Crim and Punishment
Blaine Crim (COL): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Throw it all out the window! There’s no time! What? No, why? You’re right. Deep breaths. What I meant to say is, with only a few days left, it can be tempting to outsmart yourself. I know I’ve galaxy-brained myself to smithereens before in the final week. It’s been said a million times, but start the studs that got you here, and let the chips fall. Imagine the punishment of seeing one of your best on the bench with a home run that would’ve pushed you over the finish line. Why would I bench one of the guys that got me here? I’m not an idiot. I don’t know, maybe they were going against a really good pitcher or something. You know what? Forget it. Carry on.
Yesterday, we saw Blaine Crim, a right-handed hitting first baseman for the Rockies, sock two dingers; the first was a solo shot off Sandy Alcantara (405 feet, 102.9 EV), the second came off an 0-2 90 mph meatball from Valente Bellozo (424 feet, 102.5 EV) in the ninth. That’s great. Why do I care? I am glad you asked. Crim has started each of Colorado’s last six games, and they will continue their homestand against the Angels this weekend. Have you seen their pitching staff lately? They have the third-worst team ERA for a reason.
Crim, meanwhile, slashed .281/.370/.494 with 21 home runs across 109 games in Triple-A this year. On that note, I’m a little curious why the Rangers didn’t give him much of a chance. But that’s me being an armchair QB. Either way, Crim is here at 28, ready to prove himself. I’m not saying you should do anything nutty, like bench a good starter for him. But, go get him if you’re in a deep league and looking for a Hail Mary. He just feels like the sort of hitter who could do a lot of damage at Coors.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:
Liam Hicks (MIA): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.
Hicks hit third as the Marlins’ DH. He struck the big blow, knocking a 92 mph heater from Tanner Gordon over the right field fence for a go-ahead, two-run jack in the third inning of yesterday’s 9-7 win over the Rockies (410 feet, 100.9 EV). Hicks’ Contact Ability+ and DV+ are both 128. That’s pretty wild. But this outcome is atypical considering his 84 Power+, and he’s not playing every day, so, yes, carry on.
Mickey Moniak (COL): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
His 24th came on a 3-2 heater from Valente Bellozo with two down in the ninth. So, that’s…five dingers in four games. Yeah, I probably should have led with Moniak. He is slashing a career-best .273/.309/.530 across 437 plate appearances. On any other team, he’d probably be a fourth outfielder, but he is feasting with the Rockies, especially at home, where he is hitting .307 with a 132 wRC+. On the road, he is hitting .229 with an 83 wRC+. Gotta love Coors Field. Although, in fairness, his 116 Power+ is pretty good. Anyway, he’ll have a chance to continue his destruction this weekend, although he might sit out Friday, with the Angels sending out a Lefty (Farris).
Luis Rengifo (LAA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Rengifo tattooed a 2-1 slider from Quinn Priester, putting the Halos up 2-1 in the fifth (385 feet, 101.3 EV). He has not been so great this season, hitting .240 with a 73 wRC+ across 519 plate appearances. Still, we know he has been useful in the past; just last year, he hit .300 with 24 steals and a 118 wRC+. The Angels head to Coors this weekend, so Rengifo could be a streaming option, although with Christian Moore getting reps at second base, his spot in the lineup seems to be contingent on Yoán Moncada, who is currently hobbled by a knee injury.
Carson Williams (TBR): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Williams, the Rays’ top prospect via Pipeline, has struggled inestimably, hitting .167 with a 51 wRC+ across 71 plate appearances since being recalled on August 21st. Yesterday’s home run, his fourth, came against Eric Lauer (401 feet, 109.5 EV). Williams has some power, having hit 23 home runs with Triple-A Durham this season, but, yeah, that 38% strikeout rate isn’t going to cut it.
Caleb Durbin (MIL): 2-3, 2 RBI, BB.
Durbin, on the other hand, could help you out in the final few games. He isn’t much of a home run threat (80 Power+), but he has piled up five multi-hit performances in his last seven games. His 127 Contact Ability+ is terrific, so he could boost your batting average while providing a few RBI, and he can run a little; he has 16 stolen bases on 22 attempts. The Brewers are in St. Louis this weekend, where they’ll get some decent matchups against Miles Mikolas and Matthew Liberatore on Saturday and Sunday.
Tyler Freeman (COL): 2-5, RBI, SB.
Freeman continues to hit leadoff for the Rockies while slashing .279/.354/.358. Like Durbin, he is next to no threat to go yard (84 Power+), but he can provide a batting average (118 Contact Ability+) boost this weekend with the Rockies homestand continuing against the Angels (Farris, Hendricks, and Dana are the probable pitchers). He has also stolen 18 bases on 26 attempts.
Trevor Story (BOS): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.
The solo shot came in the eighth off lefty reliever Hogan Harris, and it went a long way, 431 feet to straightaway center (106.5 EV). That’s 25 dingers for Story, one more than he hit during his final season in Colorado. And he also has 31 stolen bases, a career-high. He is also tied with J-Rod for 18th with 93 RBI, putting him seven short of what would be the second 100-RBI season of his career. Just an incredible bounce-back that I don’t think anyone saw coming.
Brandon Nimmo (NYM): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.
Nimmo buried the Padres in the third with a three-run shot off former Yankee southpaw Wandy Peralta (389 feet, 104.3 EV). It seems like we haven’t seen Nimmo’s name much since he has had a fairly quiet year. Still, this was his 24th, tying his career high from two years ago. His 114 wRC+ lies a bit below his career mark of 126, in part because of a career-low 7.9% walk rate. Yes, that’s very un-Nimmo-like. He hasn’t had a walk rate below 10% his entire career, excluding his first few games in 2016. Huh.
Jakob Marsee (MIA): 2-5, 2B, 2R, SB.
Marsee continues to be a waiver wire gem, slashing .320/.392/.535 with a 155 wRC+. His 18.2% chase rate sticks out. This man won’t get caught fishing too often. His PLV metrics are all pretty solid, too, including a 109 Power+ and 114 Process+. It’s a tiny sample (64 PA), but he has handled lefty pitching well, earning a 169 wRC+.
Brent Rooker (ATH): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Rooker got the scoring started, ripping a Brayan Bello cutter over the Green Monster for a two-run shot, and his 30th of the year (397 feet, 103.9 EV). The .267/.339/.494 and 125 wRC+ is Yeoman’s work, although perhaps a tick underwhelming if you were hoping for a repeat of last year. It looks as if he might have traded some Power for contact; his strikeout rate dropped from 28.8% to 21.1%, but his Power+ dipped from an astronomical 141 to a still good but comparatively tame 113.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
