Is that a Trout? Nope, Grichuk Testa

Randal Grichuk (ARI): 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.

In a game featuring the Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks, a particular outfielder had an excellent game on Tuesday night. Given the Angels were involved, your first inclination (if he wasn’t hurt) would be to say it was Mike Trout, but nope, it was Randal Grichuk testing the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff.

Though he’s far from the real deal, Grichuk did his best impersonation of Trout and finished a single shy of the cycle with a line of 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB against one of his former teams. He’s one of the hotter hitters in June, going a combined 9-17 with five runs and four RBI. Of course, 17 at-bats isn’t a whole lot through nearly half of the calendar month, and that’s because Grichuk is in a platoon playing primarily against left-handed pitching. Still, his season slash line of .316/.367/.480 in just under 100 plate appearances is impressive.

The Diamondbacks seem content in allowing Jake McCarthy to be their primary right fielder, and with Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. manning the rest of the outfield for the Diamondbacks, there isn’t an immediate path for Grichuk to earn more playing time outside of an unfortunate injury. Those of you in daily leagues may want to keep an eye on Arizona’s lineups on short days like Mondays and Thursdays, as Grichuk could be a sneaky fill-in when one of your outfielders has the day off. Aside from that, he’s best left on display on the waiver wire as a lifelike imitation of other studs with regular playing time.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

 

Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

The legend of June Schwarber has spread far and wide in these parts. Whether it’s a tale of heroism or horror depends on your alliance, but for Kutter Crawford on Tuesday, it was more of the latter. Kyle Schwarber homered on the first pitch he saw in his return to Boston and added another blast in the fifth inning to take Crawford deep twice on Tuesday night. These were Schwarber’s first two home runs of June. Let’s see what he can do with the remaining 19 days.

 

Ryan McMahon (COL): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Ryan McMahon is having one of those seasons that’s flying under the radar, perhaps in part due to the team that he plays for. His .788 OPS thus far would be a career-high, which is particularly impressive in a season where plenty of “dead ball” speculations are being thrown around. Unlike most Rockies, he actually has a higher OPS on the road (.813) than he does at home (.754), meaning he’s one of those rare Colorado players you can trust at any time. His 11th home run of the season on Tuesday broke a mini three-game hitless slump, but there should be little reason to doubt McMahon can produce the rest of the year.

 

Giancarlo Stanton (NYY): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

After going 0-14 with seven strikeouts in his previous three starts, Giancarlo Stanton returned to the lineup in a big way on Tuesday by hitting a towering home run to center field. It was Stanton’s 16th home run of the season. He’s shown a marked improvement from last year’s clunker of a campaign but is still striking out above a 30% clip. You know you’re getting a three true outcomes player with Stanton–it’s just a matter of if you can stomach the lows. He’s best used in categories leagues where strikeouts don’t penalize owners nearly as much. One thing to keep an eye on—if Juan Soto gets more starts at DH following his recent injury scare, Stanton will be the primary victim in terms of playing time.

 

Steven Kwan (CLE): 3-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB.

In his seven games played since returning from the IL, Steven Kwan has recorded a hit in every game, multiple hits in four, and scored ten runs. It’s hard to imagine a much more perfect version of the prototypical leadoff hitter, with Kwan’s bat-to-ball skills contending with (or dare I suggest surpassing?) contact artist Luis Arraez. He’s making a case for the most underrated player in the league. Let this blurb serve as a reminder for us all to not do so again next season.

 

Brandon Lowe (TBR): 1-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Brandon Lowe played the hero for the Rays on Tuesday night, taking Héctor Neris deep for a walk-off three-run homer. It was the third home run of the season for Lowe, who has played in only 26 games this year after missing a chunk of time with a strained oblique. Still, in those 26 games, Lowe has produced 18 RBI and 11 runs, showing he can produce whenever he’s in the lineup, even with a .205 season average thus far. He’s worth a speculative add in deeper leagues if you need a second baseman with the caveat that he’s not quite an everyday player being a member of the Rays.

 

Will Smith (LAD): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.

The Dodgers teed off on the Rangers on Tuesday night, hitting four home runs in the sixth inning en route to a 15-2 victory. Will Smith got the scoring started early in the first inning by hitting a three-run blast off  Dane Dunning for his tenth home run of the season. Few catchers are as reliable and consistent as Smith, who boasts a .296/.364/.509 season slash line. The only knock against him is that he does not DH as often as he used to given the lineup’s addition of Shohei Ohtani—but that’s a compromise I think we can all enjoy.

 

Corbin Carroll (ARI): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Don’t look now, but things seem to be turning around ever so slightly for Corbin Carroll. After another three-hit night on Tuesday, Carroll is batting .306 in June and .400 over the past week. The elephant in the room is the ongoing home run drought—Carroll hasn’t left the yard since May 9th—so until we see that power on display, we can’t fully declare Carroll as being all the way back. It would be nice to see him get a few more steals as well, but any signs of life at this point should be well received by those of you who held or traded for the young star.

 

Tyler Soderstrom (OAK): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

That’s back-to-back games with a home run for Tyler Soderstrom, who has dual eligibility at catcher and first base. Over the past week, he’s slashing .353/.450/.706 as he’s moved into a more regular role as the near-everyday first baseman for Oakland. I wouldn’t rush to pick up Soderstrom just yet, but he’s worth monitoring as a young player with some potential upside as a catcher stream for those of you in very deep or AL-only leagues.

 

Jorge Mateo (BAL): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI.

After suffering a concussion last week, Jorge Mateo made his return to the Orioles lineup and proved he hadn’t missed a step by hitting his fourth home run of the season in his first at-bat back. His return to the lineup meant Connor Norby was sent back down to Triple-A Norfolk. Mateo likely isn’t worth a roster spot for most teams right now but can be a sneaky stream for steals with a pinch of power upside.