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Travis Shaw is getting a full-time opportunity (AP) Travis Shaw had some snappy moments and some mediocre ones over the past two years, in Boston. But now he’s a Milwaukee Brewer, and that could be a substantial boost for his fantasy value.Location, location, location.
Although Shaw’s Fenway Park stats were better than his road numbers the last two years, Boston is not a good spot for a left-handed power hitter. Fenway took a 25-percent cut out of lefty power over the last three years, per the Bill James Handbook, while Miller Park added 49 percent to the left-handed swingers. Talk about an advantageous change of scenery. Like our favorite New Jersey scout was saying all spring, there’s sleeper value here.
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Shaw turns 27 in the middle of the month, so the timing could be right for a breakout year. He’s already off to a strong push, ripping four doubles over the first two games. Shaw’s two doubles Tuesday came against left-hander Tyler Anderson, and the Brewers are going to give Shaw a chance to be a full-time player. That could go a long way towards boosting Shaw’s confidence, and heck, his career OPS is platoon-neutral anyway.
Shaw qualifies at both first and third base in the Yahoo game, and he’s unclaimed in about two-thirds of leagues. I could see him back around the .270/.327/.487 slash he showed in 2015 — over 65 games — with a shot at 20-25 homers. Maybe that doesn’t make him attractive in the thinnest of mixed leagues, but he’s a welcome candidate in any of the 12 and 15-team formats I play in.
• We’ve only had two-and-a-half days of MLB games, so it’s silly to say anything’s a trend or reality yet. But it’s interesting to note that stolen bases, which dried up last year, are even slower out of the gate in 2017. We’ve seen just 23 swipes in the 23 games played to this point.
Hey*George Springer, you’re not helping.
Springer was nabbed twice in Tuesday’s win over Seattle, and this comes on the heels of a 9-for-19 year on the bases. To be fair, one of the outs came on a busted hit-and-run play, something you can’t blame Springer for, but you have to wonder when the Astros might put up a red light. They’re supposed to be one of the smarter teams around, and Springer isn’t close to the success rate needed to justify running.
Springer’s power is legit and he’s going to reach base a fair amount of the time, but I think it’s a mistake to count on a plus average or a lot of steals. He felt like a modest overdraft all spring, and for what it’s worth, he’s not on any of my teams. There are a couple of stars, legitimate MVP candidates, on this Houston roster; Springer isn’t one of them.*He looks like a three-category player to me.
• At some point this year, the Diamondbacks are going to have an interesting choice on Archie Bradley. Do they want to give him another audition in the starting rotation, or do they leave him alone to flourish in a bullpen role?
We’ve seen the story many times, a struggling starter who becomes a knockout ace in the bullpen. Sometimes it’s about discarding a pitch, sometimes it’s about throwing all-out in shorter assignments. Bradley is just 24, so his story is a long way from completion, but what he did Tuesday in long relief grabs your attention.
Here’s some video to get you started. Bradley worked 3.1 scoreless innings against the Giants, scattering four baserunners and striking out seven. Dominance is what we want from our relievers; sometimes it’s just a matter of ratio help, and other times, it’s trying to sniff out a closer in waiting. No one trusts Fernando Rodney in the long term.
Bradley is more of a watch-list guy at the moment, though in deeper leagues you might go a step further. Either way, he’s owned in just two percent of Yahoo leagues.
• Ryan Dull was one of Monday’s relief standouts (1 IP, 3 K), and the A’s had to be impressed — he was given the Tuesday closing assignment. Maybe Oakland didn’t want to use Santiago Casilla on a back-to-back. In any event, Dull didn’t gather any momentum — he blew the game in spectacular fashion, allowing a three-run homer to Danny Espinosa. Back to the drawing board, Brad Pitt.
The Angels announced their own frustrating committee plans earlier this week, but maybe Cam Bedrosian can start quickly, rewrite the script. Baby Bedrock was steady finishing up at Oakland, needing just 14 pitches for a 1-2-3 ninth. He looked ready for the closer gig during a dominant spring; all things equal, he’s a hold at the moment.
• Gerardo Parra was one of the busts of 2016, though an ankle injury didn’t help. And the Rockies didn’t have Parra ticketed for a full-time job this year. But with David Dahl rehabbing a rib injury, Parra is back in the mix, making the most of it. He posted a tasty 5-1-3-3 line in the victory at Milwaukee, making it a 5-for-9 start to the year.
Parra is capable of playing the outfield or first base, so he has a few theoretical paths to playing time. As terrible as he was last year, the injury provides a partial excuse. He was a fantasy asset for much of 2015, and eventually he’ll get some games at Coors, surrounded by a deep Colorado lineup. If you want a tire-kick rental, Parra is owned in just 10 percent of Yahoo leagues.