When you're building your team at the beginning of the season, you're generally trying to build a team with as few weaknesses as possible. And, if you succeeded in that goal, congratulations, you're probably sitting pretty in first place as we get set to enter the final two months of the season!
For most of us, that isn't the case. Even in leagues where I'm doing well in, there are clear areas where my roster needs improvement – in one league where I am in third place overall, I'm just in eighth place in RBI, despite being second in runs, fourth in homers, and third in batting average. I've got a good team offensively, but my best players are predominantly power/speed guys who hit near the top of the lineup, which means RBI have just been tough to come by. And, while I could still compete for the overall title in that league, it would be a lot easier if I could make up some ground in RBI.
So that's what the next two months are going to be about. Trying to find a way to make up ground in that category quickly. Last season, I was in a similar spot and ended up starting Joey Meneses a lot over the final couple of months; he wasn't a great hitter overall, but he did give me a 91-RBI pace from Aug. 1 on, and that helped. I'd prefer to find someone with a bit more overall impact who can also help me make up some ground in RBI, but every little bit will help.
That's what this piece is about: Finding players who can help you make up ground in every hitting category. Some of them are freely available on waivers in many leagues, while others will require trades. But all should be fairly easy to identify and add to your team to help in that one way, and that might make them cheaper to acquire than you might think. Let's start to make up ground.
Hitting category helpers
Batting average
Michael Harris, OF, Braves – This one is tough because Harris is on the IL with a hamstring injury and no clear timetable to return, though he has been able to run recently, and is just waiting to be cleared to sprint at full speed. He got off to a slow start for the second year in a row but had a .271 xBA before the injury and should be a useful source of five-category production when healthy, with an emphasis on average.
Gabriel Moreno, C, Diamondbacks – It's been a tough season for Moreno, who was considered one of the breakout picks of the season. That hasn't come to fruition, but he still has a skill set that should lend itself to good batting averages, including high contact rates, excellent plate discipline, and an all-fields approach. He has hit .315 in July and should remain a plus relative to the rest of the position moving forward.
Luis Garcia, 2B, Nationals – Garcia sitting against lefties limits his upside as an overall Fantasy player, but if you're looking just for help in average (and maybe a bit of pop), you'd actually prefer he remains a platoon hitter. Garcia's xBA has jumped to .289 thanks to improved quality of contact and facing fewer lefties. He can get there.
Runs
Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals – Winn should be very good in batting average moving forward, but I think his biggest edge will be in runs – since moving to the leadoff spot in late May, he's on a 100-run pace for the Cardinals. I've made the Tim Anderson comp in the past, and I think Winn can make that kind of overall impact, but even if he falls short, the runs should be very fruitful.
Xander Bogaerts, SS, Padres – Bogaerts has primarily hit fifth since his return from the IL, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Padres started to move him up in the lineup if he stays hot – he has multiple hits in five of six games since coming back. Bogaerts is more of an all-around helper, but his consistently excellent OBPs should make him a very good source of runs especially.
George Springer, OF, Blue Jays – There was a point where the Blue Jays moved Springer out of the leadoff spot, but I always thought it would just take him getting hot again to change that, and that's exactly what happened. Since his OPS collapsed to .559 on June 24, Springer is hitting .358/.416/.753, with terrific all-around production. I don't expect him to stay that hot, but I do think he should remain a much better hitter than he was early in the season and a standout in runs.
Home runs
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees – The Yankees badly need Stanton back in their lineup, and the hope is that should happen sometime in the next week or so. He has his flaws as a hitter, to be certain – he strikes out over 30% of the time and has completely collapsed athletically, to the point where even his meager .254 xBA might be expecting too much. But he still hits the ball as hard as anyone in baseball and should remain a 35-plus homer-pace guy when healthy.
Christopher Morel, 3B, Cubs – It's been a frustrating season for Morel, who has taken steps forward with his plate discipline but hasn't been rewarded with improved production overall. But he still hits the ball incredibly hard, often in the air and to the pull side, which makes this a good profile to bet on, even if he still has some obvious deficiencies – an inconsistent swing that leads to too many hard-hit grounders on one end and weak pop-ups on the other. But we know when he gets locked in, Morel can be a difference-maker for power, and I think it makes sense to bet on him getting locked in at some point.
Ryan Mountcastle, OF, Orioles – So, this is one that depends on what happens at the trade deadline. The Orioles are reportedly open to trading Mountcastle, and that would be an absolute boon to his Fantasy value. Mountcastle is a plus power hitter stuck in one of the worst parks in baseball for his swing thanks to the deep left field fences in Camden Yards. I think he would be a pretty easy 30-homer hitter in most parks in the majors.
RBI
Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B, Royals – The thing that makes targeting RBI in particular difficult is, RBI are primarily a function of two things: Batting order placement and overall offensive production. If you're a great hitter but hit leadoff, you aren't going to drive in a ton of runs; if you aren't a great hitter, you probably aren't going to drive in a ton of runs. But there are players like Josh Naylor and peak Jose Abreu who consistently overperform in RBI relative to their production, and Pasquantino's contact-heavy approach that still generates power could make him another example of that. Despite a pretty middling .735 OPS, he is 17th in RBI for the season with 64. Hitting behind Bobby Witt certainly helps, but guess what: Neither Pasquantino nor Witt is going anywhere.
Juan Yepez, 1B, Nationals – It's too early to say what Yepez can be with any confidence, but his skill set could make him one of those Naylor/Abreu-esque RBI standouts if he hits well enough to remain an everyday player. In 302 games at Triple-A, Yepez has 226 RBI with a merely decent .847 OPS, at least in part thanks to a very solid 18.4% strikeout rate. He's been red hot early on in his tenure with the Nationals, sporting a terrific .331 xBA on 43 batted balls, and if he can keep any part of this up, he could be a healthy source of RBI in a similar way to Joey Meneses and his 89 RBI last season.
Taylor Ward, OF, Angels – You could make a case for Ward's teammate Brandon Drury here as well if he gets back on track, but Ward has both been better this season and likely has a better chance of being traded, both of which should help. If he stays with the Angels, there probably isn't a ton of RBI upside, but if Ward moves somewhere with a better lineup, that could certainly change. He would need to improve his contact skills – his strikeout rate is up more than five points to 25% this season – but Ward could hit .270 with decent power and a bunch of RBI if he finds himself in the right lineup after the deadline.
Stolen bases
Xavier Edwards, SS, Marlins – Edwards has only played 20 games for the Marlins this season, but he's been pretty awesome, hitting .333/.420/.391 with four steals. He probably isn't a batting title contender, but Edwards has consistently hit for average at the minor-league level and has been a 30-plus steal guy in the high-minors, too. The Marlins have every reason to let him play every day moving forward, and he should chip in double-digit steals the rest of the way.
Jacob Young, OF, Nationals – Young actually isn't a bad player for the Nationals, as his speed makes him a very valuable defensive player, too. But he brings very little to the table as a hitter; he strikes out 20% of the time, which is decent, except he has no power to speak of. However, he should remain in the lineup consistently thanks to his glove, and he's been running again after a mid-season lull. I'd expect double-digit steals the rest of the way from Young, though runs are the only place he's likely to not be a total non-factor otherwise.
Victor Robles, OF, Mariners – Robles has a pretty long track record of being a pretty useless hitter, but the athleticism is still there, as he sports 76th percentile sprint speed this season and has stolen six bases in the month of July alone despite not playing every day. With Julio Rodriguez nursing an ankle injury, Robles should play more, and he's actually showing signs of life as a hitter, ranking above the league average in xBA, xSLG, barrel rate, and more. If he can be a non-zero as a hitter, the speed should be there.