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So much of Fantasy Baseball analysis is based on perspective and public perception. When Avisial Garcia was coming off a career year heavily aided by a .392 BABIP it was easy to call him a bust heading into 2018. Now that he's 45 percent owned and absolutely crushing the baseball? Well that's a different story.
Garcia picked up two more hits, including another home run, on Monday, extending his torrid stretch. Since his return from the disabled list Garcia sports a .348/.348/.739 slash line and a .400 BABIP. No, I don't think that BABIP is any more sustainable than I did at the start of the year. But you shouldn't overlook Garcia's 43 percent hard-contact rate and 21 percent line-drive rate. He looks every bit the part of a .280 hitter who never walks and gives you good counting stats.
He should be owned in every league that requires five outfielders, and I'd consider him in a three outfielder league if I was weak at the position. I expect him to play every day and hit in the middle of the order. If he keeps striking the ball like he is right now, you should expect good counting stats, even on a bad offense.
Schebler is actually owned in slightly more leagues than Garcia, and he should be. The problem is both are under-owned. The Reds lefty is making elite contact, walking at an acceptable rate, and striking out less than 20 percent of the time. On Monday he homered and doubled, raising his OPS to .846.
The biggest concern earlier in the year was playing time, specifically whether Schebler would play against left-handed pitchers. Considering he's hitting .364 against southpaws this season with a .917 OPS, it's probably time to put those concerns to bed. Schebler looks every bit the part of a top-40 outfielder and should be owned and started in any league 12 teams or deeper.
Steven Souza's rehab process has been a slow one, but he's progressed to playing the outfield and is crushing the ball in the minors, so now seems to be the time if you were waiting for the right time to stash him. I expect Souza is back in the majors before the All-Star Break, and maybe as soon as this week. When he returns you should expect a solid option in five-outfielder league who provides a decent source of power with some speed. He won't be valuable in points leagues, but add him in most categories leagues if you have a roster spot.
After a sparkling performance on Monday night, Borkucki deserves a deeper dive. The 24-year-old lefty held the Tigers to two runs over seven innings, striking out eight in the process. While the matchup certainly had something to do with his success, this came on the heels of holding the Astros to two runs over six innings.
Borucki skipped Double-A but had a 3.04 ERA in 83 innings at Triple-A. His strikeout rate at that level was unimpressive (6.9 K/9) but he was around a batter per inning at the lower levels. He doesn't have a big fastball and his swinging strike rate (9.4 percent) doesn't portent big strikeout numbers. This is the type of pitcher we'd largely ignore other than the fact that he has relief pitcher eligibility. For that reason I'd consider Borucki a solid streamer at RP, and a must-own in any AL-Only league.
If you change teams and immediately get a hit in eight of your first nine games while hitting leadoff in the last four, we have to talk about you. Especially if you're only five percent owned. Especially if you're the player formerly known as Bad Brad Miller.
With the Brewer demotion of Orlando Arcia, Miller looks like the Brewers' current starting shortstop and he's making the most of it. Since joining the Brewers he's 10-for-29 with two doubles and a home run. For as long as he's in the lineup he'll be playing half of his games in a great park surrounded by quality bats. While I don't expect the .563 BABIP will last, I do believe he's worthy of an add in an NL-Only league and any mixed league that is 16 teams or deeper. Miller won't be an answer for long, but he can give you a nice boost while he's hot and playing every day.
