Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses. However, sometimes, like right now, roses don’t bloom. So you must stop and smell the blooming May flowers. And that means smelling irises and peonies. Why did I stretch this metaphor? It’s easy, my dear reader. We’ll discuss who’s blooming right now in May and whether they can continue! So after you finish reading this, go outside, find someone’s garden, and smell their peonies. Then run because people don’t like strangers in their places. I will be basing my levels on 6×6 with OPS.
Guardians Infielders: Cleveland is probably my favorite AL team, and that’s probably because the Major League was filmed in my hometown. That being said, their pair is in the middle of the infield Travis Bazzana again Bryan Rocchio it explodes now. Bazzana quickly corrected his summons. Much faster than I expected. He hit 2 bombs, stole 5 bags, and posted a .364 average with a .994 OPS over the past two weeks. The power surprises me a lot, but the speed doesn’t. I don’t think he will hit as well over the course of the season as pitchers find him, but he definitely has the stuff to be a top 5-10 2B going into 2027 in baseball. And He is included in only 42% of the Yahoo Le League.
Rocchio is a great host. I mentioned him a few weeks ago as a target, but he still owns 43% of the Yahoo league. He really takes advantage of his opportunity. 5 SB in the last two weeks, combined with 8 runs and hitting .341 with a 939 OPS. This is a spike in production, but it definitely deserves a year-round game plan. Find him if he is still available.
And if that wasn’t enough, Outfielder Angel Martinez he has 2B eligibility, and has been tearing it up the past 2 weeks with 4 homers, 9 RBI, and 3 SB. Combined with a .250 average, but held his own as the Rangers waited for Jose Ramirez to find his power hitting. Now I saw his name and immediately thought, Missed call. And I don’t think he will continue with it either. But he’s been hot, so that’s at least something.
Slow Starters Get Hot: When you write Matt McLain again Willy Adamsyou’ve probably cut the bait at this point. But for those of you who are still standing, dividends were paid two weeks ago. McLain had 3 hits, 11 RBI, and 2 steals while hitting .283 with a .908 OPS. He gave the Reds a reason to move him up in the order so that his RBI and scoring opportunities would be higher… for now. Since he left, he is 1/14 with 1 SB and 1 RBI. They’ll figure out where to fit him, and if you want to take a chance, he’s ranked in 51% of Yahoo leagues.
Willy is also awake. 2 dingers, 9 RBI, while hitting .353 with a .918 OPS. The Giants are by no means a good team, so that will lower their stats. But he’s awake, and Willy awake is interesting. He is found in 29% of Yahoo leagues. I would recommend him over McLain because he could absolutely finish as a top 10 SS within the year.
The Mets? Of course. Why Not Mets: While not completely earth-shattering, some Mets are starting to get organized. Marcus Semien leads the pack here. 10 runs, 2 homers, 7 RBI with a .286 average will definitely play. And you have the pedigree to keep it until the end of the year. I would also put him on my pick list as he is only 46% ranked in Yahoo leagues.
Bret Baty he still has 2B eligibility, and he’s up again. 7 runs, 2 bombs, 6 RBI, and an .847 OPS make him a true fixture in most positional flexibility. And widely available. If you’re struggling for options, you might want to turn on RamJam and say WHOA Bret Baty! Bamalam!!! Google it, kids.
AJ Ewing came up with 2B eligibility as well. In his first week, he came out of the gates hot with 6 runs, a bomb, 4 RBI, 2 steals, hitting .292 and a .952 OPS. High quality and very interesting quality. I can stake a claim for him as he is only ranked in 42% of Yahoo leagues.
Something is brewing… in Arlington: You probably thought I was going to refer to Milwaukee. But they have one guy in the middle of the infield who can play, and he’s the best 2B in baseball. But a name I didn’t expect to see at all, and one that’s very original, is from Texas. No, not the returning Jeremy Pena, who will be back this week. What am I talking about? Ezequiel Duran. Over the past 2 weeks, he has been coming into the middle of the Rangers lineup and producing. In the last 2 weeks, he has 9 hits, 2 bombs, 12 RBI, a steal, and a .294 average with an .849 OPS. He shines in his age-27 season as a utility man, but he hits enough to be an everyday starter for the Rangers. This is almost 1 year and we are done for him, but he will be an important game this year. and is featured in only 34% of leagues.
