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JB’s Fantasy Baseball Advice: Position battles to monitor

By Justin Buckhanan

PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 18: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs warms up on deck during the first inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on September 18, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 18: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs warms up on deck during the first inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on September 18, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Jose Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 16: Jose Martinez #38 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning of the interleague game on May 16, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Cardinals outfield — How does St. Louis keep Jose Martinez in the lineup (especially with Marcell Ozuna)? JMart is a hittin’ mother … you get the point. Now that Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader are hurt, it would seem easy to get JMart and Ozuna in the lineup and feast on the fantasy results (JMart is hitting .333 so far and is a .310 lifetime hitter). While you can hope the Cardinals keep running those two guys out there every day, defense still counts in baseball and Ozuna and JMart are brutal with covering ground and judging fly balls. This puts a lot of pressure on aging Dexter Fowler to cover a lot of ground. Good luck.

Mets third base — Jed Lowrie was supposed to be the guy with Todd Frazier backing up (and even playing a little first base). With Pete Alonso locking down first base and both Lowrie and Frazier battling injury and age, the best answer for the Mets might be to just leave Jeff McNeil (.371 BA) at third and live with his great batting average. While never highly regarded (McNeil was a 12th round pick out of college and wasn’t drafted out of high school), he has done nothing but hit since signing. His lowest full-season average was .292 in 2014 and he started to show pop (19 HR) in the minors last season. As the Mets have done with Alonso, just let McNeil play.

Washington second base —Brian Dozier was signed to be the mainstay after the Nationals moved on from Daniel Murphy. Dozier was supposed to supply power, but his slump that started in 2018 has continued this season, leaving the door open for Howie Kendrick to get more and more time. Kendrick may not be much with the glove and his on-base percentage has never been great (he miraculously has six walks this season), but the dude is a professional hitter (.407 BA, 3 HR in 27 AB this season). Kendrick is 35, but he can still mash.

San Diego outfield: The Padres have four legit outfielders (Hunter Renfroe, Will Myers, Franmil Reyes and Manny Margot) who deserve time. Myers has been a productive player so he should get the majority of playing time in left. Margot is the only true center fielder on the team. Reyes possesses massive power while still raw and San Diego seems inclined to stay with him in right. That leaves Renfroe and his 30-homer potential on the outs. That’s to say nothing of the toolsy Franchy Cordero and Travis Jankowski, who is still on the mend.

Pittsburgh shortstop: Jung Ho Kang used to be one, but is now relegated to third because of his lack of range at this point. Erik Gonzalez is on the 60-day IL with a broken collarbone. Top prospect Cole Tucker was called up and homered in his first game, making him an early hero in the eyes of Pirates fans. Tucker has good stolen base skills (82 swipes between the 2017 and 2018 seasons in the minors) and growing power potential. He’s also a former first-round pick. Then again, so is Kevin Newman, who is nearly back from the IL. Newman has some on-base skills and speed as well, so this position bears watching.

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