New Everyday Players — Sep 14, 2023

With only two and a half weeks to go in the season, are you competing for a Yoo-hoo shower?! Perhaps this pair could be just the jolt you need to win climb to the top, or remain there if you’ve already made it.

Jordyn Adams | LAA OF

Surprise, surprise, the Angels are banged up! It wasn’t enough for half their starting lineup to be on the IL, but now a portion of their current starting lineup has been hurt. So, Adams has now started five of six games since his recall last Friday. The one-time top prospect who was drafted 17th overall back in 2018, he ranked just 24th on the team this year. And yet, his fall in prospectdom didn’t prevent him from making the leap to the Majors. With 50/50 Raw Power and 70/70 Speed grades, fantasy owners should be very interested in his potential contributions. Oh, and his 50/60 Field grades should help keep him in the lineup.

Adams clearly hasn’t developed as hoped. Making his professional debut back in 2018 at the age of 18, his peak wOBA through 2022 sat at just .337. That’s not very top prospect-esque. Similarly, his highest HR/FB rate was just 13.5% and ISO .110, so that raw power has failed to translate so far. But perhaps something has clicked, as his HR/FB rate surged to 16.5% during his first taste of Triple-A action this year, while his ISO rocketed to .202. A 106.3 MPH maxEV suggests there still isn’t a whole lot of power in his bat, but it’s sure nice to see results matching his scouting grades, even if they might not be sustainable.

The speed, though, has been there. He swiped 42 bases this year after 33 last season, and he has been pretty darn good at it, getting caught just eight times over the last two years. So for fantasy owners, consider any home runs just a bonus and pick him up if you need steals.

Strikeouts have been a problem, which is odd given his lack of power. His BABIP has been strong most of the time to help offset all the strikeouts, but even with a .350+ mark on three separate occasions, he still hadn’t batted above .250 until this year, and he hit just .270 this season. So he’s highly unlikely to help in batting average, but over a small sample like the rest of the season, that doesn’t really matter. He does walk, though pitchers might not be afraid to challenge him given his lack of power and high SwStk%, so that could come down.

This is clearly a flawed overall skill set, but one that you might imagine suddenly coming together for a nice power/speed mix some years in the future. Might as well take a stab in a deep league now if you need steals, banking on continued playing time as the Angels continue to deal with injuries.

Josh Donaldson | MIL 3B

Man, for someone who owns a career .365 wOBA with above average defense at third base, Donaldson has really become a journeyman. Throughout his 13 year career, he has donned the uniform of seven teams! In late August, the Yankees released him, and just two days later, the Brewers signed him. A week and a half later, he was recalled from Triple-A and he has started all three games since, rotating between third base and DH.

Christian Yelich being out of the lineup due to injury has clearly opened up that extra spot for him, so we’ll see what happens when Yelich returns to the lineup. But with the Brewers leading their division by a small margin, they are going to want to ensure their best lineup is posted. That might mean that Donaldson replaces Andruw Monasterio, as the former is projected for much better offense the rest of the way.

Donaldson hasn’t played much this year, but he wasn’t any good last year in a full season. He posted the lowest HR/FB rate since a half season in 2012 and the lowest ISO of his career. But this year, his power has returned, albeit in a small sample size. His maxEV has already eclipsed last year’s, and his Barrel% has doubled to what would be a career high.

His BABIP has killed him, as it sits at an impossibly low .100, so he seems to be stinking again like last year. But even with that .100 BABIP, which obviously won’t last, his wOBA is identical to last year, suggesting he could deliver some offensive value the rest of the way.

If you’re in an OBP league, he’s an obvious pickup as his always strong walk rate gives him a big boost in such formats. If not, then deep leaguers might consider him if you need home runs and/or RBI, as he has been hitting in the middle of the Brewers order.