All hail King Albert.
Albert Pujols has 15 home runs since May 28th, which ties him with the Braves (15), and gives him two more than the Indians (13) during that time. The resurgence is on, but what should you do if you own him in fantasy?
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In standard leagues, if you have cover for Albert at first base, the first thing you should be doing is throwing his name out there in trade offers, just to get a taste of what type of return you’re looking at. Teams desperate for offence might think Pujols will sustain this for the entire season and frankly he might. But as a Pujols owner, you should be expecting a cold spell. If you wait too long, your chance to turn Pujols into, let’s say, a top 15 starter might disappear. But I do believe that what Pujols is doing is legit and that he’s well on his way to having his best season as a member of the Halos
Let’s take a closer look at his revival. Pujols has said he’s not doing anything differently yet he’s turned into one of the most deadly hitters in baseball. Since May 25th, Pujols has a triple slash of .350/.422/.816 and he’s remarkably struck out just six times in 116 plate appearances. He’s destroying the four-seam fastball, slugging .778 against the pitch with 12 home runs. Pujols has also increased his fly-ball rate by over six percent compared to last year. Another plus for Pujols is that his batting average on balls in play is sitting 68 points below his career average, suggesting there’s room for his .277 batting average to climb. Other than that, Pujols is maintaining his career batted ball profile and he’s showing the same patience at the plate. The real big difference this year is that he’s just hitting a ton of home runs.
Pujols is proving he’s still one of the best pure hitters in the game. If the projections for the rest of the season hold steady and he avoids injuries, we’ll be talking about a 40-home run season for the seventh time in Pujols’ career.
Here are some players worth claiming on waivers:
Joey Butler, OF (30 percent owned)
Butler bounced around the Rangers and Cardinals systems and even spent a season in Japan before signing a minor-league contract with the Rays during the off-season. To just about everyone’s surprise, Butler has been very productive since the Rays called him up on May 3rd putting up six home runs, five stolen bases, 19 runs, 20 RBIs and a .338 batting average.
For players with at least 150 plate appearances, Butler has put up the 22nd best OPS in the majors at .898. With the good comes the bad: a 25.3 percent strikeout rate, a 58.9 percent groundball rate and a .434 BABIP. A check of his minor-league numbers show that he was able to take a walk but K’s remain a bit of an issue. It’ll take some time for the patience to surface against major league pitching but my advice would be to ride Butler’s power and speed for as long as you can. If you need some outfield help, he’s an option that’s still available in most leagues.
Matt Moore, SP (23 percent owned)
If all goes well during his scheduled rehab start on Friday, it sounds like Moore will join Tampa Bay’s rotation next week. He’s been out of action after undergoing Tommy John surgery early last year but in most leagues, Moore is worth a flier, simply based on his terrific all-star 2013 season where he finished 17-4 with an 8.59 K/9. The strikeouts have actually been there during his last two seasons but its Moore’s control that’s really hurt his fantasy numbers and there’s been enough evidence to suggest that pitchers have control issues once they return from Tommy John. Still, there’s no denying the talent, and with Moore possibly making two starts before a rest during the all-star break, now is the time to scoop him up. Just don’t set your expectations too high early on.
Roberto Osuna, RP (19 percent owned)
I actually had somebody argue with me on Twitter that money aside, Jonathan Papelbon wouldn’t be a fit in Toronto because he wants to close and the Blue Jays already had a closer in Brett Cecil. Not quite. Cecil was removed from the closer’s role and whether he’s tipping pitches or not, the results suggest he’s not right, allowing 10 runs over his last 6.2 IP. This is where Osuna factors in. Simply put, he’s the best reliever John Gibbons has at the moment and although I hate the idea of not having him available in key spots in the 7th and 8th, I can understand why the Blue Jays would hand the next save opportunity to their 20-year-old flame-thrower. Osuna has a 40-10 strikeout to walk ratio and he’s complementing his fastball with an effective change-up and slider. It seems like nothing fazes the kid and I bet he does well in the new role, if it’s handed to him.
Jace Peterson, 2B/3B (27 percent owned)
I provided a few infield options last week and here’s one this week. Peterson keeps hitting atop the Braves lineup, batting .301 this month with nine doubles, 10 runs, 10 RBI and two stolen bases. The fact that he has already attempted 16 stolen bases this season bodes well, although you’d like to see his success rate a little bit higher than its current 50 percent. But with the steals and his ability to get on-base with a guy like Freddie Freeman hitting behind him (when healthy) it all bodes well for his overall numbers. Other positives include a walk rate nearly 11 percent and his excellent splits where he’s batting .289 against lefties and .277 against righties. The only thing really missing from his game is power but he’s helping you out in many other ways. Jose Peraza is in the minors, waiting for the call, but Peterson is allowing the Braves to stay patient with their prospect.
