A Quick Introduction
I have been a regular fan of the site for many years. This is my first article. I want to thank the Razzball team for giving me the opportunity, and I wish Disco Stu the best. I’ll be filling in for him, covering the Outfield column.
I will start my first articles with some buying, selling, and holding. I don’t know about you, but it’s always very hard for me to drop players, so I might lean a little on why they’re drops and trades to help you balance them. With about 60% of the season over, we’re past the point of patience.
Jarren Duran
In Grey’s dream rankings for 2026, Jarren Duran came in at #70 in total in the Top 500 and enter as #22 defender in Top 40 Outfielders. Through July 11, he has 13 home runs and 14 stolen bases and is on pace for a 23/25 season. In general, I think most of us would be very happy with that result. However, he is coming off a .193 batting average and a .610 OPS. Interestingly, he is moving at a historic pace. If he continues at this rate, he will record the worst 20/20 season in MLB history based on OPS per Stathead. I think in other leagues there is an advantage to that. I am not here to judge you. You do it yourself.
What happened, you ask? Well, he’s been pretty bad all year except for several games in May when many of us (me) thought the low buy was off. It ended up being only a hot game. He hit 9 of 13 home runs during 27 games. That means he has scored 4 runs in his other 60 games played. Half of his RBI total came in the same 27 game.
Let’s dig into his metrics a bit…
Statistical Chart Until July 11
That chart is not what I would call sexy. And I will show you that you have earned every bit of it. Don’t be fooled by the quality of the barrels, which I will touch on below.
Trend Analysis Up to July 11
If we look at the trend of his first season in 2024, we can see that he is not communicating, he is very aggressive, and he was aggressive. He may press, but that attack does not help him. He pulls the ball a lot, and about 20 percent of his balls are flies. He swings harder, throws more out of place, and swings and misses more. For me, that’s a Molotov cocktail.
But what about that level of barrels? This is a classic case of plate training sacrificing a hitter and contact quality to try to pull the ball and sell power. While he may lay in a few and hit some home runs, this profile is variable, with a very low floor. That’s why I’m highlighting June to show how bad it could be when he hit .144 with a .395 OPS and struck out 36% of the time. Yes.
Verdict: Sell
In the investment world, a dead cat bounce refers to a temporary, short-term recovery in a declining asset price, followed by a continuation of the decline. If we translate that in terms of Duran, we have a guy whose performance is on a downward trend in almost every metric that matters in order to become a competent big league hitter. That trend has continued for over a year and a half (not a small sample size). May was a classic cat bounce.
You are reduced to 7th respectively and has always been competitive with LHP. Although the trade from Boston may put his life in him, I can not follow him in 10 and 12 teams 5 OF THIS league. My advice is to get out, sell if you can. The bench for sure. Take advantage of the hot streak or see if you can unload him if he shows a little heartbeat in July. Whatever revenge he has, it will likely be temporary.
Bonus fact
The crown for worst 20/20 season based on OPS is held by Anthony Volpe. He went 21/24 with a .666 OPS in 2023. He hit .209 that year. Duran could also become the first person to hit under .200 and go 20/20.
Sam Antonacci
Sam Antonacci doesn’t really scream as a starter, but he’s having a very productive year that no one seems to care about.
Compare his stats to 150 games since July 12, and you get 98/12/56/26/.287. He is even more valuable in the OBP format with his .381 OBP. His calling card has been his ability to get on base. Additionally, he has excellent plate discipline and doesn’t rush. His OBP was the best in the minors and was .400+ at every stop. He finished second in the league in HBP (17) in just 75 games played.
His split numbers run around the main Steven Kwan. Antonacci is surprisingly only 45% featured on Yahoo, and that seems pretty low to me. I think you have more SB. He is a top hitter in a highly developed lineup. One caveat is that he will hit the floor or occasionally sit against LHP, so you can bench him against LHP if you want.
Verdict: Buy it
He won’t move the needle with power, but he can help with Runs, SB, AVG, or OBP. Additionally, he is not zero in other statistics either. What are we doing people? Go get him if he’s available in your league. In addition to OF, he is eligible at 2B/3B on Yahoo. How many of you would be happy if you got that kind of production from Maikel Garcia?
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. I look forward to writing a few more of these pieces.
