Week 6 Hitter:
Tyler White (Owned in 31.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues)
Ever since he won AL Player of the Week in the first week of the season, White has struggled mightily against major league pitching. In his last 15 games, White has a .157 batting average with a home run, 4 RBIs, and 11 strikeouts.
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However, he might be turning his season around after a very successful weekend against the Mariners. In 11 at bats, White has five hits with three runs scored and an RBI. Although he didn’t walk at all this weekend, he only struck out twice. In these three games, White raised his average from.221 to .247.
Why do I think this may be a turnaround for White? His numbers, this weekend, resembled what he did in the minors for the Astros. What is really impressive about White’s bat is the amount of contact he has and through that, how often he gets on base. He also showed off his power with three doubles this weekend including two on Sunday that was put in similar places down the left field foul line.
I also like White continuing to hit near the bottom of the batting order. In my article “How To Fix the Hole in the Bottom of the Lineup”, I talked about the importance of a table setter in the Astros offense and how that is important near the bottom of the lineup because the heart of the Astros order is the first three or four batters in the lineup. White has the contact ability and enough power to become that guy.
However, with the combination of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Danny Salazar this week and the possibility of David Price and Steven Wright at Fenway this weekend, White is going to face some good starting pitching.
I believe though if “The Great White” succeeds this week against this type of pitching, he is going to be a nice fantasy option for the rest of the year for runs, RBIs, doubles, and batting average.
Next: Week 6 Pitcher