Injuries always come at the most inopportune time, largely because the injury bug is hungry and could care less about your fantasy team.
The bug already has bitten several solid players this month, claiming the seasons of Christian Yelich (back surgery) and Luis Rengifo (wrist).
It stung Mike Trout in May, and all hope of him coming back officially ended last week.
Byron Buxton shockingly (hello, sarcasm) landed on the 10-day IL this week, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. — who hit .316 with seven homers, five stolen bases and a 1.062 OPS in his first 14 games with the Yankees — has a UCL injury in his non-throwing arm (though it appears he will avoid surgery … for now).
Whether the ailments are for the short- or long-term, fantasy managers need productive players, especially at this time of year, to fill the void.
That is where Arizona’s Jake McCarthy comes in.
The first time Roto Rage wrote about McCarthy being a difference-maker was Sept. 3, 2022.
At the time, he was a rookie and rostered in 15 percent of ESPN leagues despite hitting .315 with three homers, 22 RBIs, 21 runs, 10 stolen bases and a .849 OPS in his first 37 games after the All-Star break.
(FYI: He finished the season hitting .300 with five homers, 34 RBIs, 35 runs, 21 stolen bases and a .786 OPS in the second half — production that should’ve been hard to ignore for those chasing fantasy glory.)
Fast forward to this week, when McCarthy was the most added player in ESPN leagues but remained almost 75 percent available despite hitting .403 with three homers, 19 RBIs, 12 runs, four stolen bases and a 1.088 OPS in his first 21 games since the All-Star break.
(He was hitting .467 with three homers, 15 RBIs, five runs, a stolen base and a 1.367 OPS over his previous seven games, and entered Friday on a five-game hit streak.)
Entering Friday, McCarthy had the fourth-best batting average in the majors in the second half.
He also had the eighth-best on-base percentage (.439), ninth-best OPS, 17th-best WAR (1.4), 18th-most RBIs and 32nd-lowest strikeout rate (14.5).
Is McCarthy going to hit .403 for the rest of the season? Of course not (and you don’t need to know his BABIP or xBA to figure that out).
But McCarthy has been putting up solid numbers for quite some time now.
In 55 games from June 1 through Wednesday, McCarthy hit .337 with four homers, 27 RBIs, 30 runs, 12 stolen bases, a .407 OBP and a .913 OPS. He has raised his average from .274 on May 19 to .311 entering Friday after hitting .330 with five homers, 14 stolen bases and a .894 OPS in 63 games.
Not only has McCarthy already played in a career-high 103 games, the lefty-swinging outfielder is no longer in a platoon situation.
He also doesn’t get benched when Arizona faces lefties, as he has historically been stellar against southpaws — and he is hitting .379 with nine RBIs, 11 runs, seven stolen bases and a .926 OPS in 95 plate appearances versus lefties.
(He has done just fine against righties, too, hitting .282 with six homers, 31 RBIs, 35 runs, 10 stolen bass and a .804 OPS in 235 plate appearances.)
Even better is the fact he has recently been hitting in the No. 2 hole for a team that entered Friday’s action as hot as McCarthy’s bat, winning 20 of its first 25 games since the break (including 14 of its previous 16).
McCarthy’s exit velocities are not going to break records, and he won’t remain this hot, but he brings elite speed with a bat that will consistently produce. He is a second-half gem who should not be ignored.
A look at some other possible outfielders to target:
Over his first 34 games this season, the Giants’ Tyler Fitzgerald hit a respectable .276 with one homer, six RBIs, 12 runs, seven stolen bases and a .724 OPS.
In 27 games since July 7, the 26-year-old had at least one hit in 23 of those games while batting .346 with 13 homers, 21 RBIs, 25 runs, seven stolen bases and a 1.193 OPS.
There will be regression, as evidenced by his .369 BABIP since July 9 and .267 xBA, but this guy should be rostered in more than 52.5 percent of ESPN leagues for as long as his bat is doing this kind of damage.
In 16 games before landing on the injured list with a back injury in May, Kerry Carpenter went 16-for-48 (.333) with five homers, 14 RBIs, 12 runs and a 1.211 OPS.
He returned from the IL on Tuesday and promptly made some noise, homering three times and driving in five runs in his first two games back.
After hitting .278 with 20 homers, 64 RBIs and a .811 OPS in 118 games last season, Carpenter (13.7 percent rostered) was drafted as a top-50 outfielder.
He might get the occasional day off as he eases back into the swing of things, but there is no reason he shouldn’t be treated like the player he was drafted to be.
Other outfielders worth considering include Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio (44 percent), the Nationals’ James Wood (27.8 percent), Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl (31.2 percent) or Colorado’s Brenton Doyle (55.4 percent) — who was hitting .364 with a homer, two stolen bases and .955 OPS over his past six games and will play 20 games down the stretch at Coors Field, where he is hitting .332 with 10 homers, 12 stolen bases and a .958 OPS.
Big hits
Zach Eflin SP, Orioles
He is 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA, 25-2 strikeout-walk rate, 1.026 WHIP and .240 opponents’ average in his first four starts for Baltimore.
Zach Neto SS, Angels
Not only did he hit .348 with four homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.162 in his first 12 game this month, but he has hit .291 with 11 homers, 43 RBIs, 34 runs, 14 stolen bases and a .870 OPS in 61 games since June 2.
Martin Perez SP, Padres
Struck out 10.3 per nine and owned a 1.96 ERA, .164 opponents’ average and 15 percent swinging-strike rate in his first three starts for San Diego.
Andrew Benintendi OF, White Sox
Hit .296 with five homers, 10 RBIs, eight runs and a 1.053 OPS over his first 11 games this month.
Big whiffs
Taj Bradley SP, Rays
Before taking the mound Sunday, he had allowed 15 earned runs over his previous 14 innings (9.64 ERA) while allowing opponents to hit .339 against him. He allowed four homers and a 1.029 OPS, too.
Lawrence Butler OF, Athletics
Hit .363 with 10 homers, 27 RBIs and a 1.210 OPS in July, but hit .167 with one homer, 13 strikeouts and a .520 OPS in his first 12 games this month.
Logan O’Hoppe C, Angels
The West Islip native entered Friday with two hits (both singles) in his previous 38 at-bats (.053) while striking out 17 times. He had a .215 OPS.
Christopher Morel 3B/OF, Rays
After going deep in his first two games for Tampa Bay, he hit .075 with no homers, RBIs or runs, 13 strikeouts and a .288 OPS in his next 11 games.
Check swings
– Vladimir Guerrero Jr. raised his average from .278 on June 19 to .323 entering Friday after going 71-for-181 (.392) with 18 homers, 50 RBIs, 41 runs and a 1.250 in 84 games. In that 46-game stretch, he led the league in homers, RBIs and slugging percentage, ranked second in average and OPS, and had the eighth-lowest strikeout rate. He has hit .406 with 21 homers and a 1.076 OPS since May 23.
– JP Sears (24.9 percent rostered) will take the mound Sunday having won six of his previous seven starts while owning a 2.91 ERA, 39-8 strikeout-walk rate, .212 opponents’ average and a 12 percent swinging-strike rate.
– In 55 games from May 27-July 28, Lane Thomas hit .282 with six homers, 30 RBIs, 36 runs, 17 stolen bases and a .833 OPS for the Nationals. In his first 14 games since being dealt to the Guardians, he was 5-for-48 (.104) with no homers or RBIs, 21 strikeouts and a .350 OPS.
Betting on Baseball?
– White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. entered the weekend having not homered since July 24, and based on his lousy team, you’d be safe to assume nothing else positive has happened since. Over the next 16 games, he went 8-for-65 (.123) with 30 strikeouts and a .303 OPS. He struck out 43 times in his first 22 games since the All-Star break while hitting .135.
– In his first seven appearances for the Royals, Lucas Erceg has two saves (in two chances), five holds and a .115 opponents’ average. He had not allowed a run, struck out 9.4 per nine innings and owned a 15 percent swinging-strike rate in that span.
– Former Tiger Matthew Boyd (3.2 percent rostered), who struck out 9.5 per nine innings in 115 appearances from 2018-23, made his season debut for the Guardians on Tuesday and struck out six (31.6 percent) while walking none and limiting the Cubs to one run over 5 ¹/₃ innings. Though he has disappointed in the past, Roto Rage is intrigued and will be keeping an eye on the veteran left-hander.
– David Peterson has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his past 10 starts, going 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA, .226 opponents’ average and 50 strikeouts. Major downfall: The 29 free passes he issued in that span.
Team name of the week
House in the Hampsons