Fantasy Baseball Pickups: Jackie Bradley, German Marquez and others to add
Jackie Bradley Jr.: He sports an ugly .208/.299/.342 line on the season, which is why he’s available in more than 80 percent of Yahoo leagues. Bradley Jr. hits at the bottom of the order, but thanks to strong center field defense, he remains a regular in one of baseball’s best lineups in an extreme hitter’s park. Bradley Jr. is 28 years old, was a top-75 fantasy player just two seasons ago and already has a career-high 11 steals without getting caught (he owns a 89.1 percent career success rate). JBJ’s Hard Hit% (47.2) ranks No. 20 in MLB, so his .262 BABIP that’s well below his career mark (.293) looks especially fluky. He’s in store for a much better second half.
German Marquez: At first glance Marquez is a pitcher who owns a 4.81 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP who calls Coors Field home, so it makes perfect sense he’s available in nearly 90 percent of leagues. But Marquez is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and a 22:2 K:BB ratio over his last three starts, and he becomes most interesting to fantasy owners who can platoon him solely during road starts. Marquez sports a 2.62 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP with 56 strikeouts over 55.0 innings away from Coors Field this season, where he also flashes a 19.3 K-BB% that would tie him with Aaron Nola for No. 17 among starters. The 23-year-old has averaged 95.2 mph this season, and Marquez is scheduled to open his second half with a start in Chase Field.
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Trevor Cahill: Another injury may very well be right around the corner, but Cahill has returned from his latest DL stint (non-arm related), and he’s still available in more than 80 percent of leagues. Cahill sports a 3.10 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP over 50.2 innings this season, and his underlying stats are even more impressive. Cahill’s 13.1 SwStr% would tie him with Justin Verlander for 13th among starters if he qualified, and the A’s are playing much better of late.
Anibal Sanchez: He entered Friday’s start with a 2.72 ERA and 1.04 WHIP despite coming off back-to-back tough road assignments in Milwaukee and Yankee Stadium, yet fantasy owners remain skeptical of the 34-year-old, as he’s owned in just 42 percent of leagues. Sanchez’s .232 BABIP is unsustainable, but don’t chalk it all up to luck, as his Hard Hit% (25.9) is the second-lowest among 159 qualified starters, and the Braves field one of the best defenses in baseball.
Lou Trivino: He owns an 8:0 K:BB ratio over his last three appearances and a season’s ERA of 1.31. Trivino isn’t likely to keep up his pace (he’s on track to finish with 12 wins and seven saves in 71 innings), and he’s firmly behind Blake Treinen in Oakland’s pecking order for saves, but he’s been highly effective and keeps benefitting from pitching in such high leverage situations.
Victor Arano: Here’s another under owned (25 percent) reliever who could be out there for those searching for saves in deeper leagues, as Philadelphia continues to use a committee approach at the end of its bullpen. Seranthony Dominguez has been terrific (0.65 WHIP!), but Arano has three saves over the past 10 days.
Andrew Toles: He’s looking at regular playing time while Yasiel Puig is sidelined with an oblique strain, which should be at least a few weeks. Toles was hitting .326 at Triple-A and owns a career .351 OBP in the big leagues versus righties (191 at bats). He’s worth a look in deeper formats.
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