I’m not going to waste too much time getting into it this week, as by now you all know the drill. I’ve chosen three players who have looked incredibly solid over the past few weeks, and I am going to project whether they are going to continue to succeed or face serious regression. This is a fun crop of players who help your fantasy teams in varying ways, so let’s jump right into it!
Chandler Simpson, OF, TBR
Pop quiz: Who leads the American League among qualified hitters in batting average this season? Don’t know? Wait, you think it’s too obvious because I already introduced him in the header, headline, and featured graphic? Okay, fine, it’s Chandler Simpson. Those unaware of him may be somewhat surprised by this, though, as we have to make clear in the title, this is a small sample situation. UPDATE: After yesterday’s games, he has now relinquished that title to Yandy.
The question is whether this will stick, or if he will give up the batting title to someone like his teammate Yandy Díaz, who has been off to a torrid start himself. It’s logical to say that Simpson will likely be in the running for the highest average award, but you have to temper any expectations in other categories. Well, besides stolen bases, as Simpson is one of the fastest men (if not THE fastest) in the sport.
An easy comparison to make with Simpson is Luis Arraez, another batting average freak with an uber-slow bat speed, who succeeds by squaring up the ball and refusing to swing and miss. There are some differences between the two, though, which are worth highlighting. The main one is the way they generate their base hits. Arraez is a master at managing launch angle, hitting bloops right over the heads of defenders consistently enough that it has really become an art. Simpson gets more groundballs as a whole, hitting plenty of them to the opposite field, where they can often sneak in for a hit. Impressively, though, few players (if any) can consistently run out routine plays and turn them into hits. These plays are often flukey, but when a guy is capable of building a career off it, you can’t turn your head and look away.
Verdict: Somewhat legit. I think it’s clear that he will have one of the highest batting averages in the Majors over the course of the season and will steal a ton of bases again. Every time he is on base, you can expect some aggressive running as that is what gives him his value. The question about legitimacy stems more from the question of whether his batting average and on-base percentage will remain high enough to keep his value up. I mentioned Arraez earlier, and it’s interesting because, despite an even lower bat speed, you can trust Arraez to be more of a threat to hit home runs. Perhaps Simpson will get some inside-the-parkers, but that takes extraordinary luck, even for the baseball version of The Flash.
Also, his Savant page is so much fun and should be hung in the Louvre. I love unique players like Simpson.
Brandon Lowe, 2B, PIT
I am unashamed to admit that I have been a huge Brandon Lowe backer for years now. I mean, how could I not be? He’s one of the most underrated players of the era, yet he hasn’t gotten the press he deserves. Perhaps a move to Pittsburgh was the needed change that would give him more press. It certainly feels that way.
Lowe’s start to his Pittsburgh tenure has been incredible. Let’s start with the obvious: he has 7 home runs. This ties him with guys like Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, and Mike Trout, and puts him ahead of Kyle Schwarber. Is it insane that he’s on a list that includes those guys? Yeah, a bit. But he was also the fastest primary second baseman to hit 100 home runs. The point is, Lowe can rake.
Lowe’s current statline is pretty indicative of who he is. He doesn’t necessarily have the contact skills to give you an elite average, but it’s a fine mark. Getting a hit every four plate appearances is solid, if not spectacular production. He’s walking at a really good rate so far this season, which is a trend he can hopefully maintain. In his peak days with the Rays, Lowe was a double-digit walk player, partially due to the fear pitchers had of throwing him something in the strike zone. With a performance like Lowe has had so far, pitchers will likely try not to give him anything juicy to hit, which may lead to him getting on base via the free pass more.
Verdict: Legit. He may not be putting up a wRC+ above 170 for a whole year, but he’s one of the very best second basemen in the game. I can easily see him being top 10 in home runs again and getting some MVP votes. There was a bit of fear that moving out of Steinbrenner Field would tank his production, especially as it was such a lefty-friendly park. However, we’ve seen him succeed in the Trop, which is not the easiest place to hit. The main concerns with Lowe that would end this run are injury and inconsistency. He will put up a great season if he remains healthy; there just may be a few weeks here and there where he is extra quiet before he goes on a streak of belting homers into the stands.
Jeffrey Springs, SP, ATH
What’s better than two players who made their mark with the Tampa Bay Rays organization? How about three? I know, I want variety too, but it felt like these were the players most pressing to talk about, as they’ve all been tearing it up, though in notably different ways.
Some people may forget the way Jeffrey Springs opened the 2023 season before he went down with Tommy John surgery. He was DOMINANT. For a second there, he looked to be usurping rotation mates Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Tyler Glasnow as the team’s ace. Unfortunately, most of those guys got hurt fairly early into the season, and it cost us fans a year of watching a legendary all-time rotation. The reason I bring this up is that this run kind of feels like that, though without the strikeouts, which is important to note.
Springs’ stuff is pretty solid. His fastball isn’t particularly high-velocity, but it’s up a tick from the past season. It also sees some newfound vertical movement, something he seemed to have lost on the heater coming back from Tommy John. Of course, the conversation about Springs centers around his plus-changeup, which he has used to make batters look foolish for years. The term we’ve been using at Pitcher List lately has been SWATCH (Southpaw With A Tight CHangeup), and it feels like Springs is the poster child for this, as he uses that pitch to succeed despite not having an overpowering arsenal. Springs also features a slider that he uses quite a bit, and our in-house pitch evaluating stat, PLV, also seems bullish on. He rounds out the arsenal with a looping sweeper that he uses against lefties and a cutter that is pretty meh.
Verdict: Legit. Springs has a lot going against him, mainly his ballpark and his lack of velocity. However, have seen in recent years what a lefty that uses a good changeup frequently is capable of doing. I think Springs could prove himself to be the ace of the Athletics staff and can put up a season with a sub-3.50 ERA in a healthy amount of innings, which could be huge for fantasy teams and the athletics.
