I always look to evolve as a fantasy baseball player. I research to find out why I want to target players or avoid at all costs. September stats is one way I look to find breakout players for the upcoming season. Here’s a list of players I will target late in drafts based off a hot September.
Royals SS Adalberto Mondesi
8 HR 14 SB in September 14 HR 32 SB in 291 Plate Appearances on the season. Minor league track record suggests OBP will be a struggle, but Mondesi is worth gambling on for the right price for his age 23 campaign.
Rays OF Tommy Pham
26 runs scored .368/.475/.705 slash rate in September. Scored 102 runs on the season. 2 month slump in May .195 avg. and June .198 curtailed what was a solid season for Pham.
Rays 2B Joey Wendle
14 2B .319/.389/.489 slash rate in September. 16 SB on the season. In 2018 played enough games to qualify as a 2B,SS, 3B, OF. Will be my swiss army knife utility player in daily categories leagues.
Rockies OF David Dahl
27 RBI in September. Career Minor League slash rate of .306/.351/.508. Finally gets a starting job to himself.
Twins SS Jorge Polanco
35 Hits in September. .310/.361/.460 slash rate in September. In 8 minor league seasons Polanco had a .287/.348/.413 slash rate. Entering age 25 campaign Polanco is worthy pickup as a backup middle infielder.
Reds RF Yasiel Puig
HIt .298 vs. RHP last season. Struggled to the tune of a .209 avg. vs. LHP. 1.053 OPS in September last season. Puig with consistent playing time in Cincinnati is a worthy selection as backup outfielder.
Mets SP Steven Matz
0-0 2.51 ERA 1.021 WHIP and 10.9 SO/9 in 6 starts. Went 5 or more innings in 5 of those 6 starts. Mets ended up winning 4 of those games. Always elbow and shoulder concerns, but could be worth taking a flier on late in drafts.
Reds SP Luis Castillo
One of my favorite sleepers from last season flamed out. September saw Castillo fix his mechanics to the tune of a 3-1 1.09 ERA 0.848 WHIP and 9.3 SO/9. I may have been a year early on Castillo, but September gives me hope. The 4.30 ERA for the season may scare off fantasy players, meaning I can draft Castillo later than in 2018.
Pirates SP Jameson Taillon
14-10 last season in 193.1 IP. Taillon went 3-1 in 5 September stats with a .197 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and .235 opponents batting average. Had a 60 Inning jump from 2017 to 2018.
Marlins SP Jose Urena
9-12 record and some beanball nonsense overshadowed a stellar final month of the season. Urena went 5-0 with a 1.20 ERA 0.93 WHIP and a .183 opponents batting avg. in September. The SO/9 went up from 2017 to 2018 6.0 to 6.7. I was surprised to see Urena had a 1.18 WHIP on the campaign. Urena won 14 games in 2017 and could have won more than 9 with better run support. May take a late flier on Urena in drafts to fill out my rotation in 2019.
White Sox SP Reynaldo Lopez
2-1 1.09 ERA 0.848 WHIP SO/9 9.5 in 5 September starts. Lopez is one of my favorite young pitchers entering the 2019 campaign.
Orioles RP Mychal Givens
4 Saves 12 September appearances. Opponents batting avg. of .044 along with 0.34 WHIP. SO/9 down to 6.1 in September from 10.6 in August. Owns a career 10.4 SO/9 in 4 seasons. Givens is a reliever I plan to target to fill out my bullpen later in drafts. Orioles could be one of the worst clubs in all of baseball, which should lead to a lot of close games.
Angels RP Ty Buttrey
Acquired from Red Sox in deadline deal for Ian Kinsler. 4 Saves in September. Had a 11.0 SO/9 in 16 appearances on the season. Gave up earned runs in 3 of his 16 appearances. Butrrey is worth tracking in Spring Training to see if he can leave camp as the Angels closer.