Only 4 games yesterday so it's a short sheet. Good luck to everyone in pursuits of a fantasy championship this week!

MLB - Smada

Nathan Lukes, LF TOR (MLB) 1-for-4, R

I covered him briefly when he first got recalled, but he really fits this positive K:BB, light power mold of players that have been called up and/or traded for. The group includes Spencer Horwitz, Will Wagner and AA OF RJ Schreck. Lukes was a bench bat for Toronto for a significant portion of the 2023 season but only got 31 PA, mostly as a defensive replacement. He hit well while in AAA in 2023 (.366/.423/.530) and then was great at the plate again this year (.333/.403/.469). Lukes is finally getting some regular PA in the bigs, although not an "everyday regular". He's hit well in his 73 PA this year and simply gets on base. His .313/.370/.422 slash is going to earn him some sort of role in 2025, but it's unlikely it becomes more than a 2/3rds PA guy. Given the lack of power, speed and age (already 30) Lukes probably doesn't make it on fantasy rosters outside of deep leagues in need of counting stats and positive BA/OBP. Regardless of that, it's always cool to see the career minor league players making major league impacts.

Wilyer Abreu, RF BOS (MLB) 2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB

Abreu has been rock solid in the platoon role all season. September has been a little bit worse than the rest of the season but some of that is BABIP and BB% low point. It's doubtful he gets out of the platoon role, but I think he feels like one of the safest later round power bats for 2025.

Julio Rodriguez, CF SEA (MLB) 3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB

It's been a disappointing season for JRod, especially from a power standpoint, but the BA/OBP will end up similar and the K:BB is essentially the same as last year. He's turned it on in the 2nd half again and with one more HR and SB will hit the 20/25 milestone. I don't want to call him an "accumulator" but he did get to 32 HR and 37 SB in 2024 over 714 PA which isn't typically repeated year to year outside a small group. Looking at early drafts and rankings, he's still valued among the elite and it's fair to expect some growth/rebound in 2025.

Hunter Brown, RHP HOU (MLB) 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 8 K

You likely either intimately followed Hunter Brown or just remember the early season blowup, but it was a wild dichotomy of a season. His April ended with a 9.78 ERA, punctuated by that .2 IP, 9 ER game in Kansas City. Since then, Brown has been even better that collective owners have hoped for with a 2.51 ERA and 18 QS.

Hayden Birdsong, RHP SF (MLB) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Birdsong was able to get through 5 IP with 95 pitches and the fastball control was a bit better and he threw it 47% of the time. Nothing really new to note, new pitches, pitch mix adjustments will be interesting in 2025.