10 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Assets to Buy Before the Second Half

Jesse Winker, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Playing time has been sporadic at times for Jesse Winker in his first full season with the Cincinnati Reds, as he has had to occasionally split duties with Scott Schebler, Adam Duvall, and Billy Hamilton. But with the Reds out of contention and Schebler out with a shoulder injury, Winker should get a chance to show what he can do. And the early returns really aren't too shabby.

Winker's plate discipline was great all throughout the minors, so his skills there aren't a surprise. He has a 15.1% walk rate with a 13.8% strikeout rate, which is a truly elite combo, especially for those of you playing in on-base percentage leagues.

But the power was a much bigger question for Winker. His isolated slugging percentage (ISO) was below .100 in Triple-A in both 2016 and 2017, making it seem like he would contribute exclusively to your on-base category. But the dude can hit the ball hard.

Winker is currently 18th among qualified hitters in hard-hit rate for the full season, and he's 2nd over the past 30 days. His fly-ball rate is underwhelming at 33.2%, but it's also not a detriment to value when it comes with a 41.8% ground-ball rate. He just hits a ton of line drives.

Unless Winker tailors his swing to get more loft, he's never going to be a 30-homer guy. But if your league measures slugging percentage, Winker will still contribute there thanks to the extra-base hits those liners will generate. So he may be a bit of a league-specific asset, but with extra playing time coming, now's a good time to give Winker a sniff.