Hellmann’s Teo

Teoscar Hernández (SEA): 5-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.

It’s been a rocky first year in Seattle for Teoscar Hernández. The Mariners thought they were acquiring a much-needed middle-of-the-order thumper when they acquired him via trade, but Hernández has regressed from being a run-producing machine to a hitter producing at just an average rate. His 132 wRC+ over his last three seasons has tumbled to exactly 100 in his first campaign in the Pacific Northwest.

The Mariners have enjoyed a second-half surge and have put themselves firmly back in the AL Wild Card picture despite Hernández’s .550 OPS since the All-Star break. They’re currently just two games behind the Blue Jays—Hernández’s old squad—for the final playoff spot.

Seattle continued its late-season ascent by beating up on Jordan Lyles and the Royals last night, winning a 10-8 extra-inning barn burner in Kansas City. Hernández finally got in on the action, leading the way with a perfect 5-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI day at the plate. His first extra-base knock came off a Lyles’ four-seamer left too far over the plate that he scorched 111.5 mph to right-center for a two-run homer. He added his double after winning a nine-pitch battle with Max Castillo, cranking a changeup to center field and just missing his second dinger of the day.

Tuesday was the second five-hit day of Hernández’s career, and four of his hits came from hard contact. If it can be the jumping-off point for a strong final seven weeks of the season, Hernández could be a big difference-maker in both the real-life playoff picture as well your fantasy leagues.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Corey Seager (TEX): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.

Injuries are the worst part of sports, and they’ve robbed us of a potential MVP season from Seager. He tallied two more home runs against the Angels yesterday, and although he’s only at 349 plate appearances this year, he’s slashing an insane .350/.410/.666 with 22 home runs, 60 runs, and 73 RBI. His 191 wRC+ is over 50 points above his career average. Fingers crossed he stays healthy the rest of the way.

Ty France (SEA): 4-6, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Hernández wasn’t the only Mariner to show off in Kansas City last night. France had a big day too, including the go-ahead two-run single in the tenth that would prove to be the game-winning knock. Like Hernández, France has also had an underwhelming season. His batted ball profile is similar to what we’ve seen from him in the past and his Statcast X-stats are actually better than they were last year, but his wOBA has fallen for the fourth straight season. Things have looked up recently though, as he entered play yesterday with a .270/.413/.514 slash line in August.

Marcell Ozuna (ATL): 2-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.

The Braves lineup is seriously a cheat code right now, and Ozuna is a big reason why. After two straight disappointing campaigns, Ozuna has rebounded nicely. Luis Severino left a slider middle-middle in the first inning and Ozuna blasted it 442 feet—the second furthest-hit ball of the day – for his 24th home run of the year. The Braves’ DH is slashing .245/.320/.478 and is hitting in the middle of one of the deepest lineups we’ve ever seen.

Gary Sánchez (SD): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

After bouncing around a few teams this spring, Sánchez has found a home in San Diego. The 30-year-old catcher took new Oriole Jack Flaherty deep for a first-inning grand slam in the Padres’ 10-3 win yesterday. Sánchez is having the best season we’ve seen from him in some time—he’s slashing .221/.297/.503 with 16 home runs. His 116 wRC+ ties his best since 2017, plus he’s cut his strikeout rate over four points to 24.7% and his barrel rate is up to 14.9%.

Nolan Arenado (STL): 4-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.

It may be a tough season for the Cardinals, but Arenado has largely been unaffected. He touched ’em all for the 25th time this year after rocketing a Spenser Watkins curveball over the left field wall in the first inning of St. Louis’s 6-2 win. Arenado has a .289/.336/.516 batting line this year, right in line with his .288/.345/.532 career marks. It’s kind of amazing just how consistent he’s been since breaking out in 2015.

Liover Peguero (PIT): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Peguero got the better of David Peterson last night, collecting both of his hits against the Mets’ starter. The 22-year-old still hasn’t eclipsed 100 career MLB plate appearances so there’s a lot to still learn about the Pirates’ rookie middle infielder, but the early returns are positive. Peguero’s slashing .269/.310/.522 with five homers and two stolen bases while playing pretty much every day. Under the hood, things look worse. His 34.7% strikeout rate is one of the worst marks in the league, and he’s absolutely pounding the ball into the ground at a 50% rate. I think Peguero could be in for a bumpy ride as he adjusts to big-league pitching over the final seven weeks of the season, so I’d only look to roster him in deep leagues with a middle infield slot.

Randal Grichuk (LAA): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Grichuk’s stellar campaign continued last night, and he has career-best marks in batting average and on-base percentage. His .287/.340/.478 slash line is flying under the radar as he’s rostered in just 7% of ESPN leagues and 19% of Yahoo! leagues. I could see Grichuk being a sneaky good add down the stretch once Mike Trout is back in the Angels’ lineup, but unfortunately, there’s still no timetable for his return. Grichuk’s counting stats could get a serious boost if Los Angeles’ move to buy at the deadline starts to pay off.

Lawrence Butler (OAK): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

The A’s called Butler up on Friday and he’s started all five of their games since his debut. Last night he hit the first home run of his career, a 111 mph laser to right field. The rookie outfielder is a dual threat—he had 10 homers and 13 steals in 318 Double-A plate appearances as well as 5 homers and 8 steals in 94 Triple-A plate appearances this season. The 23-year-old has some swing and miss in his game and that’ll likely get exposed against top-level pitching, but he’s certainly worth a look in 15+ team formats, and perhaps even shallower five-outfielder leagues.

Michael Toglia (COL): 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB.

Toglia’s become an everyday starter for the Rockies, but the 2019 first-round pick hasn’t looked like a fantasy asset. His double against Luis Frías in the seventh inning of yesterday’s NL West matchup was just his fifth base hit of the month. Yes, Toglia has just five total hits in August despite starting 12 games. It’s ugly, sure, but it’s exactly what the Rockies should be doing. Throwing young guns at the wall to see what sticks and find out who could be a future building block. In ultra-deep leagues you may want to flag Toglia as someone who should see a ton of plate appearances the rest of the way, but until his .160/.219/.245 batting line improves don’t even think about adding him.