New Everyday Players — Jul 17, 2023

We still have a number of teams remaining with new everyday players to discuss, so let’s continue on!

Travis Jankowski | OF TEX

I had no idea that Jankowski, who is already 32 and hasn’t recorded more than 157 PAs since 2018, had suddenly become a near full-time player. He’s still not starting against left-handed pitchers, but now starting against almost every righty. Clearly, it’s because of his .379 wOBA, which obviously isn’t sustainable, as it’s driven by a a .389 BABIP. His .326 xwOBA is still solid enough though, but does suggest a big fall could be in his future. When that happens, he’ll likely return to being a bench player.

For the time being though, he’s got some value, especially in OBP leagues. He sports a double digit career walk rate and has walked 13% of the time this year. He rarely swings and misses and his strikeout rate is down to a career best, barely above his nice walk rate. While he owns little power, he has posted a career high maxEV, though with zero barrels, it’s only resulted in a 4% HR/FB rate, which is actually just below his career mark.

Aside from the OBP contribution that should still stick even if his BABIP tumbles, he’s got big speed. He has stolen 13 bases in just 161 PAs, which puts him on a 50+ pace over a full season. That makes him even mixed league worthy while he continues starting most days. Of course, that stolen base pace is thanks to a .425 OBP, which ain’t going to continue. I’d have to think the first place Rangers will look to upgrade his spot as the trade deadline approaches to get a more guaranteed source of offense.

Yu Chang | 2B/SS BOS

I feel like every year, there’s a time when Chang finds himself as an everyday player. Now, he has started four of six games at shortstop for the Red Sox after returning from the IL. With Trevor Story finally expected back soon, his playing time might dry up, but there could be opportunity at second base as well.

Chang is already a fly ball hitter, so turning his solid maxEV and Barrel% into HR/FB rate could make him a nice home run contributor. In about a full season’s worth of PAs, he’s hit 18 home runs, but there’s some upside here given the aforementioned Statcast metrics. Unfortunately, he has swiped just two bases in the Majors, so he’ll need that power to manifest to deliver any value in AL-Only leagues.

He’ll also need to at least post a league average BABIP, given his high strikeout rate. With a high fly ball rate, it’ll be tough, but he’s surprisingly posted better than average IFFB% marks, so if he could continue avoiding the pop-up, perhaps he won’t be an absolute batting average killer.

Overall, he’s as far a reach as you would want to make when finding a short-term replacement. Perhaps you luck out with a homer or two.

Oscar Colás | OF CHW

He’s back! After disappointing to open the season, he returned to Triple-A, where he performed as you might expect given his performances at High-A and Double-A in 2022. All his underlying metrics are around the league average, which isn’t very exciting. However, one metric does excite me.

That one metric is his 114 MPH maxEV posted at Triple-A this year. He’s already posted a 113.1 MPH maxEV in the majors. So it’s pretty clear that he has substantial power potential. Now it’s just a matter of converting that potential into reality and improving his barrel rate. You rarely see a maxEV this high, coupled with just a 5.5% Barrel%, but it suggests the potential is there to significantly increase that mark, boosting his HR/FB rate dramatically.

Of course, one major issue right now is his penchant for grounders and dearth of fly balls. He’s not going to be a big home run contributor hitting fly balls at just around a 25% rate. So he’ll need to start lifting the ball more frequently to take advantage of his obvious power. With limited speed and a batting average that is unlikely to be significantly positive, he’ll need to hit home runs to be of any use to fantasy owners.

Zach Remillard | 2B CHW

The 29-year-old has taken Elvis Andrus‘ starting job, seeing the majority of his time at second base, but also starting at third base and the outfield as well. After spending his entire career in the White Sox minor leagues, Remillard finally got his first shot in the Majors, though with just a .323 wOBA at Triple-A, I’m not entirely sure it was deserved based on his performance.

He has posted a double digit HR/FB rate three times in his professional career, though just once since his 2016 debut. He’s also posted just a 107 MPH maxEV at Triple-A this year, and just a 102.3 MPH mark in the Majors over a small sample, with zero barrels. It’s pretty clear that he shouldn’t be counted on for home run contributions!

Thankfully, he does have speed and is not afraid to use it. He had swiped 13 bases at Triple-A this year and has already stolen three with the Sox. He also stole 19 last year, finishing with a fantasy line that included a little of everything.

His current performance is obviously not sustainable given his .444 BABIP, so he probably will slump at some point and lose himself a starting job. The drop in OBP is going to cut into his stolen base opportunities, so I’m not very interested in rostering him. The good news is that the White Sox aren’t contending, so they might as well keep trotting him out there until he hits an extended slump. They certainly won’t be trading for a replacement, so they will ultimately be deciding on whether they prefer Andrus’ slightly better projected rest of season wOBA, or the younger Remillard.