The month of June is coming to a close and as always, this is a great time for fantasy owners to reassess where their team is in the standings. The halfway point in the season is almost here as well, so hard decisions will need to be made if players are struggling on your roster.
The All-Star break is still a couple of weeks away which is a great time to take a deep breath, but fantasy owners need to realize the second half of the season is already underway by the time we reach that date so decisions need to be made sooner.
Three Up:
1. Washington Nationals Outfielder Kyle Schwarber — The Nationals slugger followed up a six-homer week by hitting another four home runs this past week. Schwarber has hit 13 home runs in the month of June to give him 22 this season. A hot stretch like this is what helps fantasy owners win championships. Schwarber has also collected an amazing 27 RBIs this month to give him 50 in 2021. Schwarber will never hit for a high average, but providing the power along with scoring runs and driving in runs is good enough.
2. Houston Astros Shortstop Carlos Correa — The shortstop was spotlighted as an undervalued hitter in March and has paid off big for fantasy owners who took a chance. Correa is batting .303 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs this season and had a big week, collecting 10 hits. The Astros lineup is amazing, and Correa is a huge reason why. He helps in multiple categories for fantasy owners.
3. St. Louis Cardinals Starting Pitcher Adam Wainwright — The 39-year-old enjoyed an amazing June after having a very inconsistent May. Wainwright made five starts this month and did not allow more than three earned runs in any of them, giving him a 2.45 ERA and three wins in June. The veteran struck out 19 hitters in his last two starts. Fantasy owners are benefiting in a big way as Wainwright continues to be successful at this stage in his career.
Three Down:
1. Baltimore Orioles First Baseman Trey Mancini — Major League Baseball made the right decision and invited Mancini to participate in the Home Run Derby in what should be an emotional night for a player who has overcome cancer to play at a high level once again. The first baseman has had a strong season, hitting 14 home runs and driving in 52 runs. However, it was a rough week for Mancini, as he only collected four hits while striking out 11 times. The recent dip has dropped Mancini’s batting average to .255. Mancini tends to go in these slumps from time to time, but I predict a huge bounce-back in the near future.
2. Chicago Cubs Third Baseman Kris Bryant — There’s no doubt Bryant can’t wait until the calendar flips to the month of July. The third baseman was batting .324 on June 1, but as we approach the end of the month, Bryant is now batting .265. One of the better hitters in baseball has only collected nine hits while striking out 24 times this month. A hot streak like Schwarber has had can lift a fantasy roster, but the exact opposite can happen when a player struggles like this during a full month. It doesn’t matter how good Bryant was in April and May if he is going to let this slump extend into the month of July.
3. New York Mets Shortstop Francisco Lindor — Every time it appears Lindor will finally break out for an extended time, he has a week like this past week in which he collected only six hits while striking out seven times. However, it should be noted that Lindor did hit two doubles June 27 so maybe that will be the start of something good. Overall, the shortstop is batting .219 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. This is a major disappointment from one of the best players in baseball.