Fantasy Baseball: Are contracts directly related to production? Hand out a (waiver wire) deal to these hitters

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It was a good week for contract extensions. Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell will be with Boston into the next decade. Jackson Merrill is part of the foundation in San Diego. Ketel Marte pushed his Arizona deal through 2031 (player option pending), though he unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury on the weekend and will miss some time.

But the most surprising contract of the week dropped on Sunday. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be in Toronto for the long haul, after all — instead of testing next winter’s market, he decided to accept a 14-year, $500 million extension with the Blue Jays. Guerrero had initially set a since-passed February deadline for negotiations, though he vowed to keep the door open if a reasonable offer came in. Apparently, 500 and 14 were the right numbers.

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Inner wiring and motivation is different for every player, but it’s interesting to note that Crochet (1.93 ERA), Campbell (1.143 OPS), Merrill (1.090 OPS) and Marte (.930 OPS) are all off to strong starts. Some of this production came before ink to paper, some of it after. It could be a coincidence, sure. Or maybe there’s something to be said for the relief of a major negotiation being finished.

Guerrero is off to a sluggish .256/.333/.333 start, without a homer. It’s silly to draw any conclusions from 10 games, of course. He’ll spend the next four days taking hacks at Fenway Park, one of the best scoring environments in the world. Boston scored 18 times in the second half of Sunday’s doubleheader. Maybe Guerrero’s contract won’t be a source of Toronto pride by the end of the deal, but there’s every reason to expect him to be a star in his age-26 season. Nothing has changed.

Speaking of elite hitting environments, it looks like we have a new batter of interest in Colorado . . .

Zac Veen, OF, Rockies (17% rostered)

Colorado is off to its expected lousy start, 2-7. This is on the heels of two straight 100-loss seasons. It’s been seven years since a date in the playoffs, and the Rockies were only 19th in scoring last year, despite Coors Field (of course, Colorado hitters often suffer a tax on the road, struggling to adjust to life around sea level). It’s depressing to see the Colorado lineup so irrelevant.

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Maybe Veen can help.

He’s one of the team’s key prospects, the ninth overall pick from 2020’s draft. He had a respectable spring with the club (.280/.352/.460, two homers, nine steals), then had a ball during a brief Triple-A stint (.387/.472/.677, homer, steal). In 65 games in the minors last year, he had 11 homers and 21 steals, decent production despite a collection of nagging injuries (hand, wrist, thumb, back). A healthy Veen is likely to produce category juice.

Gerardo Perdomo, SS, Diamondbacks (21% rostered)

Perdomo was usually found batting eighth or ninth when the season opened, but with Marte now hurt, the Snakes are utilizing Perdomo in the 1- or 2-slot on game days. He’s a 277 batter since the opening of 2024, with a plus batting eye. He also swiped 16 bases in his last full season (2023) and has a quick two steals this year. I love any player who has more walks than strikeouts; Perdomo checks that box, too. He’s very fantasy-playable while Marte is on the shelf.

OF Jung Hoo Lee, Giants (33% rostered)

Lee might look a little out of place as the No. 3 batter in San Francisco — maybe he’s more Mike Aldrete than Will Clark. But he’s off to a tidy .344/.400/.531 start, with six doubles and three steals. Over a full season, he’ll probably hit a modest 10-13 homers. But it’s encouraging that they’re letting him run so far, as the Giants often are a team that eschews the stolen base. And Lee has the profile of someone who will hit for a plus average.

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Keep in mind the team invested in Lee — he signed a six-year, $113 million deal before the 2024 season, ultimately missing four months with a torn labrum. A healthy Lee is a bonafide MLB player.

Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Tigers (44% rostered)

I understand anyone holding out skepticism on Torkelson, given his fortunate .474 BABIP and worrisome 31.7% strikeout rate. But he’s spiked his walk rate significantly and he’s making some of his own luck, hitting the ball more sharply. We’re still talking about a pedigree prospect here (a former No. 1 overall pick) who’s merely in his age-25 season. A.J. Hinch is likely to let Torkelson bat third or fourth for the foreseeable future; he’ll leave him alone. Maybe this is a growth year for the Detroit slugger.

Kyren Paris, 2B/OF, Angels (18% rostered)

Ron Washington wants his teams to run. Paris has obviously read that memo, swiping four bases in partial playing time (22 plate appearances). Paris is capable at both second base and the outfield, and he’s played in four of the past seven games.

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His .237/.359/.398 slash from the minors is a good description of what Paris likely is, a limited hitter with a keen eye. And he’s run aggressively as a pro, with 115 swipes (caught just 15 times) in 328 minor-league games. The two homers are a surprise, though he did hit 14 in his best minors’ season. Perhaps there’s something sustainable here.

Ben Rice, 1B, Yankees (31% rostered)

Rice is a New England kid (Cohasset, MA) who oddly grew up rooting for Derek Jeter and the Yankees. Despite that quirky preference, he’s surely no idiot — he attended Dartmouth and his father was a college pitcher at Brown.

The Ivy-bred son is now a regular part of the New York lineup, at least when the Yankees aren’t facing a lefty. Rice is also getting some time at the top of the order, slotting first or second in his last three starts. I like any piece of a lineup that’s scoring like this one is, and Rice already has two homers and two steals. The Yankees draw 10 righties and three lefties over the next two weeks, a favorable schedule for Rice.

This news was originally published on this post .

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