More Than Jake

Jake Fraley (SEA): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB.

Jake Fraley one upped his own Thursday performance which saw him go yard for the sixth time this season with another multi-hit performance Friday, including his seventh homer of the year, along with two runs scores, two RBI,  two walks, and two stolen bases. I guess all the best things come in pairs. The Mariners outfielder now sits with a .270/.454/.528 slash through 119 plate appearances on the season and has now walked almost as much as he has struck out, recording 30 K’s compared to 29 walks on the season.

 

The pair of stolen bases brings his season total up to seven as well, almost all of which have come in just over a month of play for the Seattle outfielder. Fraley’s 55th percentile sprint speed doesn’t show the ability and sense Fraley has on the base paths, so don’t let that stat dictate your expectations on what sort of stolen base total he can put up if given the chances all season. Though a 30-30 season pace may not be completely sustainable, it would seem the only thing that could hold Fraley back at this point is his own hamstring or a future Jared Kelenic call back. Until either of them happen, Fraley looks to provide a solid combination of speed and power to most line ups and should be considered in most formats at this point.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday

 

Yadier Molina (STL): 3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB.

Well it was about time Molina sent another ball out of the park. The Cardinals’ catcher took Chi Chi González 433 feet for his eighth homer of the season Friday, though the long ball was his first since May 22nd. I guess if you’re going to get back on the power train you might as well order a combo meal, and Molina did just that, swiping his second bag of the year. Molina will continue to volume his way to a decent amount of counting stats as the Cardinals’ favorite back stop and continues to be as consistent as they come, despite the June power outage.

Hanser Alberto (KC): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

It’s always nice to see someone hit their first homer of the year, you just hope it would come a little earlier in the season for someone who’s played the entirety of the season on the big league roster. Overall it was a nice game for Alberto, but the Royals’ bench piece simply doesn’t play enough to warrant consideration on your fantasy roster and even the fact that he has recorded a career high hard hit percentage this season won’t swap the Royals to playing him more than he already has, especially since that career high still sits at 22% (spoiler, that’s very low).

Salvador Pérez (KC): 3-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Now Salvador Pérez is a Royals bat worth rostering. Ya, I know, breaking news. After following Wednesday’s four for four performance with a hitless night Thursday, Pérez went right back to it with his 20th jack of the year on Friday. There’s few hitters performing better than Pérez this season, never mind catchers, so be happy if you roster him on any of your fantasy teams.

LaMonte Wade Jr.(SF): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.

The Giants are in first place in the NL West right now, and at least some of the credit needs to be given to their (almost) every day lead off hitter LaMonte Wade Jr./strong>, who has put together six multi-hit performances in his last ten starts. The eighth inning home run was Wade’s seventh of the season, which is only impressive considering he just moved into a regular spot in the San Francisco line up at the end of May. Wade should be considered in more formats than he currently is (he’s just 4% rostered across Yahoo! for example) as long as he continues leading off regularly for the red hot Giants.

Thairo Estrada (SF): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 5 RBI.

Estrada gave the Giants extra padding in the final inning Friday as he jacked a grand slam marking his first homer of the year and fifth in his career. Estrada, who was recalled just three days earlier, will look to provide extra depth for a line up that has been built on platoons and matchups most of the season. He’ll need a few injuries to carve out any semblance of regular playing time, and shouldn’t be much more than a watch list candidate in most leagues.

Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.

On top of another two homer night, Ohtani added another stolen base in the ninth, allowing him to score the winning run off a Jared Walsh single as he beat the throw home. If you have the ability you should be tuning in to Angels’ games just to see what he does next.

Willy Adames (MIL): 3-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Man, Willy Adames sure does like it in Milwaukee. Friday marked his ninth multi-hit performance with his new club, while eight of his 13 long balls have come in a Brewers’ uniform, despite playing three less games with Milwaukee than he had with Tampa this season. Adames seems to have carved out a regular spot in the top third of the Brewers’ line up, giving him even more opportunity to shine and volume his way to higher counting stats for your fantasy team.

Jackie Bradley Jr. (MIL): 2-3, HR, R, RBI, SB.

To say Jackie Bradley Jr.is only around for his defense may be unfair, but wouldn’t be completely untrue. Though Bradley has seen some limited success in recent days, collecting eighth hits in his last 20 plate appearances, his season-long performance has not instilled confidence at the plate. Bradley has notoriously been a streaky hitter and though it’s possible he could ride this currently hot streak out a bit longer, it’s probably not worth the hassle in all but the deepest leagues. Bradley’s second inning home run was his 6th of the season while the combo meal marked JBJ’s first such performance since joining the Brewers.

 

Featured Imaged by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter)