Fantasy Baseball 2017: Mike Zunino and other surprising June performances

By Gavin Tramps | Jun 28, 2017

Jun 23, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino (3) passes third base after hitting a 3-run home run against the Houston Astros during the third inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports /

There have been some remarkable performances over the last four weeks, probably none more surprising than Seattle Mariners’ catcher Mike Zunino.

If ever you needed confirmation that fantasy baseball is an unpredictable game, it is that Mike Zunino is a category leader, and that category is not strikeouts.

Zunino has always offered the potential of game-changing power from behind the plate. Before the start of this season, he had 50 home runs in 350 games. Only Evan Gattis, Wilson Ramos, Brian McCann and Yasmani Grandal had a better rate. Unfortunately for Zunino, his 50 home runs came with 404 strikeouts and .195 AVG.

Zunino leads MLB with 30 RBI this month. Despite the 38.3% strikeout rate and 31 strikeouts to six walks, the Mariners’ catcher is enjoying the best month of this career with nine home runs, .319 AVG and 193 wRC+.

He was demoted in May to retool his swing, and in the 30 games since returning to the Majors, Zunino is slashing .300/.360/.660. The 26-year-old claims that the success is the result of:

"“Trying to be as disciplined as I can with the bat, and to drive the ball the other way”."

Hopefully, you grabbed him off waivers as suggested by Brad Kelly a few weeks ago. He won’t maintain this production, and his career-high strikeout rate and the highest BABIP of his life suggest that we have seen the best of Zunino. But maybe not.

We will take a look at the other category leaders:

Home Runs
Over the last four weeks, Cody Bellinger has hit 13 home runs. Even in today’s high-power environment, 13 in one month is an astonishing number. Yasiel Puig, Jose Ramirez, Starling Marte and Lorenzo Cain all failed to reach 13 home runs in the whole of last season.

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The spike in power numbers is making fantasy baseball even more difficult to predict this year. In April, Eric Thames and Ryan Zimmerman hit the most homers. In May, that accolade fell to Justin Bour, Yonder Alonso and Logan Morrison. And in June, Bellinger leads the way.

None of these six players were drafted in the top-200 picks.

Runs
Yankees’ Aaron Judge leads MLB over the last four weeks with 28 runs. We have all seen the impact the 6-foot-7 outfielder has made this season. He leads the league with 26 home runs and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down.

He is tied with Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt with 68 runs scored this season. They are the only two players with an OBP above .440, and they are making the most of their scoring opportunities.

Stolen Bases
The Nationals’ sensational shortstop Trea Turner has run wild in June with league-leading 19 stolen bases. He has swiped 32 bags this year, just one below last season’s total. Stolen bases are in such short supply that Turner is a top-five player this month according to the ESPN player rater, and that is despite just two home runs and nine RBI.

The biggest surprise in the stolen base category is the disappearance of Billy Hamilton. He swiped 18 bags last month and 10 in April. The eye-watering 100 stolen base season looked to be a possibility. This month Hamilton has only attempted four steals, being successful on three occasions.

Batting Average / On-base Percentage
Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt is a fantasy stud. Yet he is an underrated fantasy stud. This season the 29-year-old is slashing .327/.443/.597 with 18 home runs, 68 runs, 65 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

Six other players have double-digit home runs and stolen bases: Lorenzo Cain, Keon Broxton, Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, Brett Gardner and Brian Dozier. Goldschmidt has 68 runs and 65 RBI, none of the other six players have reached 50 in either category.

Over the last four weeks, Goldschmidt leads MLB with .386 AVG and .480 OBP. This is invaluable production regardless of the format of your league.

Next: Reassessing the Rockies' outfield

June has been an interesting month in Fantasy Baseball. Odubel Herrera (13) and Jose Ramirez (12) lead MLB with doubles. With 23 walks, Aaron Judge has clear daylight between him and second place. White Sox’ Matt Davidson has struck out more than anyone else (39) and the Rays’ Mallex Smith has been caught stealing the most (6).

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