Garrett's Back

Welcome back, Garrett Richards. After missing exactly five months with a right biceps strain, Richards allowed one run over 3 1/3 innings in his return from the disabled list Tuesday against the Athletics. Richards didn’t get fully stretched out during his minor league rehab assignment -- he only threw two innings in one start in Triple-A -- so he was limited to 52 pitches for his first start back. Still, it was an encouraging outing under the circumstances as the Angels try to win a spot in the Wild Card game.

According to Brooks Baseball, Richards averaged over 96 mph on his fastball and topped out at 97.6 mph, so his velocity was right in line with what we’ve seen in the past. He had seven swinging strikes in his 52 pitches, which isn’t amazing, but he misses a fair amount of bats and keeps the ball on the ground when he’s feeling right. Richards is still a major health question and it’s unclear how far the Angels will push him, so I’m not sure about the win potential, but he’s a priority add for me at this point. Maybe we’ve just reached that point in the year where many owners are checked out.

 Some fantasy notes, for those who care...



MIXED LEAGUES

Matt Olson 1B/OF, Athletics

The 23-year-old has been on a power tear of late, socking seven homers over his last nine games. He’s now up to 15 homers in just 43 games plate appearances with the A’s this season. If we’re going by at-bats per home run, he has homered more frequently than any other player in the majors this season with at least 150 plate appearances. Olson does most of his damage against righties and he’s sitting on a strikeout rate of 30 percent, but he’s shown this sort of power working his way up through the A’s minor league system. Eligibility between first base and the outfield is a nice little bonus.

Jose Martinez OF/1B, Cardinals
Harrison Bader OF, Cardinals

Injuries have opened the door to playing time for Martinez and Bader and both of them are taking advantage. Martinez is 12-for-23 (.522) with three homers and three doubles over his last eight games while taking over first base duties. The 29-year-old has come out of nowhere to hit .311/.377/.563 with 13 homers over 87 games this season. Meanwhile, Bader is 7-for-21 (.333) with three homers and eight RBI in six games since returning from the minors on September 1. The 23-year-old rookie initially played some center field with Dexter Fowler out, but he moved over to left field on Wednesday with Tommy Pham nursing some shoulder soreness. There are potential playing time hurdles with Bader if everyone is healthy, but it’s going to be hard to sit him if he keeps hitting like this. However, Martinez is the safer option and also offers multi-position eligibility.

Delino DeShields, Jr. OF, Rangers

DeShields was discussed as a stopgap option in mixed leagues a couple of weeks back, but he now figures to have a regular role in the Rangers’ lineup with Adrian Beltre done for the season with a hamstring strain and Joey Gallo filling in at third base. The 25-year-old has been an on-base machine over the past few weeks and owns an impressive .357 on-base percentage on the year. He’s swiped nine bases over his last 20 games and is now tied for sixth in the majors with 28 steals overall. Keep that in mind if you lost Billy Hamilton this week. There’s not much power here — despite his homer on Sunday — but DeShields has plenty of appeal hitting lead off for the Rangers. I think he should be owned in most formats.

C.J. Cron 1B, Angels

Cron was a non-factor for the Angels during the first half, but he has put himself back on the radar in fantasy leagues by hitting .310/.365/.628 with 12 homers and 36 RBI over 41 games since the All-Star break. The 27-year-old has hit safely in 10 straight games and has knocked in 15 runs over his last eight contests. Most of that has been in the bottom-third of the order, but he got a chance out of the cleanup spot on Wednesday with Albert Pujols (knee) sidelined. I’m interested to see what happens in regard to playing time if/when Yunel Escobar (oblique) is ready to return, but Cron is a strong pickup for now.

Robinson Chirinos C, Rangers

Man, has it been a rough year for catchers. The Rangers know that all too well with the way things turned out with Jonathan Lucroy, but Chirinos continues to be a nice surprise. The 30-year-old is hitting .379/.520/.655 with three homers, five doubles, one triple, and 14 RBI over his last 19 games. Sure, he’s sporting a .452 BABIP during that time, but he also has more walks (14) than strikeouts (13). Absolutely locked in. He’s tied for eighth this season among catcher-eligible players with 16 homers despite seeing significantly fewer at-bats. I’m surprised he isn’t getting more attention.

Reynaldo Lopez SP/RP, White Sox

If you are looking for a potential two-start option next week, Lopez is worth considering. The 23-year-old limited the red-hot Indians to just one run over six innings on Wednesday despite not much help from his defense or offense and has now turned in three quality starts through his first four turns with the White Sox. He’s walked 10 batters in 22 1/3 innings, but he also has 21 strikeouts and the electric stuff to back it up. Lopez lines up for starts against the Royals and Tigers next week, making him an appealing play right now.

Jose Reyes 2B/3B/SS, Mets

Reyes looked done during the first half, but he has quietly put together a pretty solid second half, batting .285/.356/.431 over 40 games. And while the Mets have shifted into a youth movement, the 34-year-old continues to see regular playing time while hitting at the top of the lineup. It’s fair to question Terry Collins’ thinking here, but fantasy owners aren’t complaining. Reyes can still provide some speed and he’s now eligible at three different positions. He’ll suffice as a plug-and-play option.

Ozzie Albies 2B/SS, Braves

I was looking at Albies mostly as a speed option when he was called up from the minors, but the young switch-hitter has more than held his own offensively so far, batting .280/.341/.448 with two homers, five doubles, five triples, and 21 runs scored through his first 34 games in the majors. He’s only struck out 15.8 percent of the time and has a contact rate above the league average, very encouraging stuff for someone who doesn’t turn 21 until January. Oddly, he’s only attempted two steals so far (both successful), but I imagine we’ll see him take more chances in time as he gets comfortable. Albies started out in the bottom-third of the order, but he’s hit second in eight straight games. That obviously makes him a lot more interesting in fantasy leagues.

Tyler Lyons RP, Cardinals
Juan Nicasio SP/RP, Cardinals

The Cardinals still don’t have a set closer, but there’s at least a couple of good names to speculate on here. And no, I’m not talking about Seung-Hwan Oh. Lyons notched his second save of the season Wednesday against the Padres and probably deserves to see more opportunities in the future. The 29-year-old has been the Cardinals’ best reliever this season, posting a 2.53 ERA and 55/16 K/BB ratio over 46 1/3 innings. As for Nicasio, he was acquired from the Phillies in a nifty deal on Tuesday and should move right into late-inning duties. The 31-year-old has been excellent this season, with a 2.79 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 61/18 K/BB ratio in 61 1/3 innings. He might not be eligible for the postseason, but it’s not crazy to think he could see some save chances out of this bullpen down the stretch.

Scott Alexander RP, Royals

Brandon Maurer appeared to be the preferred fallback option at closer while Kelvin Herrera rested his forearm, but then Monday happened. Maurer gave up a three-run homer to the Tigers’ Nick Castellanos in the ninth inning and was eventually pulled in favor of Alexander, who managed to escape with the final out. While the secondary numbers say he has deserved better, Maurer now owns an ugly 6.14 ERA over 61 appearances this year between the Royals and Padres. Herrera is reportedly doing better and was available to pitch the past couple of days, but he had issues with the forearm previously and there’s always the chance for another setback. Joakim Soria is still rehabbing from an oblique strain, so Alexander could be next in line here. The 28-year-old left-hander has compiled a 2.18 ERA and 49/22 K/BB ratio over 57 2/3 innings this season and has actually done better against right-handed batters (.604 OPS) than left-handed batters (.678 OPS). He’s a decent option if you’re really desperate for saves.

Suitable Contributors:

Lucas Giolito SP, White Sox

I was skeptical about Giolito as a mixed league asset upon his promotion late last month, but he has compiled a 2.25 ERA and 18/4 K/BB ratio in 20 innings through his first three starts. After some issues with the home run ball in his White Sox debut on August 22 against the Twins, he has allowed just one run in his last 14 innings over his last two starts. I’m willing to give him a whirl in most formats against the weak-hitting Giants on Friday. Like Lopez above, he lines up for a start against the Royals after that next week.

Collin McHugh SP, Astros

McHugh was inefficient in his most recent start last Thursday against Texas, but he has been very solid since coming off the disabled list in July, posting a 3.25 with 42 strikeouts and 14 walks in 44 1/3 innings. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six out of his eight starts. This includes each of his last four outings. I like his chance of keeping the streak going against the Athletics on Friday.

Dillon Peters SP, Marlins

Looking ahead to next week, Peters draws a start against the Phillies on the road on Tuesday. The 25-year-old allowed just three hits over seven scoreless innings against Philadelphia last week in his major league debut. He wasn’t quite as good Wednesday against the Nationals, but it was still a respectable start (5 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 BB). It helps that he’ll be opposed by Nick Pivetta, who has a 6.49 ERA through 22 starts (including a 9.40 ERA over his last seven turns).

 Greg Allen OF, Indians

We all know about Francisco Mejia , but Allen could end up playing a bigger role for the Indians in September depending on how Bradley Zimmer feels. Zimmer was placed on the concussion protocol after attempting to make a diving catch over the weekend, though he was able to come off the bench to finish out Wednesday’s game. The 24-year-old Allen had a mediocre season with Double-A Akron (.264/.344/.357 over 71 games), but he went 21-for-23 in stolen bases and offers a legitimate speed threat down the stretch. Raul Mondesi is another speed option to keep in mind now that he’s back up in the majors.

Austin Hays OF, Orioles

Hays was called up by the Orioles on Tuesday after a breakout year where he batted .329/.365/.593 with 32 homers in 128 games between High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. It has been a rapid rise for the 2016 third-round pick. No player from the Orioles’ 2015 or 2014 draft class has yet to reach the majors. He employs an aggressive approach at the plate, so I’m interested to see how things translate during his first stint in the majors, but he should at least see some at-bats against lefties the rest of the way. There’s the chance for more if he gets off to a nice start.


NL ONLY

Kevin Plawecki C, Mets

With Rene Rivera now in Chicago, Plawecki has hit .314 (11-for-35) with a homer and three doubles through 11 games since his return from the minors. I don’t blame you if you aren’t excited by this. Even with the recent hot stretch, Plawecki has an ugly .215/.291/.295 batting line through 476 plate appearances in the majors. But it wasn’t too long ago that he was considered to be a good catching prospect with the ability to contribute on offense. For what it’s worth, Plawecki was hitting well with Triple-A Las Vegas (.328/.375/.514 over 64 games) and he has made a change with his batting stance. The Mets need to see what they have here as they evaluate options for the 2018 club, particularly whether Travis d’Arnaud should still be their primary catcher.

Phillip Ervin OF, Reds

Billy Hamilton suffered a fracture of his left thumb when he was hit by a pitch while squaring to bunt on Wednesday, which should open the door for Ervin to see additional playing time down the stretch. The 2013 first-round pick has been awesome in a small sample in the majors, but he has never really progressed as hoped in the minors. Still, he offers patience and speed and even a little bit of pop.