Welcome back to another edition of Look Who’s Streaking! In this season-long series, we’ll be taking a look at players who are streaking – both hot and cold. The idea is fairly simple. We’ll highlight players who are streaking in either direction and take a closer look at their performance, with the ultimate goal of aiding lineup and waiver wire decisions.
For this week’s write-up, we’ll take a look at a couple of Reds players who are on fire, as well as other players who can help you out in specific categories. We’ll also examine what to do with one player drafted as a top-100 pick who’s been struggling. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some players who are streaking!
Look Who’s Streaking!
Running Hot
Joey Votto (1B – CIN)
It took a little while, but Joey Votto has finally started to heat up. He’s currently on an eight-game hitting streak with three home runs, eight runs scored, and 12 RBI. He also has a .448 ISO and 1.234 OPS over this period.
Votto started the season ice cold and missed most of May with COVID-19. But since returning on May 20, Votto’s shown signs of life, slashing .308/.416/.708 with a 200 wRC+ across 77 plate appearances. His 14.3% walk rate and 18.2% strikeout rate are in line with his career norms, and he’s mashing the ball. Since his return, he has a 17.6% barrel rate and 56.9% hard-hit rate – rates that are consistent with what he posted last season when he hit 36 home runs. Votto bats cleanup in a hitter-friendly park. If you’re looking for some power and RBI, Votto is your man. Buy Votto’s hot streak before the window of opportunity closes.
Jurickson Profar (OF – SD)
Jurickson Profar found his hitting groove in mid-May, worked his way up to the leadoff spot, and hasn’t looked back. Since June 1, Profar has done nothing but produce. In the last eight games, he slashed .364/.432/.545 with 10 runs scored and nine RBI.
Profar’s plate skills are excellent. On the season, he has a .350 OBP and a 12.8% walk rate and 15.6% strikeout rate. Profar has pop and speed to his game and will contribute across the board. He’s good at not chasing pitches outside of the zone and is making a ton of contact in the zone (89.1% Z-contact%). Profar is leading off, gets on base, and should be a steady source of runs scored. He’ll also throw in some steals. This is a hot streak to take advantage of.
Brandon Drury (3B – CIN)
Few players have been hotter in June than Brandon Drury. Since the beginning of the month, he has a .452/.469/.742 slash line with three home runs, 12 runs scored, four RBI and one stolen base in eight games.
Overall, Drury has been having himself a fine season. His .271/.330/.514 slash line and .365 wOBA across 194 plate appearances are consistent with his expected stats. He’s also hitting the ball hard, with a 12.5% barrel rate and 48.5% hard-hit rate. Drury is making a ton of contact – 91.9% in the zone and 84.1% overall. He also has some power to his game, with most projections pegging him for about 20 home runs. Add to that the fact he’s hitting second in the lineup, making him a nice source of runs scored.
Andres Gimenez (SS – CLE)
Andres Gimenez has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games started, including three home runs, eight runs scored, 11 RBI, and one stolen base. On the season, Gimenez is hitting .309/.338/.537 across 145 plate appearances; and while luck has gone his way (.364 BABIP), Gimenez’s .297 xBA and .540 xSLG indicate his hitting is where it should be moving forward.
Gimenez doesn’t walk (3.2% BB%) and his plate discipline metrics are average at best. But he’s barreling the ball at a career-high 9.6% and is hitting a ton of line drives – his 25% LD% is 6 points higher than his career mark. The downside to Gimenez is that he’s currently on the strong side of a platoon and is batting at the bottom-third of the order. However, with the way he’s been hitting that could change sooner rather than later, which would be a boost for his runs scored and speed totals.
Running Cold
Christian Yelich (OF – MIL)
To date, Chrisitan Yelich hasn’t produced the bounce-back numbers that some fantasy managers were hoping for this season. He’s currently slashing .230/.321/.364 over 240 plate appearances, and while Yelich has eight stolen bases, he only has five home runs. His cold June hasn’t helped matters, with Yelich going 5-for-29 with three runs scored, and zero RBI while posting a 56 wRC+.
Yelich has had some bad luck this season (.295 BABIP vs career .349 BABIP), and his .270 xBA and .471 xSLG indicate brighter days are likely ahead. Looking under the hood, there’s even more reasons to be optimistic about Yelich moving forward. He’s hitting the ball hard — his 113.7 maxEV is ranked in the 93rd percentile, and he has an 11.3% barrel rate and 50.3% hard-hit rate. Additionally, Yelich isn’t chasing pitches outside of the zone (23.3% O-Swing%) and is making plus-contact inside the zone. Yelich’s power and contact rates should lead to more home runs down the road, with a 20/20 season in the cards. Buy Yelich before he starts to heat up!
Justin Turner (3B – LAD)
Justin Turner has had a rough start to the season, but his current 1-for-21 slump over the past five games is a new low. Overall, Turner is not putting up the Turner-like numbers that we’re used to seeing. On the season, he’s slashing .215/.288/.359 across 219 plate appearances with an 85 wRC+.
Turner’s been a little unlucky this season (.245 BABIP) and his .258 xBA and .456 xSLG indicate he should be able to turn things around. However, don’t expect a full turnaround for the veteran slugger. Turner’s 37.7% hard-hit rate is the first sub-40% rate he’s posted since 2018. Also, he’s chasing pitches outside the zone at a 31% clip (career 26.5%), is making less contact across the board, and has a career-worst 9.1% SwStr%. Despite batting in the middle of a productive lineup, Turner is a better play in 15-team leagues and deeper.
Adley Rutschman (C – BAL)
Adley Rutschman has struggled since his call-up at the end of May. In 62 plate appearances, he has an ugly .143/.226/.196 slash line with five runs scored, zero RBI, and a 24 wRC+. Throughout the minors, Baltimore’s top catching prospect posted double-digit walk rates and sub-20% strikeout rates. Additionally, he hit a combined 23 home runs and slashed .285/.397/.502 across Double- and Triple-A in 2021.
Rutschman’s plate skills have yet to carry over to the big leagues (6.5% BB% and 24.2% K%). However, he hasn’t been chasing pitches outside the zone and is making contact inside the zone 87.5% of the time. The sample size is small, and Rutschman certainly has the pedigree to turn things around. But until he shows some signs of life, he’s better left on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues and shallower.