If you find yourself desperately flailing thoughtfully tweaking in fantasy baseball right now, we have a few recommended pickups for your consideration. We are pleased to offer fantasy adds to address any roster need and accommodate any budget …
Vientos appears to have taken firm control of the third base gig for the Mets, and he’s been scorching hot at the plate over the past two weeks. He’s slashing .333/.392/.621 over 20 big league games this season after hitting .285/.376/.500 at Triple-A. Vientos is also up to five homers for New York, including a few no-doubters:
His batting average isn’t likely to remain north of .300 over a full season, but the power is very real. If you have a need at either corner, he can certainly help.
Hamilton has earned a near-everyday role for Boston, going 14-for-40 over his last 13 games. He’s generally hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, but the Red Sox are allowing him to utilize his one elite trait: game-altering speed. Hamilton has swiped nine bags in 10 attempts. He also stole 57 bases at Triple-A last season and 70 the year before at Double-A, so his speed credentials are well-established. When he plays, he runs.
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for Gelof this season, as he’s dealt with injury, underperformance and occasional poor luck. Still, the power/speed potential is appealing. Let’s recall that he went 14/14 for Oakland last season over 300 plate appearances, and 12/20 at Triple-A Las Vegas. After going 2-for-3 with a homer and a steal on Wednesday, he was riding a six-game hitting streak for the A’s (which ended with an 0-for-3 on Thursday). It’s not unrealistic to think he can still go 20/20 for the season.
No one is feasting quite like Ramos these days. He’s homered three times in his last four games while driving in six runs and scoring four. On Wednesday, he reached base in all six of his plate appearances, homering once and drawing four walks. For the season, Ramos is reaching base at a .407 clip while batting .304. He’s cleared the fences 13 times this year, splitting time between Triple-A (8) and the big leagues (5). If you’re looking for a weekend boost from a blazing-hot bat, this is your guy.
Josh Jung’s early season wrist injury cracked the door for Smith, who’s emerged as a stellar everyday bat for the Rangers. After a three-hit game with a homer and a steal on Wednesday, Smith is now batting .290/.377/.440 over 60 games with 20 XBH and four stolen bases. His career minor league OPS is .921, so it’s not as if the production at the plate is out of nowhere. Smith’s positional versatility enhances his fantasy (and real-life) value in a big way, particularly in leagues with limited bench space.
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Fantasy managers have been treating Soriano as a pure streamer all season, but there are simply not many pitchers in the game with such high-quality stuff. He has top-of-the-charts velocity, one of the highest ground-ball rates in the game (59.6 GB%) and his secondary pitches are absolutely vicious:
Soriano is coming off a Wednesday win in which he allowed one earned run over 6.0 innings, inducing 16 ground balls. Looking down the road just a bit, he should close the month of June with a two-start week in which he’d face the A’s and Tigers. This is a high-upside young starter with plenty of useful innings ahead.
Andrés Muñoz is dealing with a lower back issue, although it doesn’t sound too severe as of this writing. Stanek is the next-man-up behind Muñoz, earning a save on Thursday with a clean inning against the A’s. He’s been excellent in recent appearances and his ratios for the year are solid (1.17 WHIP, 9.8 K/9). Add him as Muñoz insurance. He’s likely in the mix for saves in the upcoming series against the Royals and White Sox.
