The Miami Marlins might not be bound for this season’s NL playoffs, but things are surely improving. RHP Eury Perez was featured in last week’s article as a budding ace, and this week we focus on the team’s somewhat resurgent offense, led by OF Kyle Stowers, SS/2B Xavier Edwards and 2B/SS Otto Lopez. The Marlins have scored 122 runs over the past 30 days, tied with the Chicago Cubs for the ninth-highest output in baseball.
Stowers is the most-added player in ESPN standard leagues, though still available in 58%. He ended the season’s ceremonial first half with a three-homer performance against the Baltimore Orioles (his former franchise), knocking in six runs. Stowers earned more notice for participating in the All-Star Game and the “extra-inning home run derby.” On Friday, when regular season play resumed, Stowers cranked two more homers, including a walk-off shot to beat the Kansas City Royals. He hit five home runs and drove in 11 runs over two games!
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Acquired from the Orioles along with 3B/2B Connor Norby (now on the IL) for LHP Trevor Rogers (also looking like a wise free agent pickup these days), Stowers hit just .186 for last season’s Marlins, with two home runs in 50 games and 172 PA. He struggled with plate discipline and did not hit left-handed pitching. Teams tend to want their sluggers directing many more fly balls. This year has been different. Stowers began the season hitting .323 with four home runs and 19 RBI in March/April, though he remained faded in ESPN leagues. He is currently hitting .380/.448/.880 in July over 58 PA, drawing walks and hitting for power to all fields. He should be faded no more.
While Stowers trails only Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP Shohei Ohtani and Toronto Blue Jays OF George Springer for ESPN standard fantasy points over the past 30 days (that’s right, he has more than New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge in that span!), Lopez and Edwards are not far behind, though for far different reasons.
Lopez, perhaps seen as an awkward fit as the team’s No. 3 hitter due to a lack of power, has seven home runs and a stunning 34 RBI since the start of June — the latter figure tied for seventh in baseball over that span. Lopez has reached double digits in home runs and stolen bases for the season, and his low K rate should appeal to points-league managers, too.
Edwards, the team’s leadoff hitter, is batting .319 since the start of June, sixth best in baseball during that time, with 26 runs and five steals. As with Lopez, Edwards is a contact hitter, and these fellows each are in the top 25 this season in terms of the lowest strikeout rate.
Stowers handles the power game for the Marlins, whose most-rostered hitter in ESPN standard leagues is C/1B/DH Agustin Ramirez, at 51.3%. In general, Marlins hitters deserve more notice. Perhaps the times, they are a-changin’.
The rest of the players to grab
Here are a few more players that have not been featured in this space of late, all of whom are deserving of more attention in fantasy leagues. (Although, let this be yet another reminder to also go get Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz and Boston Red Sox OF/SS Ceddanne Rafaela already!)
Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels (available in 67.4%): Neto did not debut this season until April 18 due to offseason shoulder surgery, so perhaps fantasy managers have yet to catch up. How is this guy available? Anyway, last season, Neto hit 23 home runs and stole 30 bases, though a low walk rate did not excite points-league managers. This season, Neto is walking less and striking out more, and there is a fancy little race to see if he will have more home runs (15 so far), steals (18) or walks (17). Focus on Neto more in roto/categories leagues, but still, a mere 27 hitters have more fantasy points over the past 30 days.
Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins (available in 96.8%): On the mend from a fractured forearm suffered in April, Keaschall performed for Triple-A St. Paul this weekend and he had three hits, three walks and two stolen bases. Remember, Keaschall — a second-round pick from 2023 — hit .368 for the big club in early April, with five stolen bases in seven games. He should be back running with the Twins soon and, depending on what the organization does at the trade deadline, he may have a sweet lineup spot, too.
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Zach McKinstry, SS/3B/OF, Detroit Tigers (available in 54.5%): A career .233 hitter and mostly a utility option, McKinstry is a key to the overachieving Detroit offense, hitting .279. Plus, for the third consecutive season, he has 16 stolen bases. Of course, he still has more than two months left of this season to add to that total. McKinstry has more fantasy points than Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Lindor over the past 30 days, and the multi-positional eligibility comes in handy.
Luis Gil, RHP, New York Yankees (available in 71.4%): Remember him? The defending AL Rookie of the Year remains on the mend from a lat strain, but he has struck out 13 Double-A hitters in his two minor league rehab starts for Somerset over 6⅔ innings. He might well be ready for his big-league season debut after one just more outing. Gil won 15 games and struck out 171 hitters over 151⅔ innings last season. He’s a walker, but he overpowers hitters, too. Stash him now and enjoy the final two months.
Sean Manaea, LHP, New York Mets (available in 65.0%): On the other side of town (well, kind of), the Mets welcomed back Manaea (oblique) just before the All-Star break. He made his first start of the season over the weekend. Manaea permitted one hit (an Austin Hays home run) over four solid innings, striking out six Cincinnati Reds. He should remain a rotation stalwart and, as with Gil, let us remember this is not an elbow or shoulder injury that would concern us more in the long term. Manaea won 12 games and fanned 184 last season.
