Welcome back Razzers to another Top 100 Outfielders… another week, and another update. A few big names are back in the fold, namely Cedric Mullins and Jazz Chisholm (toe). Also, a few are out, Aaron Judge will be out a lengthy amount of time (toe) and Yordan Alvarez is yet to start a rehab game. Meanwhile, Lane Thomas just keeps moving up the board and begging for us to put some respect on his name. Some more shuffling took place in my formulas, so without further ado, there’s a lot to keep us on our toes!
Cedric Mullins – Activated, back to resume his reign of terror with what was previously on pace for 25/50 season.
Jazz Chisholm – Activated (turf toe). Much is yet to be seen about how he will perform. In his rehab games—going 3-12 SB—he went for a SB, so good for our purposes that he feels like he can still steal bases, even with the lingering toe issue. Offseason surgery is looming though, so I would be remiss if I didn’t say I was concerned. Keep an eye on how comfortable he looks in the field and on the bases.
Aaron Judge – IL extended, no timetable. Torn toe ligament. YOUCH! So this news is now worse than we thought. I have deducted some playing time and moved him down to around 20th, which still feels high. But… that bakes in some optimism. By this time next week, more of that could expire and we will be looking at him approaching 60th ROS. You do you.
Yordan Alvarez -Did some stretching on Monday, maybe a few crotch grabs too, as he tries to get back into baseball activities. This is still taking longer than I would like… so perhaps he should be moved down a bit more. It’s an oblique injury so time is never in time. He probably belongs below Santander.
Anthony Santander – 5 HR in the last 7 games. He’s gotten hot in summer more than once and ridden that hotness to new heights in the 2nd half… I’m intrigued. He was a top 20 Outfielder last year, at least my memory remembers it that way, so this could be his continued revival from his spring slumber.
Luis Robert – Also 5 HR in the last 7 games. This was the one season I was not in on him, smh. I mean I didn’t go wrong with Randy or Mullins (except for injury), but the grass is greener right? He’s having an incredible year and could very well be his career year (much like Randy). Hats off!
Lane Thomas – Guess how high he is on the player rater, go on… no higher. He is currently OF #7. The post-Cardinal outfielder magic continues. Yes, it’s wild, but imagine how high he would be if he was on the Reds!
TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley – The Reds offense is doing its best impression of the Big Red Machine from time long past. It’s nice to see a team completely buy into their youth and play them around the horn. Friedl and Fraley are the beneficiaries of this. They aren’t the hot young prospects but since everyone is paying attention to the Cruzes of the roster, these cats are grinding away and swinging a hot bat. Both are hitting .300 for the last week plus, with Fraley (yin) hitting a few HRs and 1 SB to Friedl’s (yang) 1 HR and a few SB. Feels like the must-own roster for the summer has shifted from the Rays to the Reds.
Alek Thomas – He’s been recalled and playing regularly while hitting .400, Dbacks are winning and scoring, so you could do worse than getting a piece of that lineup.
Mickey Moniak – Hitting over .400 the last week—and—this week, it looks like they play 7 straight RHP. This is a good time to get Moniak in your lineup as there’s a real chance he could play all 7 games hitting like he has with Ward/Renfroe paying the price for it. Also, Renfroe has already started 2 games at 1B with Urshela IL’d and Walsh sent down.
Billy McKinney – 3 HR in the last week. If you would have told me… nope, no way this lasts. But, might as well ride the hot bat.
Max Kepler – 3 HR in the last week. He’s alive! Keep in mind he’s a heavy splits hitter (below .200 vs LHP) and has always been prone to streakiness. But I’d start vs any RHP for the next week.
The Board
As always, the individual ranks (and to a degree the dollars) don’t really matter, what’s important are the tiers, and more important than that—your roster construction. Any outfielder not listed, consider them tier 5.
If you want more Coolwhip to top off your baseball experience, fantasy or otherwise, you can follow me on Twitter: @CoolwhipRB.
