Hopefully everyone is enjoying the extended weekend (here in the States, anyway) with their friends and family. Though many will be out grilling this afternoon, the baseball season will continue to go on. And with that said, I’ll cut right to the point: here's your Week 9 edition of under-the-radar candidates for big production over the next seven days.
Jason Castro - C, Houston Astros
Nothing on Castro's stat page really catches your eye (pun intended), but a .304 wOBA, 35 hits and 23 RBI from a lower-tier catcher are all good numbers. Over the last seven games, Castro has really heated up, hitting .346 (9 for 26) with 3 doubles and a homerun, which should easily carry into this week. Taking the talented rookie Yordano Ventura out of the mix, Castro faces the Kansas City Royals’ duo of Jeremy Guthrie and Danny Duffy, who have a combined 4-7 record and 3.49 ERA, before facing a Baltimore Orioles’ foursome with a combined 4.41 ERA and 13 losses. It’s always easy to ride the hot hand, and Castro should continue to produce well this week, making him a great value as he’s owned in less than 50% of leagues and always one of the cheapest catching options in dailies.
Trevor Plouffe - 3B, Minnesota Twins
Trevor Plouffe had a slow start to the month of May, but has picked things up over the last two weeks, hitting .279 (12 for 43) with 4 runs scored, 2 home runs and 7 RBI, raising his season average to .254. The Twins face the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees this week, and if you can avoid playing him against Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, Plouffe should deliver nicely. He’s set to face a mashup of spot starters between the two teams, sporting a combined 3-3 record and 4.31 ERA. If you’re still on the fence, the .418 slugging percentage and .335 wOBA should be enough to convince you of Plouffe’s promise.
Marlon Byrd - OF, Philadelphia Philles
One look at Byrd's .494 SLG, .353 wOBA, 52 hits and 1.56 nERD (56th best) should be enough to get him into your lineup regularly. He’s hitting .306 (28-91) with 12 runs, 4 homers and 13 RBI in the month of May. The Phillies are at home all week in a hitter-friendly park, where Bryd just so happens to have his best split (against righties), hitting .281 with 7 doubles, a triple, 2 home runs and 12 RBI. The Phillies will face right-handed starters in five games this week between the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets, who have a combined 6-13 record and 4.05 ERA. If you still haven’t caught on by now, Byrd is a really good low-key add this week if he's still available in your leagues. He should at least be on the daily baseball radar.
Gordon Beckham - 2B, Chicago White Sox
Second base has quietly become quite the deep position in fantasy, and Beckham really never gets a ton of attention. Despite a solid .291 average, .419 SLG and .329 wOBA, he’s still available in a lot of redraft leagues. Over the last two weeks, Beckham has hit .340 (18 for 53) with 9 runs, 1 homer, 4 RBI and a .909 OPS. The White Sox face a trio of Cleveland Indians’ starters with a 5-5 record and 4.88 ERA, before welcoming the San Diego Padres and a 9-10 group with a 3.28 ERA for a three-game set. Like I said before, sometimes it’s best to ride the hot hand, especially when the upcoming schedule is so conducive to production. If you have the power in your lineup to cover home runs and RBI, you should be able to count on Gordon for a ton of runs scored, as well as hits.