LAMB BREAKING OUT; FRAZIER COOLING DOWN
June has written varying tales for two third basemen, and St. Louis has not been a gateway to fantasy baseball success.
SIZZLERS
3B Jake Lamb, Arizona Diamondbacks: Though he’s hitting .257 this month through 16 games, in that time he has five home runs and 13 RBI. Lamb at least will remain a dynamite head-to-head play against righthanded pitching. His breakout also could continue toward a 25-homer year.
1B Kendrys Morales, Kansas City Royals: His first two months (.193 batting average, six home runs, 21 RBI) reflected little of his stellar .290-22-106 output from last year. A more selective approach has turned around Morales’ season in his first 59 June at-bats (.322 average, two home runs and 11 RBI, which included eight combined RBI on Friday and Saturday). Here comes the liftoff. Kendrys Morales has surged since changing his approach.
The rebuilt former “Freak” came out of the gate strong in his season debut, yielding one run in six innings. It came against the Oakland A’s, a weak offensive team, and Lincecum needs to show more velocity. Still, deep-leaguers can use him effectively as a matchup play.
OF Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins: One of Minnesota’s top hitting prospects hasn’t maximized his potential while subbing for Miguel Sano. But he flashed talent Sunday with a solo home run, a stolen base and three runs. Sano’s impending return could cap Kepler’s playing time, but Robbie Grossman hardly has left field locked down. Kepler could play his way into keeping a job.
FIZZLERS
3B Todd Frazier, Chicago White Sox: It’s hard to dog someone with 19 home runs in his first 67 games. Still, the typical second-half slumper has started early with a 6-for-53 slide this month. If you still need the power, hang on. But if someone’s willing to buy him via trade, answer the call quickly.
OF Randal Grichuk, St. Louis Cardinals: The preseason fantasy breakout candidate was demoted to Class AAA Memphis on Sunday. He has delivered on his power potential with eight homers through 62 games. But his .206 average and .668 on-baseplus-slugging percentage reflect his failure everywhere else. The Cardinals’ preference to try Kolten Wong in the outfield shows they’ve run out of patience.
RP Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals: Despite only two blown saves on the year, he’s saddled with a 14.40 ERA in eight June contests. He hadn’t lost the closer job at press time, but Mike Matheny and fantasy owners should consider calling on Seung Hwan Oh if Rosenthal’s swoon continues.
SP Eduardo Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox: The talented but erratic left-hander has put up a 6.97 ERA since returning from the disabled list because of tipped pitches and a flawed delivery. Hold him in American Leagueonly formats, but elsewhere he belongs on the waiver wire.
Tim Heaney
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