Fantasy Notebook: Bryce Harper Gets Hot, Takes Shot at Joe Girardi
After firing Joe Girardi Friday morning, the Phillies stormed back into the Wild Card conversation, sweeping the Los Angeles Angels and improving their record to 25-29. They are now 3-0 behind new manager Rob Thomson.
Philadelphia put up big offense (26 runs across three games, for an average of nearly nine runs per game), and saw hits from its biggest stars as well as rookies. Bryce Harper hit a game-tying grand slam Sunday and rookie Bryson Stott hit the three-run walk-off shot that completed the sweep. After the game, Harper appeared to take a swipe at Girardi, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer, "I'm so happy for (Stott), man. What an at-bat. What a situation for him. Being able to put our trust in our young guys the last couple days, and really let them just play. It's been great. And it paid off today."
Oh, did I mention Harper also had two home runs the night Girardi was fired?
The Phillies are now only 4.5 games back for the Wild Card, and we’re only one-third of the way through the season.
Keep starting your Phillies, and yes, take a look at rookie Bryson Stott, who may be getting more chances with Thomson at the helm and Jean Segura hitting the IL for up to three months.
Angels need a spark
Meanwhile, the Angels continue their free-fall, causing social media to ask: Is Joe Maddon next up on the hot seat?
The Halos have now dropped 11 in a row.
Mike Trout has been in a drought–he has yet to collect a hit in June–and Shohei Ohtani, the current favorite at SISB for MVP, has surrendered 11 earned runs across his last 15 innings pitched and is batting .232.
To make matters worse, Taylor Ward is hitting the IL for at least 10 days. Jo Adell, formerly one of baseball’s top prospects, has been recalled but so far has yet to impress at the major-league level.
Would a change in management do similar wonders for the rookies out West? In the meantime, Adell is an add only in deeper or AL-only leagues.
NL Cy Young watch
Speaking of the West Coast, the Dodgers got another implosion from Walker Buehler, and split the weekend series with the Mets who now own the NL’s best record.
The Mets are legit, friends.
If you have Buehler to win the NL Cy Young, you may want to hedge that bet with Joe Musgrove, who threw eight innings of one-hit ball vs. the favored Milwaukee Brewers Friday night. Corbin Burnes took the L for the Brew Crew, surrendering five runs in fewer than five innings pitched.
Burnes remains the favorite for the NL Cy Young, but Sandy Alcantara and Carlos Rodon are also making noise, and they have much nicer payouts.
While we are on the subject of great pitching, I would be remiss not to mention how good Martin Perez, Tarik Skubal, and Triston McKenzie have been. Surely they aren’t available in your leagues, but you should go check, just in case.
Let’s talk Yankees
We can’t have a fantasy baseball recap without mentioning the winningest-team in baseball, the New York Yankees. The Yankees are now at .722 on the season, with a +102 run differential.
Miguel Andujar–the runner-up for 2018 rookie of the year–requested a trade this week after being demoted. Gary Sanchez is better off in Minnesota, and perhaps Andujar can find similar success elsewhere. The Nationals, Athletics and Rangers are teams that seem like they could be possible fits.
Finally, Matt Carpenter has been a nice spark for the Yankees, who now also have Giancarlo Stanton back from the IL. Carpenter, former St. Louis Cardinal and TCU Horned Frog (had to shout out my alma mater) has looked in vintage form with four home runs and an OPS of 1.312 across his first eight games in pinstripes. He’s defensively flexible, and he should find a way into the lineup fairly regularly even with Stanton and Donaldson back in the mix. He’s available in 94% of fantasy baseball leagues.
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