When it comes to fantasy baseball analysis, sometimes it's an easy task. This Mike Trout guy is good. Yes, I know, file this under the "no duh" category.
Still, a look at the numbers this future first-ballot Hall of Famer has put up since the start of June yields eye-popping results -- even for Trout. We're talking a .448 BA, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 1.17 BB/K, a 31.3 percent HR/FB rate and a ridiculous 51.1 percent hard-hit rate. If you didn't get the chance to draft Trout in your fantasy league and you've had to square off against him in the past few weeks, you've had a lot to overcome. And yet ...
In points, despite the amazing performance, Trout is not the No. 1 scorer over the past 15 days. He's only No. 12 on the list. A quick side-by-side comparison between Trout and the three players immediately ahead of him over this sample size yields the following:
Obviously, from a long-term perspective, nobody is saying that any of these guys is going to be able to keep up their performance pace -- not even the "Man from Millville," though obviously we're probably unanimous that he's got the best chance. Still, using Trout as a measuring stick of sorts perhaps can become a useful tool in deciding which waiver-wire players might be worth a look. After all, if you're performing in Mr. Trout's neighborhood, even for a short period of time, that's not a bad thing.
To that end, if we were to boil things down to a small list of players who, like Mike, have had at least 30 total bases, 10 RBI and 10 walks this month, we get a select club of just eight names. Four of these players are pretty much universally on a roster: Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve, Joey Votto and Nelson Cruz. However, if any of the remaining names are still on your league's waiver wire, it probably behooves you to take a closer look headed into the weekend.
Ian Desmond, Colorado Rockies (75.5 percent rostered): He'll have three games at Coors against the Marlins starting Friday, where he's posted a .417 OBP over his last two series.
Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers (65.2 percent): Up next is a trip to New York against the struggling Mets staff, including a chance to take swings against Jason Vargas on Sunday.
Brian Anderson, Miami Marlins (63.5 percent): He's failed to reach base in just two games since May 18, and as we've already mentioned, his next series is in Colorado.
Leonys Martin, Detroit Tigers (37.4 percent): Only five teams have a lower caught-stealing percentage than the Indians, which bodes well for Martin, who can turn singles into "doubles" with his speed on the bases this weekend.