Week 4 of the MLB season is in the books, and we have more offensive standouts to discuss. In addition, the article highlights some players that may not be on everyone’s radar unless you are playing in deeper leagues. So dig in and decide if the production is just a hot streak or something to invest in moving forward. First, let’s look at five hitters that had an impressive week and what we should do from a fantasy perspective.
Week 4 Fantasy Baseball Standouts
Ha-Seong Kim (2B/SS/3B – SD)
Kim was in a bit of a platoon to start the season, but with the struggles of CJ Abrams, Kim has found his way into everyday playing time at shortstop. Over the past week, with regular at-bats, Kim hit safely in four of five games for a .368 batting average. In addition, he hit two home runs to go with a 35.7% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate. Those are some insanely good-quality contact numbers.
After the hot week, Kim is now hitting .250 with three home runs while only striking out 20% of the time. He is still barreling the ball 15% of the time but only has a 30% hard-hit rate. However, there is more to like with Kim as he brings an 82.7% contact rate and a measly 6.7% SwStr. Therefore, Kim should continue to play every day while getting a bit of power and speed to your lineup. Well, he should play every day until Fernando Tatis Jr. returns.
Max Kepler (OF – MIN)
We have seen some power surges from Kepler in his career, but he was on another level this past week. Kepler hit .350 this past week with four home runs while only striking out 13.6% of the time. Kepler was mashing, and his 35.3% barrel rate and 52.9% hard-hit rate back the power numbers up.
Kepler is now hitting .247 with five home runs and only striking out 16.1% of the season. Kepler has never been a high batting average player, but his .247 ISO and .861 OPS are outstanding. In addition, he is walking 13.6% of the time, which is better than his norm of 11%. Kepler can bring massive power to your team going forward if you can handle a lower batting average.
Andres Gimenez (2B/SS – CLE)
Most fantasy players wanted Gimenez to break out last season, but it appears we were one season too soon. This past week, Gimenez hit safely in his final four games of the week with three extra-base hits and a 13% strikeout rate.
On the season, Gimenez is now hitting .346 with six extra-base hits and a stolen base. In addition, he has an impressive .231 ISO, .929 OPS, and 171 wRC+. He has been incredible, but some regression may be in order as he has a .410 BABIP to go with a 40% O-swing and 13.9% SwStr. There are still some significant holes in his game, but you can ride the hot streak out while it lasts. Just be prepared for some regression to hit and hit hard.
Brandon Drury (1B/3B – CIN)
Drury has been taking advantage of extra playing time, and that was on full display last week as he hit safely in four of five games for a .333 batting average. He had four extra-base hits, including two home runs, and only a .308 BABIP. Drury was barreling the ball 13.3% of the time with an insane 80% hard-hit rate.
Expecting Drury to continue this torrid pace may be asking too much, but for now, Drury’s playing time is there. He has been playing 2B and 3B, more 2B with Jonathan India on the IL with a hamstring injury. He will play his home games in Great American Small Park, so enjoy the hot streak from Drury until India returns.
Josh Bell (1B – WAS)
Bell is more widely rostered than the other players discussed, but I had to bring up his crazy week and start the season. Bell hit .364 this week with three doubles and a remarkable 18.5% walk rate. He did this with ZERO barrels and a 33.3% hard-hit rate which is less than ideal, but I am still in when looking at his entire season.
Bell hit his third home run on Tuesday night and is now hitting over .350. He still is only barreling the ball 3% of the time, but a lot of that is due to a 55% ground ball rate. Ground balls have always been a problem for Bell, but the power has also been there, and the batting average is following. He may not keep the elite batting average, but power and run production should be plentiful, along with a great walk rate. I would roll with Bell wherever I could going forward.