Freeman, one of the more valuable assets in fantasy for his potential to hit for average and power. When the Hoby Milner fastball connected with Freeman's wrist in the eighth inning, an odd thing occurred; Freeman, with an exasperated look of defeat, simply and methodically exited the field for the clubhouse. He typically would have walked to first base or remained at home plate awaiting trainer and manager aid, but he seemed to think initially that something was amiss. Something like last season when an Aaron Loup pitch broke his left wrist. Freeman missed six weeks and dealt with soreness the rest of the season.
Fantasy managers might not have been able to notice Freeman was in physical distress in the second half of 2017, because the numbers were there, and his status as a second-round choice in ESPN ADP was no fluke, but nobody wants to deal with wrist or hand injuries, least of all the players. Initial X-rays showed no break, and the Braves should have an update Thursday on how much playing time, if any, Freeman could miss. Perhaps -- and hopefully -- all is fine. Baseball -- not only fantasy ball -- is better off when the stars are healthy and thriving.
Flaherty sits at the other end of the superstar spectrum, and I think it is safe to say he is not going to hit .365 for much longer. He is rostered in roughly 10 percent of ESPN standard leagues, and that simply shows how desperate and impatient most fantasy managers are. Still, it seemed a bit strange when the organization inked a one-year, minor league contract with free agent Jose Bautista on Wednesday afternoon, noting he will play third base. Bautista, 37, hit .203 for last season's
Toronto Blue Jays and was, sans debate, one of the worst players in baseball with his minus-1.7 WAR. And that occurred as a right fielder. We should be dubious to expect Bautista to perform capably at third base, a spot he last played regularly a decade ago.
At the plate, I admit this can make sense, as the Braves are woefully lacking in right-handed power, a situation made worse by the refusal to promote top prospect Ronald Acuna until he has a decent stretch of games at Triple-A Gwinnett, as if that would mean something. Bautista's contact rate plummeted the past two seasons, and he struck out at a career-worst 24 percent clip last season, albeit with a strong walk rate. Bautista hit 23 home runs, all but three off right-handed pitching, but that is no longer much of an achievement.
Flaherty, a left-handed hitter who hit his first home run of the season later on Wednesday night, is not the answer either, and those relying on him should know this. The Braves are a surprising sixth in MLB in runs scored, tied for 15th in home runs, but
Dansby Swanson and Kurt Suzuki are the lone right-handed hitters in the lineup.
In fact, what I think is going to happen at third base for the Braves this season is this: versatile Johan Camargo, who came off the disabled list Wednesday and struck out as a pinch hitter, is a better option for fantasy than Flaherty in deep leagues. A year ago, Camargo hit .299 with a bunch of doubles, which was nice, but nothing special. When Flaherty cools down -- he is a career .222 hitter, people! -- I expect Camargo to play third base until September, when prospect Austin Riley should get a look.
Riley is hitting .370 with power for Double-A Mississippi, and if the Braves were real contenders -- sorry, gotta be honest -- many would be discussing him, but there is no reason to rush. Come next spring, this is Riley's job. If this organization will not promote Acuna, then expecting a Riley promotion this season is probably foolish.
For this season, some combination of Flaherty, Camargo and I suppose, if things work out, Bautista will handle things, but my reaction to the Bautista signing is to smile and ignore any notion of adding him in even deep leagues. Bautista has had an interesting and productive career. In 2004, he played for four big league teams in the majors, though he did not hit. The Pittsburgh Pirates kept him around, and by 2006, he was hitting a bit and drawing walks. In 2010, sans warning, he bashed 54 home runs for the Jays when that really, really meant something and four times was a top-10 MVP American League finisher.
Last season, his bat looked slow -- too slow. Defensively, he was a liability. This is what the Braves view as protection for Freeman in the lineup? Hey, I think Bautista is an interesting fellow and the move by GM Alex Anthopoulos really offers little downside. Those fellows are pals, so things like this happen. Follow Bautista on Twitter @JoeyBats19 and enjoy, but I do not see much fantasy relevance here, as any power would be offset by batting average. If ranking Braves third-base options for 2018, it goes Camargo, Bautista and Flaherty -- and on the other side of the diamond, we hope none of these fellows has to suit up because Freeman is absent.
Wednesday recap
Box scores Highlights:• Ryan Zimmerman, 1B, Washington Nationals: 3-for-4, 2 HR (3), 3 R, 4 RBI
• Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox: 2-for-7, HR (3), 4 RBI, 3 R, SB (3)
• Teoscar Hernandez, OF, Toronto Blue Jays: 4-for-6, HR (1), 4 RBI, 2 R
• Jose Berrios, SP, Minnesota Twins: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
• Gerrit Cole, SP, Houston Astros: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, win
Lowlights:• Francisco Lindor, SS, Cleveland Indians: 0-for-6, 4 K
• Franchy Cordero, OF, San Diego Padres: 0-for-5, 4 K
• Luis Perdomo, SP, San Diego Padres: 3 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Tyler Mahle, SP, Cincinnati Reds: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
• Ryan Madson, RP, Washington Nationals: 2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Wednesday takeaways: • Houston's Cole was a big strikeout option for last season's Pirates, finishing with 196 of them, but the current version is averaging more than 13 strikeouts per nine innings, which is obviously crazy and historic. People ask if I think Cole is someone to trade away in fantasy, and I keep saying I think he can do what he did in 2015, when his final ERA was 2.60. That means that his current 0.96 ERA is not going to continue, so keep that in mind. Cole allowed 31 home runs last season, and three so far over four outings. He has yet to face a thriving offense (Mariners, Padres, Rangers twice) but he cannot control that. I think Cole's ERA for the rest of the season is likely to be around 3.00. I think he will strike out roughly a batter per inning. That is great, and Cole could end up among the top-10 starting pitchers. If you get offered Mike Trout or Clayton Kershaw, of course, I make the deal. If it is Hanley Ramirez, Didi Gregorius or Shohei Ohtani, I do not.
• Few will notice because of the team he hurls for, but Detroit Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd has made three starts, and in each of them, he has gone six or more innings, allowed precisely one earned run, and he has yet to win. That combination is apparently rare enough that the last fellow to achieve it was Pedro Martinez in 1994. Run support can be a wonderful thing! Boyd has proved himself at Triple-A, and last season, he had stretches in the majors, during which he looked interesting for fantasy managers in deep formats. I'm just saying that is happening again.
• The Red Sox are hitting machines, and after pummeling the Angels' pitching for a few days, they have passed the Ohtanis for the most prolific offense in the majors in terms of runs scored. The club has already bashed four grand slams, with Wednesday's coming from Rafael Devers, and the lineup will improve when middle infielders Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia are healthy. What does this mean for fantasy? Add catcher Sandy Leon? Nope. It means I will absolutely take a second look whenever my starting pitcher is facing them if he is not a top-50 or so option.
• The Reds are bad, and on Thursday morning, they decided to blame beleaguered manager Bryan Price and the pitching coach, even though that hardly seems reasonable this early in a season that was expected to be, well, pretty bad. Jim Riggleman, with quite a past and hardly someone we should expect to be a progressive thinker, takes over as manager for a while. Fantasy managers always ask what a managerial change means for them, but in this case, I do not see much altering unless Billy Hamilton remains in the leadoff spot. He does not get on base and Jesse Winker does, so at least Price was doing something right. Does this move mean anything for a pending Nick Senzel promotion? Doubt it.
Injuries of note:• Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton was placed on the DL with migraines, and while we must presume this has affected his play on the field, there remains ample reason for concern as to whether he will soon reach his immense potential at the plate as well. Buxton can hit for modest power, and he can steal many bases, but making contact is a problem and so is durability. Try to keep him rostered in a 10-team league, but there are no guarantees Buxton comes close to being the top-60 fantasy asset we see in his over-aggressive ADP.
Closing time:• Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Colome saved his fourth game but opened the ninth inning with a pair of walks and one of them scored. Colome's inflated ERA of 9.00 did not budge. No, Colome does not look right, and yes, setup man Sergio Romo is experienced as a closer -- if this continues for much longer the players could swap roles. I just do not see the Rays making a change soon unless Colome is hiding an injury. For one, the Rays want to trade Colome, and that is far more likely if he is thriving as a closer. Second, pitchers lose command on occasion and then they find it. Colome should fix things soon.
W2W4:
• The Angels cannot wait for the Red Sox to leave town, and Thursday they face lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, a strikeout option perhaps on the verge of stardom. Rodriguez has whiffed 15 hitters in 9 2/3 innings, though his command has been far from perfect as well. Oh, and since everyone wants to know, it would be surprising if Ohtani is in the lineup against this oft-wild lefty. Ohtani remains on the schedule to pitch Tuesday at Houston, assuming his finger blister healed. Why risk that with DH at-bats against a tough lefty? Rodriguez should be the focus here, especially since the Red Sox provide so much run support.•
Fantasy managers are growing tired of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana, but Thursday he is scheduled to face Marlins lefty Dillon Peters and his 6.75 ERA. Perhaps that is not fair; Peters has one bad outing and a pair of quality starts to his record. The struggling Santana -- so great last season, but nobody has the patience to wait -- bats right-handed, and the Christian Yelich return to health absolutely could affect playing time. Yelich singled and walked twice in Wednesday's game. If Santana does not start hitting, then a benching for Eric Thames on a more regular basis will be prudent. Thursday's game is important.