Fantasy Baseball Players Trending Up and Down
Here are three MLB players who have been hot and three who have been cold. If you missed my previous waiver wire suggestions then click here to check them out. Hopefully, you’re still lucky and they are still available.
Up:
Brad Miller, TB SS
You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone swinging a hotter bat than Brad Miller right now. Since the calendar turned to August, Miller is batting .324 with a 1.067 OPS and 3 homeruns. The Tampa Bay infielder got off to a slow start in April but since then has quietly put together a career year. Over his last 84 games Miller has 18 homeruns and a .275 batting average. Great numbers for anyone, especially for the likes of a middle infielder.
Mike Napoli, Cle 1B
Mike Napoli is back to doing Mike Napoli things again and is hitting homeruns in bunches. In just 105 games this year, he’s one homerun away from tying his season best of 30 set back in 2011. Over the last 14 days, Napoli has 7 big flies and a ridiculous 1.477 OPS. You can argue that Napoli is the biggest reason for Cleveland’s success this year as they’re currently in first place in the AL Central.
Brian Dozier, Min 2B
In what has been another down year for the rebuilding Twins, Dozier is developing into a premier offensive talent. He features a .357 wOBA on the season and has 18 homeruns since the first of June. His name tends to fly under the radar since he’s on a bad team but Dozier is settling in nicely as one of the better options at 2nd base in fantasy.
Down:
Bryce Harper, Was OF
The 24-year old superstar is on the pace for 29 homeruns and 22 steals. Those would be great numbers for just about anybody. But when you’re Bryce Harper, and you’re coming off a year where you hit .330 with 42 homeruns, you carry a different set of standards. His .233 average and .812 OPS isn’t what fantasy owners had in mind when drafting him this year and he’s in the midst of the worst slump of his career. Since July 1st, Harper is batting .179. Over the last 30 days he’s batting .134 with just one homerun. He’s missed the entire week with a neck injury, so things might not get better anytime soon. The Nationals will need Harper producing at the top of his game if they want to make a run in October.
Hunter Pence, SF OF
The Giants sit atop the NL West standings but are only 15-18 since July 1st. Pence missed nearly all of June and July and simply has not produced since returning from the DL. Pence has played in 11 games since his return and is a paltry 8 for 44 with one RBI. He’s a veteran and can certainly bounce back, but it’s been a rough go as of late for the outfielder.
Carlos Gomez, OF
His nightmare season has finally landed him as a free agent as the Astros designated him for assignment earlier this week. He’s cleared waivers and will be free to sign wherever he’d like, and figures to have some options on the open market. Gomez did manage to swipe 13 bases on the year, so it appears he’s healthy, but he hit just .210 with a .594 OPS in 85 games this year for Houston.
