Fantasy Baseball Daily Hitting Recap: 4/29/24

If I Could Turner Back Time

Justin Turner (TOR): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

It was a fantastic night for Toronto’s Justin Turner, as the 39-year-old was Monday’s only multi-homer hitter, finishing the day with a line of 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Despite his age, Turner is currently posting a career-best 167 OPS+ through his first 105 plate appearances in his first season with the Jays (.311/.390/.533). There are some traits in baseball that age better than others, and plate discipline is one of them, as Turner has displayed with his 17.1% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate this season.

While his xBA and xSLG are both lower than his current splits (.284 and .442, respectively), there are other factors surrounding Turner’s situation that suggest he could be having an even better season than his numbers suggest. As a team, the Blue Jays currently rank 20th in team OPS with a value of .685 and are last in team OPS with runners in scoring position at .561. This suggests while Turner’s surface-level stats may be due for some mild regression, his counting stats could face positive regression if his teammates could do a better job at getting on base ahead of him or driving him in to score.

It’s easy to be distracted by Turner’s age and be concerned about the longevity of his success this season, but Turner’s track record suggests his performance in 2024 is very real. Last year in Boston, Turner posted a career-high in RBIs and still managed to hit 23 home runs. While a 20-home run season is probably closer to Turner’s expectations in 2024, he’s been a breath of fresh air in what’s been a tough fantasy season for many 1B that were drafted ahead of him. Turner is currently available in roughly 50% of ESPN leagues–if you need some stability in your lineup, Turner can provide that for you.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:

 

CJ Abrams (WSN): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB.

CJ Abrams continued his scorching hot start to the season on Monday night, drilling a two-run homer and recording his fifth steal to record the only Combo Meal of the night. Abrams is tearing the cover off the ball in 2024, and the most exciting development is that he’s doing a huge amount of his damage against lefties after struggling mightily against them in years past. With last night’s homer, Abrams now owns a whopping 1.316 OPS against lefties in 32 at-bats. Should this development stick, we could be looking at a very special season from the budding superstar.

 

Freddy Fermin (KCR): 2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Freddy Fermin is ceding most of his playing time to another ageless wonder in Salvador Perez, who came in to pinch hit during Monday’s game after being scratched from a start earlier in the day. Fermin hit his first home run of the season on Monday night but is still lacking in opportunities with only 47 plate appearances thus far in 2024. Fermin posted a solid .782 OPS during his first full season of action in 2023 but isn’t worth an add outside of deep AL-only leagues unless Salvy gets hurt.

 

Mitch Garver (SEA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Though he’s listed as a catcher, Mitch Garver has functioned as Seattle’s primary DH thus far in 2024, making 24 starts in that role through the first 30 games to the tune of a .150/.266/.313 slash line. It’s not exactly what you want from your DH, but Garver played the hero late Monday night by hitting a two-run walk-off home run to win the game for the Mariners. It was Garver’s third homer of the year and second in the past four games. Garver had a great season with the Texas Rangers in 2023 but has struggled thus far in 2024. With the depth currently available at the catcher position, there are likely better (or at least more reliable) options available right now, but Garver at least deserves consideration if he starts to heat up.

 

Christopher Morel (CHC): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

It’s no secret that Christopher Morel has had a tough few weeks, with his batting average dipping from above .300 to near the Mendoza Line over that time frame. Morel finally showed signs of turning a corner Monday night after hitting a two-run go-ahead blast off of Mets closer Edwin Diaz to give the Cubs the win. It was Morel’s first home run since a grand slam on April 9. Though Morel is a notoriously hot and cold player, he’s shown vastly improved plate discipline this season with a 20.7% strikeout rate, a career-best mark by over 10%. Even during his cold streak, Morel has reached base safely in every game but one dating back to April 16th. The peaks and valleys will always be there with Morel, but if you can survive the low lows, the high highs are more than worth it.

 

Jacob Young (WSN): 1-4, 2 R, 2 SB.

A few of us were having a great discussion about Jacob Young in the Pitcher List Discord yesterday (which all of you should join, by the way), and I gave the opinion that Young is a good option for streaming stolen bases but won’t provide much else beyond that. Lo and behold, Young showcased his speed once again on Monday night, swiping two bags and scoring at least two runs for the third straight game. SHEESH. You’ll notice that Young doesn’t have a single home run to his name in his career, and that’s the biggest knock against him, but the speed upside is valuable if you’re a team lacking in that department. The Nationals are tied for the most steals in the league with 52, so it’s unlikely that trend will end anytime soon. Don’t expect multiple steals every night, though–the man can only do so much.

 

Blaze Alexander (ARI): 0-1, 2 R, 3 BB.

With lefty James Paxton on the mound, Blaze Alexander hit leadoff for the first time this season and performed admirably, drawing a trio of walks and coming around to score twice. In his first season of action, Blaze is on fire with a .317/.406/.550 slash line across his first 60 career at-bats. There is a cooler side to this hot start–Blaze is a defensive liability and faces a risk of being subbed out in certain situations and is also yet to start in back-to-back games against RHP. Still, hitting leadoff for the DBacks is a valuable role and perhaps worth adding to your teams if this trend sticks.

 

Will Benson (CIN): 2-4, 2 2B, R.

The Reds face a ton of righties this week, meaning Will Benson should be hitting at or near the top of the lineup in almost every game. Benson strikes out a ton (nearly a 40% clip this season) but makes loud contact when he connects with the ball, meaning he falls into the feast-or-famine player archetype similar to Morel above. If you’re in a daily league and need a streaming source of power, Benson could fit that mold for you this week, as he should have plenty of at-bast to get the job done.

 

Andrew Vaughn (CHW): 2-4, 2B, R, RBI.

Hey, look at that! It’s a multi-hit performance from Andrew Vaughn, only his second such performance over the past couple of weeks. Vaughn, like much of his teammates on the South Side of Chicago, is off to an incredibly rough start in 2024. The White Sox first baseman is yet to hit a home run this year and has only recorded one steal. He should get plenty of playing time, as the White Sox don’t have many better options, and he should regress closer to his career averages, but this isn’t anything worth pursuing for the time being.

 

Cole Tucker (LAA): 1-3, RBI, BB, SB.

While Joey Loperfido and Jordan Beck were the top call-up stories on Monday, the Angels made a call-up of their own by bringing up Cole Tucker after he posted a .333/.462/.500 slash line across 40 minor league plate appearances. So what does Tucker bring to the table? A sweet head of hair, that’s for sure. Aside from that, there isn’t a whole lot to be excited about, with a career 58 OPS+ across 447 career PAs. Unless he can maintain consistent playing time and display some improvement in his approach, Tucker is best left on waivers for now.