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Roto Roundup: George Springer, Khris Davis, Eric Hosmer and others

Ray Guilfoyle highlights some of the top fantasy perfumers from Friday night's roto action, including his expectations for George Springer in 2014, Adam Wainwright, Eric Hosmer and others.

By Ray Guilfoyle
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

George Springer: Expectations for 2014

I own Astros outfield prospect George Springer in my AL only keeper league at $5 next season, so that is why I was interested in this question posed to Jim Shonerd from Baseball America in Friday's Hot Sheet Chat:

Ryan (Toronto): Chances springer can hit 20/20 next season in the bigs, along with a low AVG and high K's?

Jim Shonerd: That’s pretty much right what you should expect.

I have to say that is right around what I think he can do in a starting role out of spring training next season. Actually, I was just telling the same to another owner in my AL league a few weeks ago. Here is how Springer has performed thus far in AA and AAA this season:

Year Age Tm Lg Lev G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB
2013 23 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA 126 457 100 137 26 3 36 102 41 8 79 151 .300 .411 .606 1.017 277
2013 23 Corpus Christi TL AA 73 273 56 81 20 0 19 55 23 5 42 96 .297 .399 .579 .978 158
2013 23 Oklahoma City PCL AAA 53 184 44 56 6 3 17 47 18 3 37 55 .304 .429 .647 1.076 119
3 Seasons 262 991 217 295 50 13 61 192 77 16 143 309 .298 .394 .559 .953 554
AA (2 seasons) AA 95 346 64 97 23 0 21 60 27 7 48 121 .280 .377 .529 .905 183
A- (1 season) A- 8 28 8 5 3 0 1 3 4 0 2 2 .179 .303 .393 .696 11
AAA (1 season) AAA 53 184 44 56 6 3 17 47 18 3 37 55 .304 .429 .647 1.076 119
A+ (1 season) A+ 106 433 101 137 18 10 22 82 28 6 56 131 .316 .398 .557 .955 241
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/23/2013.

It is not surprising to see his stats improve with the move up to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but Springer has actually improved his walk rate and strikeout rate in AAA as well. His strikeout rate has dropped from just under 30% in AA to 24.3% in AAA, while his walk rate has improved from 13% to 16%. He should be the Astros starting center fielder out of spring training in 2014, and will play every day. Expect home runs, stolen bases and strikeouts, but if he can continue to fine tune his plate discipline, as Keith Law said earlier this season, he could be a monster.

Update: Springer hit his 37th home run of the season last night and is 3 home runs away from putting up a 40-40 season. Incredible. He has to be the Minor League Player of the Year, right?

For more on Springer and the Astros, you can check out Crawfish Boxes, SB Nation's Astros fan site.

Adam Wainwright dominates the Braves

It took Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright just about a year from Tommy John surgery to return to the ace that he was before the surgery. Last night, he dominated the Braves, giving up just one run on 6 hits, no walks and 9 strikeouts in the Braves 3-1 win. Wainwright is now 15-7 with a 2.58 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and an incredible 182-25 strikeout to walk rate in 198.2 innings.

In any other season, he would be the National League favorite for the Cy Young award, but some guy named Kershaw is having another terrific season. Wainwright leads the NL in wins, complete games and innings pitched, ranks third in strikeouts and ranks 5th in WHIP and ERA.

For more on Wainwright and the Cardinals, check out Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's Cardinals fan site.

Eric Hosmer: Top 10 fantasy first baseman in 2014?

Last night, Hosmer reached base 5 times, going 3-3 with 2 walks, a HR, double, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the Royals 11-10 loss to the Nationals. Hosmer is now hitting .299-.347-.453 with 15 HRs, 67 runs, 62 RBI and 10 stolen bases on the season.

Coming into this season, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer's fantasy value was pretty low, after a very disappointing 2012 season. The 2013 season started off just as bad, and I am sure he was available on the waiver wire in many leagues back in May. After hitting .250 in April and .269 in May, Hosmer has hit over .300 in June, July and August. Here is a look at his monthly splits over the last 2+ months:

June: .303-.347-.541

July: .324-.351-.495

August: .319-.364-.473

His August slash line improved after last night's performance, so it appears he is back to his pre-2012 form at the plate, and will more than likely move up my first base rankings heading into 2014.

For more on Hosmer and the Royals, make sure you check out Royals Review, SB Nation's Royals fan site.

Round'em Up

Brewers outfielder Khris Davis has himself a day at the plate last night, going 2-3 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 4 RBI in the Brewers 6-4 win over the Reds. In 74 at bats, Davis is hitting .338-.412-.730 with 8 HRs, 20 runs, 17 RBI and 2 stolen bases. He has homered 5 times in his last 9 games, so he should see plenty of starts going forward. Prior to his call up, Davis was hitting .255-.349-.473 with 13 HRs, 35 runs, 37 RBI and 6 stolen bases in 69 AAA games.

Dodgers starter Ricky Nolasco hurled a gem last night vs the Red Sox. Nolasco shut out the Sox for 8 innings, giving up just 2 hits, no walks and striking out 6 in the Dodgers 2-0 win. Nolasco is now 10-9 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 130-39 strikeout to walk rate in 165.2 innings. He is building up his value on the free agent market with performances like this.

Well, it appears Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is headed into another second half slump in 2013. After his 0-4 showing last night, Kipnis is hitting .283-.363-.462 with 15 HRs, 65 runs, 72 RBI and 23 stolen bases. He is still on pace for 19 HRs and 29 stolen bases, so he may not be the top fantasy second baseman next season, but I think I would think long and hard about ranking him ahead of Cano.

This offseason will be very interesting in Tampa, as they might be tempted to put David Price on the the trade market to see if they can bolster their farm system or add another young impact bat like they did when they dealt James Shields for Wil Myers. And if Chris Archer keeps pitching like this, it could be a real possibility. Last night, Archer limited the hot Yankees lineup to just 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in the Rays 7-2 win. Archer is now 7-5 with a 2.93 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a 66-32 strikeout to walk rate in 95.1 innings. He has given up two runs or less in 11 of his 16 starts this season.

Astros left fielder Robbie Grossman has started to put things together at the plate in his second taste of the big leagues this season. Grossman struggled in his first call up, but has hit well in the leadoff role since his return. Grossman went 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI in the Astros 12-4 win over the Blue Jays last night. Since his call up in late July, Grossman is hitting .328 with 4 HRs, 15 runs and 17 RBI in 116 at bats.

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