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Jarod's fantasy baseball watch list - hitters, pitchers, and relievers he's keeping an eye on for July 1-July 7 (2024). Hot bats, good matchups, pitchers on a roll, and more.
As there are every week, there were lots of players to choose from, but I've narrowed it down... somewhat. I've got three batters, four pitchers, and a reliever with some interesting storylines this week that have caught my attention.
Before we move on, let's glance back. For those keeping track of some of last week's topics, Bryan Reynolds stayed hot all week until Sunday, Jarred Kelenic too, and Josh Smith finally didn't hit a home run. Hunter Brown kept dealing and Yu Darvish suffered a setback.
Looking ahead to this week's action, we'll touch on some intriguing hitters below, both for DFS and season-long leagues. There isn't a big-name hitter or pitcher on this list below for a change, just some ball players grinding away and having breakout campaigns which can be refreshing. I've got my eye on these guys, and perhaps you should too.
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Players to Watch: Hitters
What I'm watching: Hit streak
After an 0-for-4 at the plate on Sunday from Bryan Reynolds, the league's longest hit streak now belongs to Connor Wong. Wong had a day off Sunday, so his 15-game hit streak is still intact. Over that stretch, the 28-year-old is 19-for-56 (.339) with a double, a triple, two home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, and a stolen base. It has been quite the year for the former third-round draft pick. In 2023, Wong got plenty of experience, having played in 126 games and recording 403 plate appearances, but posting just a .235-9-36-55-8 line.
CONNOR WONG WITH HIS SECOND DONG OF THE SERIES!
13-game hitting streak.
Casually batting .335 with an .882 OPS almost halfway through 2024.
pic.twitter.com/caBgbEATft— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) June 23, 2024
Wong is poised to eclipse all of those totals this season, currently with a .327-7-30-26-3 line. I mentioned him as a regression candidate earlier this year because of the large difference between his actual BA and xBA, but he's kept on hitting. The discrepancy is still there, .327 BA vs. .260 xBA, and the sky-high .384 BABIP indicates that maybe he's been a bit lucky. He's lowered his K% from 33.3% in 2023 to just 19.0% in 2024 and his chase rate has gone from 39.2% to 31.9%, so there are reasons to believe he won't regress much and can have a productive second half.
What I'm watching: Will he keep raking against LHP?
Heliot Ramos is in the midst of a breakout season after floundering in his first two chances in the big leagues. A key to his success has been his performance against left-handed pitching, and for June the 24-year-old has the highest AVG (.448), OBP (.553), SLG (.966), ISO (.517), wOBA (.601), and wRC+ (303) of any player with at least 30 PA against LHP. He'll face Chris Sale on Wednesday and Logan Allen on Saturday.
Heliot Ramos is that dude! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/M1IkEzb5V4
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) June 8, 2024
What I'm watching: Consecutive games with a double
Not only does Jonathan India have a 12-game hit streak going, he's got an eight-game double streak going. Yes, you read that right -- he has at least one double in eight consecutive games, with 11 in total over the last eight games. The record is nine consecutive games, set by Bo Bichette in 2019. India will get a shot to tie it when the Reds face the Yankees in New York. Luis Gil will take the mound for the Yankees, and although Gil has been great this season, he's been roughed up in his last two starts.
Jonathan India has doubled in a record EIGHT straight games and has extended his hitting streak to 12 games!
He has 11 doubles in his last eight games.
🔥🔥🔥🔥@JonathanIndia | @Reds pic.twitter.com/yZfUdK4fbu
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) June 30, 2024
Key Matchups: Hitters
These hitters caught my eye when looking over batter vs. pitcher matchups, and I kept rolling with the table format below as it seemed easier on the eyes. Most of these guys are already rostered in a majority of leagues, so you aren't running out to snag them off the waiver wire, but they could be targets for your DFS lineups. While sometimes there isn't enough matchup history worth looking at, there is frequency with these, and with frequency comes familiarity. These pitchers likely don't have any more tricks up their sleeves versus these batters.
Players to Watch: Starting Pitchers
What I'm watching: Will he get a fourth consecutive quality start?
As a Bailey Ober manager, I'll admit I was close to cutting Ober loose a couple of weeks ago. Consistency and damage control were what I signed up for, but not what I was getting over his first 13 starts. Then he drew the A's in his 14th start, so he earned one more week to win back my trust and did not disappoint. The next start was the A's again, and this time he threw an all-too-rare complete game. Then he drew the Mariners, the team that strikes out the most in all of baseball, again posting a quality start.
Gatorade bath time for Bailey Ober after his first professional complete game!! #MNTwins | @Audra_Martin pic.twitter.com/TiHfS6biln
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 22, 2024
Next up: the Detroit Tigers, who are in the bottom third in runs scored and have the fourth-lowest team batting average. Ober has faced the Tigers twice already this season, once on the road and once at home. The combined statline was one earned run on five hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts in 12 IP. So, Ober has earned another start, let's see if he can make it four straight quality starts.
What I'm watching: Will July be as good as June?
Coming off a rookie season in which he went 3-7 with a 4.61 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and a 7.36 K/9, expectations were not high for Jake Irvin. However, the 27-year-old is outperforming so far this season, and really put it all together in June, finishing 4-1 during the month (six starts) with a 2.31 ERA. On the season, the righty has a strong 1.06 WHIP and has upped his K/9 a bit, up to 7.90 in 2024. He'll get a chance to keep it going next Thursday at home against the Mets.
What I'm watching: Is any pitcher hotter right now?
Hunter Brown had a rough start to the season, but he's now thrown seven straight quality starts, and over his last four outings he's been downright dominant: 4 GS (25 IP), 4-0, 0.36 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and a 22.7% K-BB%. The 25-year-old should get two starts this week, Monday against Toronto on the road and then Saturday against the Twins on the road.
Pumping Diesel tonight. #Relentless pic.twitter.com/Iq9UjamX9w
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2024
What I'm watching: Will he end the week with the most quality starts?
Who had Seth Lugo as the league leader in quality starts going into the All-Star break on their bingo card? Well, technically he's tied for the league lead of 14 quality starts with the Mariners' Logan Gilbert. However, Gilbert draws the vaunted Orioles offense in his next start while Lugo gets the Rockies. There's a good chance the 34-year-old is the league leader in quality starts by the end of the week.
Seth Lugo is the first pitcher to 11 wins and lowers his ERA to a league-leading 2.17 👏 pic.twitter.com/f7Zrh24ne9
— MLB (@MLB) June 30, 2024
Players to Watch: Relief Pitchers
What I'm watching: Just another dominating reliever
What has been helpful for me lately, and as far as I can tell others too, is to look around the league at some relievers that can improve fantasy categories like ERA, WHIP, and K, even though there's a good chance they won't necessarily snag a win or a save for fantasy managers. Last week I mentioned Sam Moll of the Reds in this spot, and I also noticed he was getting picked up a lot in the Transaction Trends section of Yahoo, so other managers must have seen the value in rostering such a player too.
Bryan Hudson, Nasty Sweepers...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/w7cWU4XBMR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 27, 2024
This week I'm highlighting Bryan Hudson of the Brewers. He's made 29 appearances, throwing 44 innings and posting a 0.82 ERA with a 0.61 WHIP. The K-BB% is 27.0% and K/9 is 10.43. In eight appearances in June, the southpaw faced a total of 40 batters, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 14 in 12 IP. The four wins he's collected on the season are just icing on the cake. For those in leagues where holds are rewarded, he's recorded 11 of them in 2024. Add the lefty to your RP spot and let him improve your categories.
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