The Texas Rangers — under .500 but still fun for fantasy
The Texas Rangers aren’t expected to contend this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a fun ball club. Let’s start our Texas audit at the end of the game.
Chris Martin looks like the last man standing in the Texas bullpen. Erratic Jose Leclerc pitched his way out of the closer gig — the Rangers really had no choice — and now Shawn Kelley (infection) is on the shelf.
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Martin had a clean initiation, a perfect inning in Wednesday’s save at Pittsburgh. He’s sitting on a 3.14 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, though favorable sequencing (94.2 strand rate) has cushioned the ratios. His fastball averages mid-90s, and he’s got the walks and strikeouts in a good place (26 and five percent, respectively). Martin was aggressively added over the past day, but he’s still under 20 percent. There’s time to jump on board.
The shocking story in Texas is the current hitting star: Retread Hunter Pence. The tank looked empty last year when Pence struggled through an ugly .226/.258/.332 slog in San Francisco. Guys just don’t magically rediscover their swings at age 36. But somehow, Pence is on a .343/.416/.687 binge, with six homers in 67 at-bats. He’s left the yard in each of the last three games.
Pence has a robust .340 BABIP, but he’s making most of his own luck — check that 51.8 percent hard-hit clip, and a career-best K/BB rate. The Texas outfield is a little less cluttered these days, with Delino DeShields back in the minors. With the Arlington undertow to buoy the story, maybe Pence can keep it rolling for a while.
The Rangers rank third in runs scored, with a lot of stories falling right. Joey Gallo is having a breakthrough year, Elvis Andrus is back in form, and maybe Logan Forsythe is drinking the Pence milkshake. And the team’s road profile is similar to the home one; it hasn’t been an Arlington mirage.
Leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo has a 139 OPS+, his highest in six years. If you have daily transactions available or play in DFS formats, Choo is a fun plug-and-play against right-handed pitching, with a jagged .333/.421/.571 slash. This is what a professional hitter looks like.
Derek Dietrich swings for the seats
A few weeks ago, we had the discussion on Tommy La Stella, wondering where this season was coming from. La Stella keeps plugging along, with two more homers Thursday. He still has more walks than strikeouts.
Today, we need a similar discussion on Cincinnati’s Derek Dietrich. Where did those 10 home runs come from, and is this in any way sustainable?
Dietrich doesn’t get cheated at the plate, that’s for sure. He takes aggressive hacks and shoots for the seats on most of them. He’s raised his pull percentage by eight percent this year, and his hard-hit rate is at a career best. He’s also bumped his fly-ball rate to 50.8 percent, a personal high.
But there are other positive indicators supporting Dietrich. Walks are up a speck, strikeouts down almost six percent. And his .247 average is probably a little unlucky, tied to a .180 BABIP (of course, the home runs don’t count there). And he showed reasonable power last year, hitting 16 home runs despite Miami’s crummy offensive backdrop.
The Reds know what Dietrich is: A versatile platoon option. He’s not going to play much against lefties, but he has a juicy .729 slugging percentage against right-handed pitchers. With four righties coming in the next five games, it’s time to give Double D some deep-league run. He’s free to add in about two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.
Other Weekend Rentals
Hunter Renfroe is another power source worthy of a short-term tryout. He’s hit three homers over his last 13 at-bats, and the Padres visit Coors this weekend. You’re not buying Renfroe for a balanced profile — his career average is .245, his career OBP .296 — but he’s locked in at the moment and the draw is favorable, even though he’s seeing three straight righties.
It’s also a good time to let Ian Desmond angst subside. The Padres are throwing three straight lefties at Coors, setting up well for Desmond. The maligned outfielder regained his mojo during the San Francisco series, collecting two triples, a homer, and three walks over two games. Thin air can cure what ails you.
