5 Buy-Low Options for Season-Long Fantasy Baseball Leagues
Carlos Gomez, OF, Houston Astros
In 2013 and 2014, Carlos Gomez was an animal. He posted a wOBA of at least .363 in each season and hit a total of 35 jacks and swiped 74 bases over the two campaigns.
He was straight fantasy gold.
Gomez lost some of his luster in 2015, putting up a .315 wOBA with just 12 homers and 17 steals. It wasn’t a bad season, but it didn’t compare to his previous two efforts.
Most of the shine that remained was erased when Gomez stunk at the start of this season. He struggled his way to a .227 wOBA in April and a .211 wOBA in May.
Gomez has quietly turned things around.
He swung the bat very well in June, registering a .353 wOBA with 3 jacks, 3 steals and a mouth-watering 41.1% hard-hit rate over 94 plate appearances. Those are some delicious numbers -- especially the hard-hit rate.
Gomez even has hit bat-flip game back in order.
Gomez’s overall line -- .223/.290/.343 with a .276 wOBA -- is still pretty unsightly, which is likely the main reason his Yahoo ownership is just 70%.
He can be had for cheap.
While his June batted-ball stats are fantastic, time will tell if he can maintain those clips. At a minimum, Gomez can be used versus left-handed pitchers, against whom he is sporting a .335 wOBA and 35.6% hard-hit rate this year.
One more not-so-insignificant thing: Gomez was bumped up to fifth in the lineup for Thursday’s game. It may have been because Houston was facing Oakland Athletics’ southpaw Rich Hill, but if Gomez can secure a spot in the meat of Houston’s order -- where his counting stats can reap the benefits of hitting near George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa -- that makes him even more appealing.
