In this weeks version of the Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings, I wanted to touch on some of the teams that are going through their Mid-Season crisis.
It is kind of like a mid-life crisis, these teams are going through a funk where they don’t seem to know who they are.
Take the Cubs for example. They have lost six of their eight games and 11 of the last nine. The bats have struggled, especially the last week. More worrisome, is the pitching has not been carrying them through, as we’ve seen Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel and John Lackey struggle. I think they will get through it though. So Cub fans don’t worry
Another National League team struggling right now is the Nationals. They had lost seven in a row against the Padres, Dodgers and Brew Crew. The offense, has really slowed down since that spurt they had in May and even early June. The biggest problem for them though is pitching, which is not being helped by Stephen Strasburg hitting the DL due to a back strain. He is supposed to be back soon, so right now I’m not moving him down too much, but i’m slightly worried given his injury history.
Last team I want to point out is finally an American League team and that is the Boston Red Sox. Their offense is still top notch, having scored the most runs in baseball on the season. Their struggles have been with pitching, has been all year with the exception of Steven Wright. It is getting worse though. Rick Porcello has come back to earth after a great start and worst of all David Price has been mediocre at best this season. They can’t find a fourth or fifth starter after both Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Joe Kelly have failed in those spots.
Stock Up
Jonathan Schoop, 2B, Baltimore Orioles
Easily one of the hottest hitters in baseball for the couple of week, Schoop has raised his average up to .292 on the season. This is thanks to a .396 average over the last 15 days. In that time he has also four home runs, 15 runs and nine RBI. That gives him 13 home runs on the year.
I liked Schoop to start the year as a power hitter at a position that you do not usually get that from, but his slow start made me drop him a bit. This recent surge has me believing in him again.
Kendrys Morales, DH, Kansas City Royals
The Royals are getting healthy, with the return of Alex Gordon and are also getting some contributions from some unlikely candidates, Cheslor Cuthbert and Whit Merrifield.
Now Morales has started to get hot again, hitting safely in 15 of his last 27 at-bats with three home runs and 13 RBI and nine runs. This is a great sign for Kansas City as he was a main cog in that offense last year.
Stock Down
Noah Syndergaard & Steven Matz, SP, New York Mets
Both guys are dealing with bone spurs in the elbow, although we have conflicting reports about Thor on whether or not that is actually true. That said this really does concern me especially given the recent performances of both pitchers
Thor, was blown up Monday night by the Nats for five runs, seven hits, three walks in just three innings. Of course he is saying the rumors about the bone spur are not true, but signs are not good.
Matz on the other hand has confirmed that he is dealing with a bone spur and will pitch through it. Over the last two weeks he has allowed 12 earned runs in 14 innings. This last outing against Atlanta was particularly concerning since he allowed six runs in four and a third innings, also not striking out a batter either.
This is quite possibly the worst news for the Mets as Matt Harvey has not looked good and their offense is no where to be found.
Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings
Rank | Name | Team | Positions |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike Trout | LAA | CF,DH |
2 | Bryce Harper | WSH | CF,RF |
3 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SP |
4 | Manny Machado | BAL | 3B,SS |
5 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 1B |
6 | Nolan Arenado | COL | 3B |
7 | Josh Donaldson | TOR | 3B,DH |
8 | Mookie Betts | BOS | CF,RF |
9 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC | 1B |
10 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
11 | Miguel Cabrera | DET | 1B,DH |
12 | Kris Bryant | CHC | 3B,LF,RF,1B |
13 | Starling Marte | PIT | LF,CF |
14 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | SP |
15 | Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | 1B,DH |
16 | Carlos Correa | HOU | SS |
17 | Chris Sale | CWS | SP |
18 | Chris Davis | BAL | 1B,RF,DH |
19 | Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | LF,CF |
20 | Nelson Cruz | SEA | RF,DH |
21 | George Springer | HOU | CF,RF,DH |
22 | Ryan Braun | MIL | LF,RF |
23 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | SP |
24 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL | RF |
25 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | CF |
26 | Lorenzo Cain | KC | CF |
27 | Max Scherzer | WSH | SP |
28 | Jose Fernandez | MIA | SP |
29 | Gregory Polanco | PIT | LF,RF |
30 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | SS |
31 | Jose Abreu | CWS | 1B,DH |
32 | Johnny Cueto | SF | SP |
33 | Jacob DeGrom | NYM | SP |
34 | Zack Greinke | ARI | SP |
35 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | SP |
36 | Corey Kluber | CLE | SP |
37 | Jon Lester | CHC | SP |
38 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | RP |
39 | Robinson Cano | SEA | 2B |
40 | Danny Salazar | CLE | SP |
41 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | SP |
42 | Matt Kemp | SD | RF |
43 | Adam Jones | BAL | CF |
44 | Mark Trumbo | BAL | 1B,LF,RF,DH |
45 | Cole Hamels | TEX | SP |
46 | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | RF |
47 | Brandon Belt | SF | 1B,LF |
48 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 1B |
49 | Joey Votto | CIN | 1B |
50 | Carlos Martinez | STL | SP |
51 | David Ortiz | BOS | 1B,DH |
52 | Christian Yelich | MIA | LF,CF |
53 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | SP |
54 | Buster Posey | SF | C,1B |
55 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY | RP |
56 | Todd Frazier | CWS | 3B |
57 | Corey Seager | LAD | SS |
58 | Ian Kinsler | DET | 2B |
59 | Charlie Blackmon | COL | LF,CF |
60 | David Price | BOS | SP |
61 | Jose Quintana | CWS | SP |
62 | Ian Desmond | TEX | SS,LF,CF |
63 | Sonny Gray | OAK | SP |
64 | Wil Myers | SD | 1B,CF |
65 | Rougned Odor | TEX | 2B |
66 | Ben Zobrist | CHC | 2B,LF |
67 | Craig Kimbrel | BOS | RP |
68 | Wade Davis | KC | RP |
69 | Hanley Ramirez | BOS | 1B,LF,DH |
70 | Zach Britton | BAL | RP |
71 | Chris Archer | TB | SP |
72 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | SP |
73 | Kole Calhoun | LAA | RF |
74 | Matt Harvey | NYM | SP |
75 | Matt Carpenter | STL | 1B,2B,3B |
76 | Justin Upton | DET | LF,CF |
77 | Mark Melancon | PIT | RP |
78 | David Robertson | CWS | RP |
79 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B |
80 | Brett Gardner | NYY | LF,CF |
81 | Jose Bautista | TOR | RF,DH |
82 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | SP |
83 | Michael Wacha | STL | SP |
84 | Daniel Murphy | WSH | 1B,2B,3B |
85 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | SP |
86 | Stephen Piscotty | STL | 1B,LF,CF,RF |
87 | Jeurys Familia | NYM | RP |
88 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | SP |
89 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | SP |
90 | Adam Duvall | CIN | LF |
91 | Adrian Gonzalez | LAD | 1B |
92 | Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | C,1B |
93 | Jay Bruce | CIN | RF |
94 | John Lackey | CHC | SP |
95 | Anthony Rendon | WSH | 2B,3B |
96 | Taijuan Walker | SEA | SP |
97 | Curtis Granderson | NYM | RF |
98 | Salvador Perez | KC | C |
99 | Dexter Fowler | CHC | CF |
100 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | SP |
101 | Cody Allen | CLE | RP |
102 | Khris Davis | OAK | LF,DH |
103 | Francisco Lindor | CLE | SS |
104 | Evan Longoria | TB | 3B |
105 | Jason Heyward | CHC | CF,RF |
106 | Wilson Ramos | WSH | C |
107 | Yasiel Puig | LAD | RF |
108 | Julio Teheran | ATL | SP |
109 | Carlos Gomez | HOU | CF |
110 | Hector Rondon | CHC | RP |
111 | Welington Castillo | ARI | C |
112 | Kyle Seager | SEA | 3B |
113 | Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | 3B,SS |
114 | Alex Gordon | KC | LF |
115 | Jacoby Ellsbury | NYY | CF |
116 | Trevor Story | COL | SS |
117 | Jason Kipnis | CLE | 2B |
118 | Maikel Franco | PHI | 3B |
119 | Steven Matz | NYM | SP |
120 | Jackie Bradley | BOS | LF,CF,RF |
121 | Drew Pomeranz | SD | SP,RP |
122 | Chris Tillman | BAL | SP |
123 | Fernando Rodney | SD | RP |
124 | Jason Hammel | CHC | SP |
125 | Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | SS |
126 | Albert Pujols | LAA | 1B,DH |
127 | A.J. Ramos | MIA | RP |
128 | Francisco Rodriguez | DET | RP |
129 | Adrian Beltre | TEX | 3B |
130 | Roberto Osuna | TOR | RP |
131 | Leonys Martin | SEA | CF |
132 | Carlos Beltran | NYY | RF,DH |
133 | Lance McCullers | HOU | SP |
134 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | SP |
135 | Rajai Davis | CLE | LF,CF,RF |
136 | Santiago Casilla | SF | RP |
137 | Brian Dozier | MIN | 2B |
138 | Marcell Ozuna | MIA | CF,RF |
139 | Jake Lamb | ARI | 3B |
140 | Neil Walker | NYM | 2B |
141 | Adam Wainwright | STL | SP |
142 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | SP |
143 | Matt Wieters | BAL | C |
144 | Seung-Hwan Oh | STL | RP |
145 | Victor Martinez | DET | 1B,DH |
146 | Addison Russell | CHC | 2B,SS |
147 | Miguel Sano | MIN | 3B,RF,DH |
148 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | SP |
149 | Michael Saunders | TOR | LF,RF |
150 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | SP |
151 | Adam Eaton | CWS | CF,RF |
152 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 2B |
153 | Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
154 | Sam Dyson | TEX | RP |
155 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 2B |
156 | Joc Pederson | LAD | CF |
157 | Huston Street | LAA | RP |
158 | Joe Ross | WSH | SP |
159 | Elvis Andrus | TEX | SS |
160 | Nomar Mazara | TEX | LF,RF |
161 | Steve Cishek | SEA | RP |
162 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | SP |
163 | Danny Valencia | OAK | 3B,LF |
164 | Mike Napoli | CLE | 1B,LF,DH |
165 | Michael Conforto | NYM | LF |
166 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | SP |
167 | Francisco Liriano | PIT | SP |
168 | Gio Gonzalez | WSH | SP |
169 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | SP,RP |
170 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | SP |
171 | Evan Gattis | HOU | C,LF,DH |
172 | David Peralta | ARI | LF,RF,CF |
173 | Rich Hill | OAK | SP |
174 | Alexander Colome | TB | SP,RP |
175 | Justin Bour | MIA | 1B |
176 | Drew Smyly | TB | SP |
177 | Kendrys Morales | KC | 1B,DH |
178 | Aledmys Diaz | STL | 2B,SS |
179 | Carlos Santana | CLE | 1B,DH |
180 | Brad Ziegler | ARI | RP |
181 | Edinson Volquez | KC | SP |
182 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | SP |
183 | J.D. Martinez | DET | RF |
184 | Nick Castellanos | DET | 3B |
185 | Yadier Molina | STL | C |
186 | Justin Turner | LAD | 1B,3B |
187 | Kevin Pillar | TOR | LF,CF |
188 | Rick Porcello | BOS | SP |
189 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | SP,RP |
190 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 2B |
191 | Chris Carter | MIL | 1B |
192 | Will Harris | HOU | RP |
193 | Justin Verlander | DET | SP |
194 | Ben Revere | WSH | LF,CF,RF |
195 | Alex Rodriguez | NYY | DH |
196 | Matt Adams | STL | 1B |
197 | Jeremy Jeffress | MIL | RP |
198 | Ender Inciarte | ATL | LF,CF,RF |
199 | Brian McCann | NYY | C,1B |
200 | Jorge Soler | CHC | LF,RF |
201 | Prince Fielder | TEX | 1B,DH |
202 | Billy Hamilton | CIN | CF |
203 | Ian Kennedy | KC | SP |
204 | Steven Wright | BOS | SP,RP |
205 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | SP |
206 | Nathan Karns | SEA | SP |
207 | Travis d'Arnaud | NYM | C |
208 | Josh Harrison | PIT | 2B,3B,LF,RF |
209 | Steven Souza | TB | RF |
210 | Ryan Madson | OAK | RP |
211 | Brandon Crawford | SF | SS |
212 | Jean Segura | ARI | 2B,SS |
213 | Matt Holliday | STL | 1B,LF,DH |
214 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | SP |
215 | Willson Contreras | CHC | C |
216 | Michael Brantley | CLE | LF,CF |
217 | Tyson Ross | SD | SP |
218 | Jhonny Peralta | STL | 3B,SS |
219 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSH | 1B |
220 | Yu Darvish | TEX | SP |
221 | Tanner Roark | WSH | SP,RP |
222 | Logan Forsythe | TB | 1B,2B |
223 | Yasmani Grandal | LAD | C |
224 | Travis Shaw | BOS | 1B,3B |
225 | Whit Merrifield | KC | 2B,LF,CF |
226 | Joe Panik | SF | 2B |
227 | Scott Kazmir | LAD | SP |
228 | Billy Burns | OAK | CF |
229 | Collin McHugh | HOU | SP |
230 | Colby Rasmus | HOU | LF,CF,RF |
231 | Jonathan Papelbon | WSH | RP |
232 | Jeanmar Gomez | PHI | RP |
233 | Arodys Vizcaino | ATL | RP |
234 | Andrew Miller | NYY | RP |
235 | Dellin Betances | NYY | RP |
236 | Byung-ho Park | MIN | 1B,DH |
237 | Gerardo Parra | COL | LF,CF,RF |
238 | Melky Cabrera | CWS | LF |
239 | Tony Watson | PIT | RP |
240 | Devon Travis | TOR | 2B |
241 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | SP |
242 | Danny Duffy | KC | SP,RP |
243 | Shelby Miller | ARI | SP |
244 | Marcus Semien | OAK | SS |
245 | Pedro Strop | CHC | RP |
246 | Yan Gomes | CLE | C |
247 | Jurickson Profar | TEX | 2B,3B,SS |
248 | Justin Wilson | DET | RP |
249 | Shawn Kelley | WSH | RP |
250 | Michael Pineda | NYY | SP |
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