Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?
Once considered one of baseball’s top prospects, Jesus Montero’s major league career has been nothing short of a massive disappointment. Since being traded from the New York Yankees to the Seattle Mariners, he has struggled with his weight and his defensive deficiencies pushed him from behind the plate to first base.
Fast-forward to this season, when Montero shed 45 pounds and headed to Spring Training with a chip on his shoulder. He was out to prove that he deserved a spot on the opening day roster, and although he didn’t get one, he hit well enough in triple-A to get a call-up on July 10. Initially he was used sparingly and was sent back down, but after trading away Mark Lowe and Dustin Ackley, Seattle recalled Montero.
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Since July 31, the 25-year-old has played in 11 games, starting eight times while appearing at first base and DH. In those 35 plate appearances, Montero hasn’t taken a walk, but he’s batting .286 with two home runs and eight RBI. With a hard hit percentage of 47.1 and a pull percentage of 50, Montero could be primed to knock in his fair share of dingers with semi-regular playing time.
Now first base eligible, Montero remains a deep-play option, especially against left-handed pitching, but it’ll be fun to see if he can put together a solid two months of production down the stretch to prove that he can stick in the bigs. If so, he’ll have some draft-day value in 2016.
Chris Bassitt, SP (21 percent owned)
Once listed 16th on Oakland’s prospect list, Bassitt has come out of nowhere over the last seven starts. He’s posted a 36-7 strikeout to walk ratio, holding opponents to three runs or fewer in each of those appearances. Bassitt just fanned 10 Houston Astros Sunday while lowering his season ERA to 2.27.
We should note that Bassitt isn’t inducing much soft contact; his swinging strike rate is below 8 percent and he’s holding a fly ball rate over 40 percent. Expect some regression, but he’s still worthy of stashing for now. I’d plug him in against the Rays this weekend.
Aaron Hicks, OF (21 percent owned)
Since returning from a forearm injury on July 3, Hicks is slashing .305/.368/.508. The Twins demoted Byron Buxton upon activating him from the disabled list, so it’s pretty clear that centre field belongs to Hicks, as it should.
After flopping in 2013 and 2014, something has clicked with Hicks this season. He’s cut his strikeout rate and although he’s making less contact, he has become more selective at the plate, swinging at more pitchers thrown inside the strike zone. Whether Paul Molitor decides to leave Hicks in the leadoff spot is something that remains to be seen, but it was nice to see Hicks lead off for the Twins Tuesday.
David Peralta, OF (30 percent owned)
Over the last 30 days, Peralta is the 11th-best outfielder in fantasy baseball. Tuesday night, he continued his torrid August, going 2-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBI. Batting behind Paul Goldschmidt, Peralta has been able to tweak his approach at the plate, showing a willingness to drive balls to left field and centre field instead of being strictly a pull hitter.
Peralta’s 11 home runs are already a career high and at eight triples, he’s one shy of matching his 2014 total. This late into the year, it’s rare to scoop up guys who are producing to this level but you can find Peralta available in about 70 percent of Yahoo! Leagues.
Tommy Kahnle, RP (22 percent owned)
If you’re still chasing saves, Kahnle has recently been named closer in Colorado. He recorded his second save of the season in holding off the Washington Nationals Sunday.
After Adam Ottavino went down with Tommy John early in the season, John Axford did a fairly decent job in the back end of the Rockies bullpen before coming apart at the seams over the last month or so. Manager Walt Weiss has handed the job to Kahnle who’s allowed one earned run over his last 12.2 innings pitched. Kahnle has swing and miss stuff, as his 11.30 K/9 suggests, but just be aware of the control issues he’s battled this season.
