and whiff rate (26.2%) numbers.
Yet thanks to a low strikeout rate and a high BABIP (it’s at .370 in a Mariners uniform), the former Nationals outfielder has in part been able to maintain his strong play so far. And as long as the strikeout rate and BABIP numbers don’t rise (in the case of the strikeouts) or drop off (in the case of the BABIP) the outfielder’s production should stay reasonably similar.
Looking more at Robles’ fantasy scoring the rest of the way, there’s plenty to like.
Not only is the outfielder stealing bases at a regular rate (he has 11 since July 26) but he’s also entrenched himself atop the Mariners lineup. Since July 26, 26 of Robles’ 32 starts have come as the Mariners’ leadoff hitter, a stretch in which he’s batting .289 with a .341 on-base percentage, three home runs, and the 11 stolen bases. Those 11 stolen bases are tied for the sixth-most in the league this season.
And while it’s no secret that the Mariners have struggled to score runs at times this season, the more Robles hits leadoff, the more run-scoring and stolen base chances he should have.
As long as he’s maintaining a low strikeout rate and a higher BABIP in combination with all of that, his rostered rate should be at least four times what it is now, if not more.
Randal Grichuk – 4%
Grichuk has found more success against left-handed pitching this season, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a key part of the Diamondbacks lineup as of late, a lineup that’s still continuing to lead the league in runs scored.
Since July 7, mostly hitting no lower than fifth in the lineup, Grichuk is batting .274 with a .330 on-base percentage and six home runs, all the while posting a .263 ISO, a 136 wRC+, a 15.3% barrel rate, and a 45.8% hard-hit rate in 103 plate appearances.
For the season, the 33-year-old is sporting a .349 xwOBA and just a 17.7% strikeout rate.
With his success against left-handed pitching, Grichuk makes for an ideal addition for fantasy managers who already have someone like Kerry Carpenter (who has hit more against right-handed pitching this season) on their roster.
But regardless of whether fantasy managers are considering starting Grichuk in a platoon, he has the potential to be an impact hitter down the stretch in an elite real-life lineup.
Patrick Corbin – 9%
Going from Ty France and a player currently on his old team (Victor Robles) we now switch to a pitcher playing for Robles’ old team.
Corbin has struggled mightily in his last three seasons with the Nationals, failing to top 8.00 strikeouts per nine innings and seeing his FIP finish no lower than 4.80 in a season.
His season-long numbers this year aren’t ideal either.
A 5.41 ERA and a 4.36 FIP in 153 innings. Just 7.12 strikeouts per nine innings, a .340 BABIP.
But, and this is the crucial bit, Corbin has been excellent lately.
He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last four starts, including the last three in which he’s struck out a minimum of six or more batters.
And while the Marlins and Rockies (at least on the road) have struggled to score runs at times this year, Corbin was able to thrive in both fantasy-friendly matchups.
As long as he can continue to do that, he’ll be a quality streaming option.
And, as it happens, his next two matchups (assuming the Nationals’ rotation continues as is without any interruptions) come away to Pittsburgh and at home against that same Marlins team. Two teams that, since the calendar turned to August, rank in the bottom third in the league in wRC+ and ISO. During that same span, both Pittsburgh and Miami also have two of the 15 highest strikeout rates among major league teams.
Photo by Adobe Stock | Adapted by Carlos Leano.