Get Richie Or Die Tryin’

Richie Palacios (STL): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

The disappointing season in St. Louis has reached its inevitable conclusion. The Cardinals are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoff chase, and firmly in the “playing to see what we have for next year” phase.

One of the guys trying to show that he’s worth a roster spot on the team’s 2024 squad is Richie Palacios, and he made quite the case for himself last night. He entered the game in the top of the second as a pinch runner replacing an injured Nolan Gorman and wound up finishing the day with an impressive 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI line.

Palacios went deep in each of his first two at-bats. His first bomb came against fellow lefty John Means. Palacios took a curveball that Means left up and over the heart of the plate and hit it 373 feet and just over the right-field wall. The second of Palacios’s day came on another breaker, this time a Jorge López knuckle curve left in the middle of the zone. Palacios got all of that one, pulling it 103.7 mph and 401 feet for a no-doubt home run.

This is Palacios’s second dose of MLB action. He debuted for the Guardians last year, tallying 123 plate appearances for the club that drafted him in the third round of the 2018 MLB draft. Palacios lost his prospect shine as he rose through the minors, but the Cardinals saw something they liked and traded for him in June. Through his first 44 plate appearances in St. Louis, he’s slashing .317/.349/.585 with three home runs and one stolen base. He may not be a big part of the team’s future plans, but he’s at least earned a shot to compete for a roster spot next spring.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Kris Bryant (COL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.

It was a revenge game for Bryant, as he led the Rockies to a 6-4 win over the Cubs last night. He accidentally blooped a single into right field on a check swing attempt in the fourth inning that scored two and tied the game. He then followed that up with a 420-foot solo shot in the sixth that put the Rockies in front for good. Colorado’s big-money man returned from the IL on Monday and could be worth a look down the stretch if a frustrated fantasy manager dropped him in your league. It’s been a disheartening couple of seasons, but the talent is still there, especially for those stretches where he’s playing games in Coors.

Seiya Suzuki (CHC): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Suzuki’s strong finish to the season continued last night as he launched his 17th home run. PLV shows his power production trending massively upward over the last month or two, with it even eclipsing the 90th percentile recently. For the season as a whole, he’s slashing .279/.348/.474 and both his Pitcher List and Baseball Savant player pages are impressively full of red. His hard-hit rate is up from 41.3% last year to 47.4% this year, and his wOBA is up 17 points to .351.

Andy Ibáñez (DET): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Both of Ibáñez’s extra-base hits came against Brandon Williamson yesterday. He pulled a changeup over the left-field wall to open the scoring in the first inning and pounded a fastball into the left-field corner for an RBI double in the fifth. Ibáñez’s playing time has been creeping up lately – he’s started five of the Tigers’ last six games – and could be worth a look in 14+ team leagues if that continues. He has a 96 wRC+ on the season but entered yesterday with a 109 wRC+ since the beginning of August.

Joshua Palacios (PIT): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.

It was a big day for the Palacios family! Yes, that’s our featured player, Richie’s, older brother, Joshua. He was locked in on Nationals’ pitchers yesterday with four batted balls over 100 mph. Only two of those landed for hits – both against Joan Adon – a 105.3 mph home run in the second and a 105 mph single in the fifth. Palacios is on his third team in as many seasons. He’s encouragingly cut his strikeout rate from 30.6% to 19.5% and is up to eight home runs and five stolen bases. His .224/.269/.405 slash line in 221 plate appearances comes out to a 77 wRC+.

Trea Turner (PHI): 3-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.

Stop me if you’ve heard this recently. Trea Turner posted a combo mea– Oh, that’s the third time that’s happened this month? The Phillies’ shortstop is on the hottest of hot streaks right now, and I sure hope you held on to him in your fantasy leagues. He has 11 homers in his last 13 games, and over a 200 wRC+ since the beginning of August.

Brandon Nimmo (NYM): 3-4, 2 2B, 3B, 2 R, BB.

It really feels like Nimmo loves hitting on Tuesdays. He seems to always be popping up when I’m writing Batter’s Box articles. Yesterday he made loud contact three times, tripling and doubling twice in the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Nimmo’s posting career-best power numbers. A 39.1% flyball rate and 9.7% barrel rate have raised his PLV power grade from 45 last year to 50 this year. His 23 long balls are a new high.

Josh Donaldson (MIL): 2-2, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB.

Donaldson hit his first homer as a Brewer last night, pulling an inside slider from Edward Cabrera and launching it 426 feet and well over the left-field wall in Milwaukee. This was Donaldson’s second straight start since joining the Brew Crew and while it may be tempting to add him in fantasy, I’d give it a few more days to see if he keeps starting. His name value is a lot higher than his actual production these days, and unless you’re desperate for power production in a roto league, a wait-and-see approach seems wise.

Robbie Grossman (TEX): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Grossman powered the Rangers to a much-needed 6-3 win over the Blue Jays last night. Injuries have pushed him into more regular at-bats recently – he’s started 13 of the Rangers’ last 16 contests – and entering yesterday he was slashing .278/.417/.389 over that stretch. In deep five outfielder leagues or AL-only leagues, feel free to add him, but I wouldn’t chase this in shallow formats.

Francisco Alvarez (NYM): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, SB.

That makes back-to-back Tuesdays with a combo meal for Alvarez, which is especially impressive given he has just two stolen bases all year long. Last night’s blast came off a misplaced Scott McGough fastball left middle-middle, and it was Alvarez’s 23rd of the season. At just 21 years old, Alvarez will be a fun catcher to target in draft’s next spring. His bat carries immense upside out of your team’s backstop position.

René Pinto (TB): 2-3, HR, R, RBI.

If you’re like me, you didn’t recognize the name, Pinto is the Rays’ backup catcher. He was called up to the big leagues in late July and has consistently earned more and more playing time. He launched a 428-foot home run against Joe Ryan yesterday and is slashing .275/.296/.522. His 15.2% barrel rate and .519 xSLG are very impressive from a catcher, and at this point, I’d consider picking him up if your second catcher isn’t producing well in two-catcher formats.

Everson Pereira (NYY): 1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB.

The Yankees swept yesterday’s double-header in Fenway, and Pereira flashed his potential in the second game. He only collected one hit across both games, but he did steal a base each time he reached base. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranks Pereira as the Yankees’ number two prospect, but he’s struggled at the plate since his August 22nd debut. In 75 plate appearances, he’s hitting just .152/.253/.197 while running a 38.7% strikeout rate. He posted an OPS north of .900 in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, but you may have to wait until next year to see that development.