Fantasy Notes: Reyes Stakes his Claim
- It’s okay to be afraid. When I look at what Jose Reyes is accomplishing this year, I get a little fearful too. Trying to project how good this kid will be — he doesn’t turn 24 until next month — is mind boggling. Reyes just bagged the first Player of the Month Award of his young career, but the way he’s going, that piece of hardware is going to be small potatoes soon. In April, he hit .356 and scored 26 runs — in 24 games. He currently leads the majors in steals and triples (he’s on pace for 106 and 31, respectively) and ranks third in the NL in hits, fifth in total bases and eighth in on-base percentage (remember when that was considered his weakness?). Last month, he enjoyed 10 multi-hit games and nine multi-run games. He’s leading the league in runs and is currently on pace for 174 for the year. Reyes’ current line is .345/.431/.575; I guess that will do. An even scarier thought: this kid has traditionally been better in the second half. Looking for the early NL MVP fave? You’ve found him.
- Among the players who look like they will give Reyes a run for his money in the NL MVP race this year are three power sources, one of whom is no surprise, one of whom is enjoying a renaissance, and one of whom is breaking out. The three I speak of are Miguel Cabrera, Barry Bonds and Jimmy Rollins. That Cabrera is on a tear is no shock, and even an oblique strain hasn’t been able to slow him down. He’s driven in 20 runs in 25 games and is batting .359/.434/.641. The dude is on pace for 45 homers, which would shatter his personal best. Bonds, of couse, is no stranger to going yard, but honestly, who could have predicted this kind of start? This ageless wonder is shutting up his detractors with an OBP of .511 and a slugging percentage of .791. At his current pace, which has him headed towards 60 homers and 140 RBI, Bonds will be forcing baseball to make a decision very soon about what if anything it wants to do when he passes Hank Aaron’s home run mark. Bonds is just a dozen from tying it and it doesn’t appear as if he’s going to crawl across the finish line here. As for Rollins, if last year was a surge forward (25 homers, besting his previous best of 14, accomplished twice), then what the hell do you call this season? He’s already gone yard nine times, and is on pace to mash 54 dingers and drive in 114 runs while stealing 36 bases. Are you kidding me? I guess we should have been tipped off when he went yard during our Opening Day coverage. Rollins’ OPS is currently 979. Obviously, of the players mentioned here, he seems the least likely to maintain this pace, yet it’s looking very realistic that Rollins will hit 35 homers, a total that, when combined with his steals and strong BA, makes him an absolute fantasy monster. Kudos to those of you that grabbed him with a third-round pick or later.
By RotoRob
Tags: Jose Reyes
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 3:57 pm and is filed under BASEBALL, Fantasy Notes, RotoRob.
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