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You happen to see what Daniel Vogelbach has done lately?
Beautiful, isn't it?
He reached base four more times Monday, three via the walk. The other time was his fifth home run, putting him up there with Mike Trout, Christian Yelich and Khris Davis. It's exactly what those of us who've been tracking his minor-league numbers (he had a .434 on-base percentage and 20 home runs in just 378 plate appearances at Triple-A last year) hoped to see if he ever got the chance.
The question is how long it'll last.
The door opened only briefly for him last week, when Edwin Encarnacion missed a couple games with a hand injury. Vogelbach made such a strong impression, though, that he got another shot in Encarnacion's second game back Sunday, this time in place of Jay Bruce, and homered twice. Monday, it was Mallex Smith who got a breather, and of course Vogelbach homered again. But so did Encarnacion twice and Bruce once. They're all killing it.
For Vogelbach to be in the lineup, one of those three — or Smith, Domingo Santana, or Mitch Haniger — has to sit. It's possible they could all take turns, giving them more or less an equal number of at-bats, but it'll take a commitment and some creativity on manager Scott Servais' part. No guarantees there.
So where does it leave Fantasy players?
It depends. There are leagues where you can afford to devote a bench spot to a pure lottery ticket, expecting little in the meantime, and there are leagues where you can't. The former tend to be categories-based (as opposed to points), namely ones that make use of big rosters (such as standard Rotisserie). Something where more than 300 players are rostered, to put it another way.
And that's where it makes sense to add someone like Vogelbach, who remains unowned in about 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. All it would take is one injury to any of those other five for Vogelbach to find his way into everyday at-bats and potentially become the 2019 version of Max Muncy. And again, if Servais is dedicated and creative, the 26-year-old may come close even without an injury.
Vogelbach isn't the only one who meets this description, of course. Each of the hitters below has an unclear path to everyday duty, keeping them on the fringes in Fantasy for now, but could emerge as must-start with the right opening. In leagues where you can afford to stash them and wouldn't be giving up anything too valuable in the here and now, it makes all the sense in the world.
Christian Walker looks to be getting everyday at-bats already, but only while Jake Lamb is sidelined by injury, the presumption goes, and probably with some interference from Wilmer Flores. It wouldn't be totally surprising, though, to see the long-overlooked 28-year-old rise to prominence in the same back-door way Jesus Aguilar did, especially after hitting .305 with a combined 50 homers in the minors the past two seasons.
Though banished to the minors at the start of the season, Clint Frazier might still be able to unseat Brett Gardner if he makes a loud enough case while Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks are sidelined by injury. Early returns are promising for the 24-year-old former Indians first-rounder whose impressive bat speed might have already propelled him to the majors if not for concussion issues last year.
A fish out of water in today's game, Willians Astudillo's almost nonexistent strikeout rate makes him a near lock to hit .300, which would of course be a major find at catcher if he could only get the at-bats. There's still hope for him playing a super duper utility role — backup catcher along with a few other positions — but so far the opportunities have been few and far between.
The hope was that the offensive-minded Francisco Mejia and defensive-minded Austin Hedges would split catching duties 50-50 for the Padres, but so far it's been more like 67-33. It doesn't help that Hedges himself has hit well so far, but his numbers may eventually dip so badly that the distribution between the two flips.
Even with Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier sidelined by injuries, the Mets have still managed to find a right-handed platoon partner for Jeff McNeil, which is a shame since he shows enough bat-on-ball skills with a good enough power pedigree to pose as a poor man's Scooter Gennett. It's clearly a crowded picture, but a hot enough hot streak could make the Mets rethink their priorities.
Franmil Reyes has gotten about two-thirds of the right field share even in spite of his slow start, which is a pretty good indication how much the Padres believe in his bat. The combination of a low strikeout rate and high exit velocity looks an awful lot like the guy who hit .318 with 10 homers and a .933 OPS over the final two months last year, so it may be only a matter of time before Reyes forces his way into more.
Reyes' primary competition has also been stealing some at-bats from Wil Myers, and while Hunter Renfroe is sort of a one-dimensional hitter, offering little more than big power, big power will play in Fantasy, too. I'd be rooting for Reyes over Renfroe, but they're both stashable in their own way.
Giving him a six-year deal before the start of the season seemed to suggest the Rays wanted Brandon Lowe to be a major part of their offense this year, but he has been in and out of the lineup, getting no more preferential treatment than any of their other versatile parts. He's the one who had a .949 OPS in the minors last year, though, showing power and on-base skills, and with a little more contact, he may earn a greater portion of manager Kevin Cash's trust.
Yeah, let's throw Jesse Winker in here even though the case for dropping him has less to do with role than the fact he has done positively zero at the plate so far. Still, the interference from Matt Kemp gives Winker longer odds of contributing in a standard mixed-league scenario even if his exceptional bat skills begin to shine through. Then again, if they do shine through, he could force manager David Bell's hand.
Jose Martinez of course got plenty of run in Fantasy leagues last year — a true contact hitter in a sea of sluggers — but his defensive shortcomings, along with the acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt, have him on the outside looking in. Dexter Fowler may not be long for the right field job, though, and Martinez would be a safe bet to produce if he did inherit those at-bats. But then again ...
... If Fowler were to lose his job, the at-bats might go to Tyler O'Neill instead, who might be Martinez's direct opposite in terms of hitter profile. There are definite contact issues, but if you project his home run total in the minors last year over 160 games, it comes out to 65, making him a likely Rotisserie standout in a scenario where he's playing every day.
