Another big injury occurred this past weekend as Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper broke his thumb when he was hit by a pitch. Harper has been dealing with a sore elbow all season, but has been able to play through it thanks to the designated hitter being added in the National League.
Harper was in the midst of another MVP season, as he’s hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs, 49 runs scored and nine stolen bases. This is a big blow for fantasy players and we’ll hope Harper can return in August for the stretch run.
Three Up:
1. Tampa Bay Rays Infielder Isaac Paredes — The infielder was a waiver-wire recommendation and continued his hot streak this past weekend by collecting six hits, four RBIs and a home run. Paredes hit five home runs this past week and finished with a .579 batting average. For the season, Paredes is batting .255 with 10 home runs and 21 RBIs. Fantasy owners are hoping Paredes can keep this hot streak up for a little bit longer.
2. Chicago White Sox Starting Pitcher Dylan Cease — The right-hander has been locked in, as he has only allowed one earned run in his last six starts. Cease’s ERA rose to 4.24 after allowing seven earned runs on May 24, but his recent performances have improved his ERA to 2.56. Cease was particularly dominant in his last two starts. He has struck out 24 in his last 13 innings.
3. Houston Astros Outfielder/Designated Hitter Yordan Alvarez — The slugger continues to roll, as he slugged four home runs and seven RBIs this past week. For the season, Alvarez is batting .312 with 22 home runs, 54 RBIs, 47 runs scored and an impressive .404 on-base percentage. Alvarez would be in serious MVP consideration if he made more of an impact defensively, but I still like his current odds of +1100 on FanDuel SportsBook. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is the clear frontrunner, but as we have seen in recent weeks, injuries can happen at any time.
Three Down:
1. Toronto Blue Jays Shortstop Bo Bichette — The infielder has cracked this list too many times for my liking. Bichette collected only five hits while striking out 10 times this past week. For the season, Bichette is batting .252 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, 40 runs scored and only five stolen bases. The numbers are way down across the board for Bichette when he should be entering the prime of his career. An extended hot streak is coming, but it needs to happen soon.
2. Kansas City Royals Infielder/Outfielder Whit Merrifield — It was another disappointing week in what has been a disappointing season for Merrifield. The infielder only collected five hits while striking out seven times. Merrifield is only batting .227 this season with a lowly on-base percentage of .275. The slugging percentage is down as well, and his inability to get on base has hurt his stolen bases as well. Merrifield only has 10 stolen bases after racking up 40 in 2021.
3. New York Yankees Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton — I may be too tough with this, but Stanton only collected three hits while striking out 10 times. However, those three hits were home runs so it wasn’t a complete bust of a week. Still, if you only hit .120 in a week then I don’t consider that very productive even if the hits left the yard. Stanton is having a strong season overall, as he’s batting .242 with 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and 52 runs scored.