Jun 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder
Randal Grichuk(15) hits a three RBI home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
If it wasn’t for the MLB At Bat app, I wouldn’t be writing this article. However, I do and I am. I was watching the Chicago White Sox face the St. Louis Cardinals. We know who the stars for each team are, but one player caught my eye. His name? Randal Grichuk. He has had a good 2015 so far and should be on your waiver wire radar.
He’s played all three of the outfield positions while the Cardinals deal with injuries and rest days, but mostly playing left field as Matt Holliday is on the 15-day DL. He has seven home runs, 21 RBI and a .286 batting average (including the June 30 game).
He had three-fourths of the cycle against Chris Sale, missing only the triple. Grichuk has hit four home runs since June 10 and is becoming a popular pickup in ESPN.com fantasy leagues because of it. Grichuk has been picked up in 13.8 percent of leagues over the last week, 14th among all players and eighth among hitters.
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Grichuk is getting consistent playing time, but is getting benched from time to time. The Cardinals are rotating Peter Bourjos and Jon Jay in left field as well. It could be because of his low on-base percentage, currently at .309 (eighth among team qualifiers).
As for now, I recommend picking up Randal Grichuk in deeper or NL-only leagues. The average is nice to have in standard leagues, but the lack of guaranteed playing time hurts his value.
The Cardinals can use all the help they can get at the plate. The offense has hit just 61 home runs, 25th in the league. If Randal Grichuk can continue to hit home runs like the one he hit Tuesday night, there might be a place for him in the Cardinals lineups.