L.J. Hoes & Tim Beckham: Deep League Wire

I feel like I’m becoming a broken record when I say that once again, injuries have opened up opportunities and as usual, play a role in this week’s dive into the free agent pool.

L.J. Hoes | OF HOU | CBS 1% Owned

The Hoooooooo(es) Train is back! Given his lengthy minor league history that dates all the way back to 2008, one might assume that Hoes is older than his actual age of 25. Since he’s still in his mid-twenties, it means that he should technically be in growth mode and not just assumed to be a mediocre, finished product. He has all of 329 career plate appearances and has done little offensively with them, having posted a measly .277 wOBA with limited power and just a touch of speed.

But now Hoes has been provided another opportunity after budding star George Springer suffered a fractured wrist, expected to sideline him for six weeks. He’s now about three weeks into that estimate, meaning Hoes has at least another three weeks of playing time. He hasn’t played a whole lot since being recalled, though it seems he’ll have a chance against lefties for now.

In the minors, Hoes has displayed excellent plate patience and posted good strikeout rates. Power obviously isn’t really part of his game, but a full season would yield five to ten long balls, which isn’t completely useless. He has stolen as many as 24 bases in a season and had swiped 12 during his time on the farm this year. So he’s good some speed, but relatively low triples totals suggest he’s no blazer. Still, 15 steals would seem to be a reasonable expectation over a full season’s slate of at-bats. Obviously, if he’s only going to face lefties, he has limited opportunities to earn value, even in AL-Only leagues. But as a stopgap option who could chip in a couple of steals and might pop a homer, with a chance to earn some time against righties, he’s worth a look.

Tim Beckham | 2B/SS TB | 4% Owned

Amazingly, the former top prospect and number one overall pick back in 2008 had amassed just eight plate appearances prior to this season. He rarely showed much offensively in the minors, with limited power and not enough contact to offset the lack of thump. But here he is after a series of Rays injuries and all of a sudden, he now has another 114 plate appearances added to his career tally. He has been up and down from the minors and missed some time due to injury, but at least he’s shown some semblance of offensive ability that made him the top pick all those years ago.

Strikeouts have been an issue, directly fueled by swing and miss problems. A 15.8% SwStk% isn’t what you want to see, unless it comes along with massive power. Beckham does not possess such power, but at least he has ISO’d .216 so far and posted an 18.5% HR/FB rate. He has even chipped in three steals. With Asdrubal Cabrera on the shelf due to a hamstring injury, he looks to be splitting time with Jake Elmore at shortstop. Though that’s a bit of a head scratcher, because Elmore is a non-prospect with a .256 career wOBA, so you’d think the Rays would want to see if Beckham might amount to anything. Perhaps his disgusting -42.4 UZR/150 at shortstop has allowed Elmore to earn more starts.

Once Cabrera returns, Beckham could again remain with the team in a utility role, allowing him to earn a bit of value in AL-Only leagues. And with zero pop-ups all year, you’d think his .254 BABIP rises, ensuring he doesn’t completely kill you in batting average.