The fantasy baseball season is already coming down to the wire, as there are only three more weeks left. It’s already been a wild ride, but fantasy owners must finish the job. The fantasy football season is in full swing as well, so we know this is the time league members become distracted. Continue to find the under-the-radar waiver-wire players who can help you to the finish line.
Three Up:
1. Atlanta Braves Outfielder Marcell Ozuna — The Braves outfielder set the bar high in 2017 when he hit 37 home runs and finished with 124 RBIs. This has led to many to believe he’s had down seasons the last couple of years. Though the numbers may not have been to the 2017 level, Ozuna has still been serviceable. After those two down years, Ozuna is bouncing back in a big way in 2020. This past week the outfielder hit five home runs and is now batting .311 with 13 long balls for the season. Ozuna is once again showing he can be a strong fantasy contributor.
2. Cincinnati Reds Third Baseman Eugenio Suarez — It’s been a disappointing season for Suarez, but a lot of his struggles could be credited to his offseason shoulder surgery. For the season, the third baseman is only batting .204, but it appears he could finally be breaking out the slump. During the last week, Suarez hit .364 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. If Suarez is truly out of the slump, this could be a big boost for fantasy owners down the stretch.
3. New York Mets Starting Pitcher Jacob deGrom — There isn’t much to add about the dominance of deGrom. Every start fantasy owners can expect a strong performance and usually aren’t disappointed. During the last seven days, deGrom struck out 21 and allowed two earned runs. For the season, the right-hander has a 1.69 ERA with 70 strikeouts and is once again primed to win a Cy Young Award.
Three Down:
1. Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Christian Yelich — It pains me that I have had to write about Yelich in the “Three Down” portion multiple times this season. However, the outfielder continues to struggle as he went another week in which he struck out 11 times and only collected five hits. Yelich is now batting .201 this season and is easily the biggest fantasy disappointment in the shortened season.
2. Toronto Blue Jays Infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — The 21-year-old was one of the more hyped prospects in recent years, but has yet to flash his minor league success on a consistent basis since being promoted last year. There was hope the infielder would take a big jump in 2020, but that hasn’t happened; he is only batting .257 with six home runs. It’s crazy to think that Guerrero isn’t the best young hitter on the Blue Jays when he had the most fanfare. The talent is there and he’s only 21, but it appears 2020 won’t be the season we see it come to fruition.
3. Philadelphia Phillies Catcher J.T. Realmuto — It was a rough week for the Phillies catcher, as he only collected four hits while striking out eight times. The catcher was batting .300 Aug. 22 and is now hitting .262 with 10 home runs with 27 RBIs. It would be nice if Realmuto can snap out of this quickly as he was drafted high because of how much better he is compared to others at the position, but this slump is putting him closer to the rest. It should be noted he did hit his 10th home run Sept. 8, so maybe he is showing signs of breaking out of this.