Razzinators! We\u2019re heading into the pre-Memorial Day, post-Cinco de Mayo zone of fun avoidance. Unless you have PTO and a Senior corporate position, in which case you just took the whole month of May off and called it \u201cfocus time.\u201d Much like I spend my \u201cfocus time\u201d watching\u00a0The Pitt\u00a0and trying to imagine being as calm as Noah Wylie on literally any minute of any day. What if\u00a0The Pitt\u00a0made each episode a \u201cOner,\u201d like maybe you\u2019ve seen on\u00a0The Studio? I\u2019m sure by now I\u2019ve lost most the readers to their TVs. Let\u2019s give you a Oner and then call it a Doner. No, not a kebab. Like, Done. On with the text!<\/p>\n
That\u2019s What I Like<\/p>\n
Trey Sweeney<\/a>, DET, SS:\u00a0Hey Siri, what is a Trey Sweeney<\/a>?\u00a0I can\u2019t wait to see what it says. \u201cA Trey Sweeney<\/a> is a prospect for the Dee-Troit Tigers. He is viewed as a deep league option for the most discerning managers. His grandma\u2019s nickname for him was \u201cTriple Sweety.\u201d Would you like to know more?\u201d No, Siri. That\u2019s more than enough about this roster filler. Truth is, since the start of May, Sweeney\u2019s batted .358 with a nearly .550 slugging percent. His Fangraphs prospect blurb says his power won\u2019t play. OK, whatever. Thing is, Sweeney\u2019s swinging the bat like a\u00a0mofo\u00a0(which is an acronym for MOre Friends, Obviously). In the same time that he\u2019s been crushing the ball, he\u2019s taken [checks notes] 1 walk. That\u2019s it. I, too, would be swinging at everything if I had a cup of coffee and a chance to make a team under A.J. Hinch. But swinging at everything won\u2019t make for long-term success. Good thing that Sweeney has a minor league rate of 10%+ walk rates \u2014 maybe we\u2019re just seeing him try something new? Like, he\u2019s good at walking, so maybe he\u2019s being told to practice his swing now? ENYWHEY. He averaged 15\/25 in the minors with good on-base skills and a nose for sniffing out grounders, which will play well in the majors. We can\u2019t expect too much out of his first full season (and pundits who think I\u2019m telling y\u2019all to take a rookie \u2014 he had his cup of coffee last year to the tune of 120 ABs). He\u2019s available in just about every league and would be a great addition to deep leagues.<\/p>\n Jake Meyers<\/a>, HOU, OF:\u00a0Sometimes a player begins the year in a slump and everybody loses faith. It\u2019s not like Meyers was the next coming of Juan Soto<\/a> that was a \u201cmust hold\u201d through the depths of the slump. But as a guy who was probably your bench OF in 2 UTIL leagues, Meyers found himself on the waiver wire pretty quickly as people pivoted to hotter hands. That\u2019s fine! Good work, waiver wire sleuths. But fast forward a couple weeks, and Meyer has the hot hand \u2014 since the start of May, he\u2019s batting .360 with a .560 slugging rate and taking more walks than strikeouts. For you OBP leaguers, he\u2019s got a .440 OBP rate during that time! Sure, that\u2019s not quite sustainable or within his career norms, but as my sous chef says, the hot hand is the hot hand. He\u2019s available in 25% of leagues and would be a great last outfielder or utility pickup to tide you through at least the first half.<\/p>\n Huascar Brazoban<\/a>, NYM, P:\u00a0Roleless Rob alert! I keep saying \u201calert\u201d like y\u2019all aren\u2019t already filled to the gills with backup closers. Brazoban has notched 2 Wins and 5 Holds in his past 17 IP, all while allowing 1 run. That\u2019s it. Imagine you\u2019re choosing a starter and you\u2019re like, \u201cHmm, I could go with Marcus Stroman<\/a> again, or\u2026maybe I just let Huascar Brazoban<\/a> save my team.\u201d Roleless Robs aren\u2019t really supposed to be on your team for the long-run. They\u2019re the kind of players you insert when they\u2019re hot and your other pitchers are not. Remember Hot or Not dot com? Imagine Aaron Nola<\/a>\u2019s picture popping up them.\u00a0Ewww, you say, getting ready to click \u201cNot.\u201d And then suddenly, the site pops up Aaron Nola<\/a> and Huascar Brazoban<\/a>. And now you\u2019re like, \u201cOh, I think I can ride this out until Nola\u2019s BABIP isn\u2019t .350 and his ERA regresses towards his 3.59 xFIP and 3.68 SIERA.\u201d OK, maybe I\u2019m not remembering the purpose of that site very well. ENYWHEY. Brazoban is available everywhere and is cranking the innings \u2014 could be a nice Win magnet for the second half.<\/p>\n I\u2019m the Problem, It\u2019s Me<\/p>\n