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Back on May 18, the Twins demoted Eddie Rosario to Triple-A Rochester, and perhaps like many Fantasy owners, I presumed that this would be start of Oswaldo Arcia's reign as the Twins' left fielder. Little did we know that we were two days away from the Robbie Grossman Era.
Grossman, just four days removed from getting released by the Indians, made his first start for the Twins on May 20, and he has started every game in left field ever since. He doesn't have a stranglehold on the position by default. Only David Ortiz has a higher weighted on-base average (wOBA) than Grossman over the last 30 days. Over that same period, Grossman is in the top 10 among qualifying hitters in K/BB ratio and top 20 in Isolated Power. He is playing every day because he has been flat-out unstoppable.
Good plate discipline is nothing new for Grossman -- he displayed it both as an Astro and as a minor leaguer -- but the home run power is. He did blast six homers in 34 games for the Indians' Triple-A affiliate in Columbus this season, but given that Grossman was a 26-year-old in his fourth go-around at the level, it was easy to dismiss. Yet Grossman was looking like a new-and-improved version of himself, hitting fewer grounders than usual, increasing an already stellar BB/K ratio and, according to StatCorner.com, posting the lowest swinging strikeout rate of his career.
Grossman has brought his refined plate discipline and power to the Twin Cities, yet Fantasy owners have been slow to notice, or at least to take action. He has been added to 14 percent of the leagues on CBSSports.com in the past week, but Grossman is still available in more than three-fourths of our leagues.
Maybe this amounts to nothing more than an amazing month in an otherwise undistinguished career that Grossman gets to tell his grandkids about. But what if it's something more? It's time to add Grossman in 12-team mixed leagues. You don't have to believe that he's as good as he's been so far; you just have to have someplace to stash him. When and if Grossman proves to you that he can be trusted to regularly provide power with an on-base percentage in the vicinity of .400, then you can start him and enjoy the production.
Shawn Kelley, RP, Nationals (22 percent owned)
Kelley has been putting up closer-type ratios for much of his career, but aside from the four saves he picked up as a Yankee is 2014, he has been relegated to set-up duty. Now that Jonathan Papelbon has hit the disabled list with an intercostal strain, Kelley would appear to have the best chance to close games for the Nationals. He certainly looked up to the task when he notched a five-out save with four strikeouts against the Cubs on Monday.
Perhaps Papelbon won't be out all that long. Maybe Kelley will wind up splitting save opportunities with Felipe Rivero. Those possibilities make Kelley someone you could pass up in standard mixed leagues, especially if you're already set for saves. However, pitchers with save chances who strike out close to a batter-and-a-half per inning without control issues aren't available every day. Owners outside of deeper leagues should at least consider finding room on their rosters for Kelley. In deeper formats, adding Kelley needs to be at the top of your Fantasy t0-do list.
Brandon Moss, 1B/OF, Cardinals (47 percent owned)
Moss is back. For two-and-a-half seasons with the Athletics, he was a major power source for Fantasy owners, but in the second half of 2014, a hip injury sapped him of his biggest asset. He failed to bounce back in 2015 with both the Indians and Cardinals, but it's clear that Moss is in a groove again. His AB/HR ratio of 10.9 is lower than that of Mark Trumbo (12.5) or Adam Duvall (11.6). Only Trumbo has a higher home run-to-flyball ratio, and only Trevor Story has hit flyballs for a greater average distance (according to BaseballHeatMaps.com).
The only thing that may stop Moss from clobbering home runs is the logjam of first baseman and outfielders on the Cardinals' roster. Matt Adams has worked his way into regular starts at first base, but Moss has started three of the last four games in right field. That's bad news for Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk owners, and it may not last, but as long as Moss is mashing, manager Mike Matheny has an incentive to bounce him between the outfield corners and first base.
Moss' high strikeout rate and uncertain playing time situation make him a tough sell for points league owners, but in category formats, it's time to add him, especially if you need power.
Christian Friedrich, SP/RP, Padres (20 percent owned)
If you play in a Head-to-Head league, you just might have your eye on a left-handed SPARP with strikeout potential and a history of control issues. But I'm not here to talk about Brandon Finnegan. Instead, let's take a look at Friedrich, the Padres' far less heralded (and far more available) southpaw, who is working on his own string of notable performances.
Owners have shown some interest in adding Friedrich, lifting his ownership percentage in CBSSports.com leagues from 11 to 20 percent in the past week, but there's more to like than his 2.12 ERA. (In any event, his 3.36 FIP is a more trustworthy indicator of future performance.) Friedrich's start at Colorado last Sunday was a head-turner, as he didn't give up an earned run over six innings, getting the Rockies to swing and miss 13 times in 95 pitches. It was his fourth quality start in his six outings, and the fifth start in which he did not yield a home run. No matter how many strikeouts and ground balls Friedrich gets, it could all be for naught if he doesn't have good control, but in the three starts prior to Sunday, he threw 64 percent of his pitches for strikes.
Now that the former Rockie is out of the high altitude, he has something to offer owners in deeper mixed leagues, especially those in Head-to-Head formats. If he can keep walks to a minimum, his appeal could extend even further.
