The regular season is rapidly moving at a faster pace than I expected. Before you know it the All-Star break will be long gone and the pennant races will be heating up. As with every week the best and worst performances are below.
First, the five worst performances of week 12.
5. Yoenis Cespedes, Center Fielder, Oakland Athletics
Arguably the best hitter on the Athletics is in what most would call a slump. In his past seven games he only had three hits, two of which were home runs. His batting average was obviously extremely low at .107 but the fact that he managed to hit two home runs puts him at the five spot here instead of the two or three if he would’ve failed to hit the long ball. The home runs helped his RBI numbers as he checked in at four of those on the week as well. The most glaring stat of all is the number of strikeouts he accumulated which was 13. This was by far the most of any player in the league and Cespedes clearly looked frustrated at the plate. Don’t go doing anything crazy like dropping him, which seems like it is obvious at this point considering his season statistics. Heck, don’t even put him on your bench for that matter.
4. Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, Philadelphia Phillies
Talk about a lucky week for Papelbon and his fantasy owners. The Phillies closer had a few bumps in the road this week as he blew three saves in four opportunities. You would assume that Papelbon was completely useless to his owners this week but that isn’t exactly the case. The Phillies bailed him out on two of his blown saves as they managed to make comebacks, in-hand, giving Papelbon two wins. His ERA on the week was 6.75 and he gave up two home runs and three earned runs overall. The fact that he still got two wins and a save makes this less of a poor performance but his pitching in general was off. The wins are nice and all but most fantasy owners are looking for saves from their closers. You can look at this one of two ways and the way I see it is that he got very lucky. Since it is Papelbon and closers are so hard to come by, I’d say keep him on your pitching staff if he is on your team.
3. Jose Bautista, Right Fielder, Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are in the midst of a great stretch of baseball which is making the AL East look like an even scarier division. The Jays have won 11 in a row and surprisingly enough Bautista isn’t one of the main reasons why. His .136 batting average on the week is in the bottom 13 of all eligible players. He did hit one home run this week with five RBIs but other then that didn’t do much. You would think that he at least got walked a decent amount this week as well, but he only managed to take the stroll to first base two times giving him an OBP of .208. There is not much to say here for him as he is a great baseball player and is going through what all players go through during the dog days of the season. Keep him in your lineup and let him do his thing.
2. Ross Detwiler, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals
The Nationals have a very good starting pitching staff and Detwiler is no exception. He had an impressive 2012 season and a lot of people expected him to improve upon those numbers in 2013. His season ERA is 4.18 which is not exactly what he had in mind. He had an even worse week as he lost both of his starts and recorded an ERA of 10.24. He gave up 11 earned runs over these two outings and gave up two home runs in the process. His opponent batting average was .381 and he was not confusing anyone on the bump. If you are trying to find a positive in all of this you can look at the number of walks he gave up, which was only one. If you have him on your fantasy team it is time for you to let go and find another starting pitcher that is worth your time.
1. Starlin Castro, Shortstop, Chicago Cubs
Before the 2013 season started, Castro was easily in the top five for the shortstop position. This season however has been very, very different than what fantasy owners are used to. He is batting .231 on the year and has definitely regressed. His weekly numbers are even worse than his season totals. Of all eligible batters for week 12 he ranks third to last in batting average at .103. He struck out nine times in seven games and has looked horrible at the plate basically all season long. He is too good to be this bad so be patient with Castro as he could heat up at any moment. For the time being you might want to put him on your bench until he starts to rake again.
Now, the top five performances of the week.
5. Nelson Cruz, Right Fielder, Texas Rangers
How would you perform if your name was being thrown around in accusations of human growth hormone and you were a major leaguer? Most players would be consumed by it and in hand would affect their ability on the field. Someone must have forgot to tell Cruz that he might have to serve a 100 game-suspension that could happen at any moment. His weekly numbers are impressive to say the least. In the past seven games he has driven in a league high 11 runs to go with a .379 batting average and a walk. He had 11 hits in 29 at-bats and doesn’t seem to be affected by the accusations whatsoever. For now keep him in your lineup but it might not be a horrible idea to try and trade him while you still can.
4. Matt Harvey, Starting Pitcher, New York Mets
The ace pitcher for the Mets is continuing to impress his peers. There is talks of Cy Young when this guy’s name is brought up and he continues to give us reasons why. In his last two starts he went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA giving up three total earned runs. His opponent batting average was .116 which is super-duper low. The best statistic of all is that he struck out 19 men. This guy is completely locked in on the mound and is shaping up to be a really good pitcher for a really long time. Keep him in your lineup, silly rabbit.
3. Miguel Cabrera, Third Basemen, Detroit Tigers
Perhaps you have heard of the next name to graze the top five list. Mr. Triple Crown had another awesome week as he continues to prove why he is the best hitter in baseball today. His weekly stats are as follows; two home runs, six RBIs and a .536 batting average. That is right folks, in the past week Cabrera recorded 15 hits in just 28 at-bats. If that wasn’t enough he walked five times as well, putting his OBP at an impressive .606, which is the second highest on the week behind only his teammate Austin Jackson. You are all well aware of how great Cabrera is and don’t need me talking him up to convince you. He has been playing like the No. 1 overall fantasy player all year.
2. Paul Goldschmidt, First Basemen, Arizona Diamondbacks
Don’t look now, but the Diamondbacks are in first place and a big reason why is because of this man right here. Goldy has been performing great all season and week 12 is no different. He hit the second most home runs at four and checked in at a .364 batting average. He also drove in six runs with two walks along the way. This guy deserves to be in the All-Star game but with big names like Joey Votto it might be hard for him to crack the top spot at first base in the NL.
1. Chris Davis, Outfielder, Baltimore Orioles
Your major league leading home run hitter added four more long balls to his name this week as Davis is back in a groove. His .364 seven-day average helped him drive in six runs along with the four home runs he hit. He did walk twice as well which isn’t a ridiculous number but it could also be worse. Davis has came out of nowhere this year and is making a lot of fantasy owners very happy. If he can keep this up past the All-Star break we might just have an MVP on our hands.