Week 17 of the regular season was in full swing and the All Star break is all but a memory now. It is now time for the good teams to show that they are great and for the pretenders to prove, that they are indeed, pretenders. When it comes to fantasy baseball there is only about five weeks remaining until the playoffs start, depending what league you are in. If your league is anything like mine, there is a lot of guys you need to step up. Below is who performed to the best level and those who performed poorly for the seventeenth week.
The Bottom-Five Performances of the Week
5. Prince Fielder, First Basemen, Detroit Tigers
The big man in Detroit is having a rough week for his standards. In his past 24 at-bats he only recorded three hits while striking out four times. His batting average was .125 but he did manage to hit a home run and drive in four runs. This is just a down week for Fielder who is one of the better first baseman's in the league today. We all know how good of a hitter he is and should assume he will get things figured out very soon. After all, he does have 75 RBIs and and 17 home runs for the year.
4. Freddie Freeman, First Basemen, Atlanta Braves
The new All Star Freeman has been having a rough second half. The strikeout rates have climbed and the past week it has gotten even worse. His 12 strikeouts over the past seven games is the fourth most in all of baseball. Not only is he striking out but when he is making contact he isn’t putting the ball into play. His batting average for the week was .154. He did hit one home run but it was a solo homer which accounted for the only RBI he hit. You shouldn’t be too worried about this continuing to be a trending thing and he should get things back on track very soon.
3. Dustin Pedroia, Second Basemen, Boston Red Sox
Once again another big name comes up on the list of under-performers for the week. This time in the form of second baseman Pedroia. The Red Sox in general have been playing a little less impressive as they lost the division lead to the Tampa Bay Rays. They are still a great team but have been slipping a little bit as of late. As for Pedroia, he has been struggling mightily. In his past 22 at-bats he only recorded one hit putting his batting average at .045. He failed to hit any home runs this week and only drove in one man. If Pedroia is on your team he posed no positive to your squad whatsoever. Like the other two names above, he should jump back and be back to his old ways soon enough.
2. Buster Posey, Catcher, San Francisco Giants
This trending topic of big name player performing poorly continues with one of the best catchers in baseball struggling mightily. He was in a mega-slump last week as he failed to record a single hit in 18 at-bats. This comes as a shock for most due to how well Posey has been playing nearly all season. His season stats are great at a .308 batting average to go with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs. When it comes down to the Giants as a team they have been very disappointing this year as they are in dead last place in the NL West at a record of 46-58. The one bright spot has been how well Posey has been playing but Giants fans can not even hang their hat on that this past week.
1. Chris Davis, First Basemen, Baltimore Orioles
The league leading home run hitter has not hit a home run since the ever loving home run derby. This has to be somewhat concerning to Orioles’ fans and fantasy owners alike. His batting average was .136 and he led the league in strikeouts with 14 of them. He failed to drive in any runs also and would have better suited your team if he was on the bench. I for one am not sure how Davis will bounce back from this because he has never proved in the past that he could bounce out of slumps. Who knows, maybe he won’t hit another home run again this year? Or he could go off and hit four next week. Your guess is as good as mine here but I for one will continue to start Davis for the immediate future anyways.
The Top-Five Performances of Week 17.
5. Jon Lester, Starting Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
The left hander for the Sox’s had himself a week! He started two games over the course of week 17 and pulled out the W in both of them. He ended with an ERA of 1.35 while striking out 16 men in 13.1 innings. The only runs he gave up this week were via the long ball and he gave up two of them, both of which were of the solo variety. Lester has had an up and down year with a record of 10-6 but a high ERA at 4.27. He is still a plausible option for any fantasy team.
4. Wil Myers, Outfielder, Tampa Bay Rays
The next rookie sensation goes by the name of Wil Myers and he proved why last week. The 22 year-old hit three home runs in six games and drove in nine runs while walking twice. He also swiped two bases. Myers has played in a total of 34 games this season and has proved why he is such a promising young player. His season batting average is .328 and he has hit seven home runs with 27 RBIs. He really has been everything the Rays envisioned and he doesn’t look to be spooked by major league pitching. The fantasy baseball world took notice of him from the jump and he is owned in 100 percent of leagues.
3. Giancarlo Stanton, Outfielder, Miami Marlins
The shining star of the Marlins had himself another great week of baseball. Three home runs, five RBIs and seven walks is what he had to his name. This put his batting average at .458 and his OBP at .581 which was the highest of any player in baseball. Five doubles also accounted for some of his 11 hits. Stanton has been great ever since returning from the DL with only a few slumps thrown in. Continue to start this slugger and don’t even think about putting him on your bench.
2. Carlos Gomez, Outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
The speedy center fielder is at it again. He stole five bags in his past seven games while hitting two home runs and driving in six men. He has been the most consistent player on the Brewers this year who are having a rough go of it. He has been one of the best fantasy baseball options this year and he makes some amazing plays in center field. If you drafted this guy, pat yourself on the back. He has went above and beyond this season and proves to be one of the better center fielders in all of baseball.
1. Edwin Encarnacion, First Basemen, Toronto Blue Jays
The greatest performance of the week goes to the slugging first basemen for the Blue Jays. For whatever reason, he doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves sometimes but has proven to be a reliable fantasy option, week in and week out. This week was like any other for Edwin as he hit three home runs and drove in 10 men! The 10 RBIs was only outdone by Mets second basemen Daniel Murphy. Edwin batted .440, while walking five times putting his OBP at .516. He has been amazing all season long as his overall stats are a .278 with 29 home runs and 84 RBIs. His 29 home runs is the third most in the baseball and his 84 RBIs is fourth in baseball. He has proven to be a first round pick that was drafted in the roughly the third round.