Doctor Bombay is quite familiar with people who have a hard time waking up. The Doctor has a daughter who was very difficult to wake up during her teen years. The lucky person who won the right to wake her up, especially during the days we had to wake up early to deliver the Sunday newspaper, were often greeted with many guttural like noises, arms flailing, and leg kicks. Due to these actions, in combination with her long brown hair, my daughter was given the nickname of “Chewbacca”. The Doctor, of course, is not trying to make light of people who have trouble crawling out of bed. Those who have an inner clock set to late wake-up and sleep times may have a condition known as phase delay. Instead, we mention this as a lead in to discuss the players on our fantasy teams that were given the preseason tag of “sleeper” who have not yet woken up to play to their full potential. During March, there are plenty of articles about different players who are sleepers and/or bounce back type of candidates that should be considered for selection on draft day. Many of these articles were correct about such players as Keon Broxton, Mitch Haniger, and Kolten Wong. However, there are a few out there who have not lived up to the pre-season hype and we will look at some of these players to see if and how they will “wake up” in the second half of the season.
KYLE SCHWARBER, OF, CHICAGO CUBS
Many would be surprised to see Schwarber on a sleeper list. However, one should remember that he missed most of the 2016 season before coming back to play in the World Series, producing seven hits as the Cubs claimed the World Series title. Fast forward to 2017 where manager Joe Maddon had the brilliant idea to have Schwarber bat leadoff. Maddon’s idea did not pay off. Schwarber did have 12 homers and 28 RBI but also had struck out 40 times in his past 129 at-bats. Schwarber was hitting .171 in 64 games this season, the lowest in baseball among qualified hitters by 20 points. He is a better hitter than this, and if his idea to focus on simplifying his approach at the plate during his stint in Iowa pays off, he could be the productive force that many thought he would be.
JHAREL COTTON, SP, OAKLAND A’S
The A’s rookie has a 5-7 record this year with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Cotton seems to be struggling with an overall lack of control and command. His career walk rate is just 8.4% and has trended down in recent seasons. In 2017 it’s at a career high 10.5% which works out to 4.18 walks per nine innings. One of the problems seems to be Cotton’s inability to garner swings outside the zone. Last year, Cotton induced swings on 38% of his pitches outside the strike zone. In 2017 that number has fallen to 25%. Cotton appeared to be waking up against the White Sox as he needed just 66 pitches to get through five shutout frames. He was pitching very well before a blister on his right thumb knocked him from the game, and postponing scheduled starts indefinitely.
JORGE SOLER, OF, KANSAS CITY ROYALS
After being one of the often mentioned sleeper candidates upon being traded from the Chicago Cubs in the offseason, Soler was sent down to Triple-A Omaha in early June. Soler batted .164 in 18 games for the Royals after an oblique injury delayed the start of his season. Since reporting to Omaha, he was batting .324 with 11 homers and a 1.119 OPS. Soler now has a second chance to live up to the sleeper tag as the Royals have recently called him up as Kansas City searches for production at its designated-hitter spot. The former Cub wasn’t playing good baseball in his first go around in Kansas City, but now after some much needed at bats at the minor league level, perhaps Soler can turn things around at the plate and become that power hitter that the Royals thought he would be when they acquired him.
BYRON BUXTON, OF, MINNESOTA TWINS
Buxton became a popular sleeper pick this year when he went out and batted .287 with 9 homers and 22 RBI in 29 games last September. The Twins were so pleased with Buxton’s effort that manager Paul Molitor decided to have Buxton open this season as the Twins’ No. 3 hitter. This did not turn out to be a good place for Buxton, as through April 24, 19 games into the season, Buxton was hitting just .105. A change in the batting order in the month of May was a bit better for Buxton, as he hit .254 with a .321 OBP in 24 games. Many still wonder if that what Buxton is, a .250 type hitter with a great deal of speed. He currently has 13 stolen bases on the year. Buxton provides stout defense for the Twins, leading the AL in defensive runs saved, contributing to an overall team defense that has been one of the driving forces in the Twins’ surprising rise to contention. Not a fantasy stat that is helpful for owners but is something to consider in that it should allow him to stay in Minnesota’s lineup and hopefully allow him to work on increasing his offensive numbers.
JERAD EICKHOFF, SP, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
On June 20, Eickhoff was placed on the 10-day disabled list with an upper back strain. Up to that point, Eickhoff had a 0-7 record, with a 4.81 ERA and 65:30 K:BB through 76.2 innings (14 starts) this season. He has struggled with control this year and needs to lower his 3.5 BB/9 to last season’s mark of 1.9, which would go a long way towards regaining his effectiveness. Eickhoff was coming off one of his better starts of the year; a six-inning outing of one-run ball against the Diamondbacks when he was injured.
RANDAL GRICHUK, OF, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
When Grichuk returned from the minors, he hit home runs in back-to-back games, and that power has intrigued fantasy owners for the better part of three seasons now. A month ago, Grichuk was demoted to Class A Palm Beach, a move that may have been devastating to many a big leaguer. Grichuk remained positive while working with minor-league hitting instructor George Greer at Palm Beach and then in Memphis. Grichuk has become more comfortable with his mechanics by choking up on the bat and keeping his swing compact. In his last seven games, Gricuk is batting .259 with three home runs and nine RBI. Fantasy owners and many in the Cardinal organization are hoping that he is answering this wake-up call.
BLAKE SNELL, SP, TAMPA BAY RAYS
Snell struggled in his first eight starts with the Rays, but did well after a demotion to Triple-A Durham, posting solid numbers with a record of 5-0, a 2.66 ERA, a 12.5 K/9 in seven starts. Before the demotion, Snell struggled with the command of his fastball yielded 43 hits and 25 walks over 42 innings, as he was often forced to work behind in counts. The Pirates were not kind to him in his big league return, scoring four runs in the first inning. Snell has a great deal of potential but will need much work to make him fantasy relevant.
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