Butler can do it
A’s OF could spark late fantasy surge
THERE isn’t much time left in the fantasy baseball season, which means you have to find every advantage possible.
If you have an opportunity to add a player (or players) who can provide a boost in multiple offensive categories, you must do so ... immediately!
Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler, who entered Friday with a 15-game hit streak, could be that guy. During this streak, he hit .393 with eight homers, 14 RBIs, 17 runs, three stolen bases and a 1.307 OPS. In 55 games since July 14, he raised his average from .179 to .265 after going 66-for-205 (.322) with 19 homers, 46 RBIs, 46 runs, nine stolen bases and a 1.053 OPS.
Butler entered Friday with the ninth-best average, third-most RBIs and runs, and the secondmost homers in the majors since July 2. He ranked in the top 35 in stolen bases, had the fifth-best slugging percentage and sixth-best OPS, and his 17.6 percent strikeout rate was 7 percent lower than his career mark.
Butler, who has done most of his damage while hitting atop Oakland’s lineup, was the most added player in ESPN leagues this week, but is still more than 50 percent available. The fact this may just be another hot stretch by a career .251 hitter is not a concern because of where we are in the season. If you can add a red-hot player who gets regular playing time and is proving to be a difference maker in multiple categories this late in the season, do it!
But if Butler isn’t available, don’t worry, because there are other full-time players, available in 50 percent or more of leagues, who can provide categorical boosts while not hurting you elsewhere. Here are some others to target:
HOMERS
Eugenio Suarez hit .292 with 14 homers, 39 RBIs, 35 runs and a .952 OPS in his first 44 games since the All-Star break, and .354 with six homers, 18 RBIs, 14 runs and a 1.192 OPS in his past 13 games. He entered Friday tied for the league lead in RBIs in the second half. He also had the third-most homers, seventh-most runs, 10th-best slugging percentage and 17th-best OPS. The fact he is rostered in fewer than 35 percent of ESPN leagues is mind-boggling.
RUNS
In his first 45 second-half games, Colton Cowser (24.9 percent rostered) scored 35 runs, the 10th-highest mark in the bigs. It doesn’t hurt that he hit .283 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in that stretch.
In 21 games since Aug. 10, Pete Crow-Armstrong (16.6 percent) scored 19 runs while hitting .311 with five homers, 17 RBIs, and a .949 OPS. He also is a threat on the basepaths (26 steals).
RBIS
JJ Bleday (24.6 percent) has 55 RBIs, but 17 came in his previous 22 games before Friday. He hit .289 with seven homers, 18 runs and a .975 OPS in that stretch.
Texas’ Wyatt Langford (40.9 percent) had eight RBIs in his first five games this month and 18 RBIs in 19 games since Aug. 14 (while hitting .304 with four homers and a .894 OPS).
AVERAGE
Gavin Lux (17 percent) entered Friday hitting .255 for the season, but hit .327 with five homers, 16 RBIs, 20 runs and a .970 OPS over his past 35 games. His .338 second-half average entering Friday was the fifth-best mark in the league.
Jake McCarthy (31.8 percent) hit .278 with 21 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in the first half, but hit .316 with 30 RBIs, eight steals and a .850 OPS in his first 40 games of the second half.
STOLEN BASES
Xavier Edwards (39.7 percent) had at least one hit in 41 of his previous 49 games before Friday, hitting .339 with a .833 OPS. More importantly, he had the second-most steals (19) in the majors since the AllStar break — 13 of which came since Aug. 2.