Fantasy Baseball: Cincinnati Reds' Jay Bruce Is Loose
It’s that time of year again. It’s time for Jay Bruce to put on a show.
Last year, through July, he hit .261 with 53 runs, 10 HRs and 53 RBI in 376 at-bats. Then he caught fire and hit .338 in his next 133 at-bats from August through October with 27 runs, 15 HRs and 29 RBI.
In 2009, he hit .207 with a .724 OPS before the All-Star break and .326 and 1.078 after it.
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It seems like he’s up to his old tricks again.
Bruce actually put on a power show in May, hitting .342 while clubbing 12 home runs with 33 RBI and a ridiculous 1.141 OPS, but then he cooled down to hit .236 in June and July with just five home runs and 19 RBI.
It became frustrating for fantasy owners, no doubt. In one league, I nearly traded him for some speed, as I couldn’t get him in the lineup over Matt Kemp, Mike Stanton, Cameron Maybin and David Ortiz.
Thankfully a deal never materialized, because Bruce is on another bender. Since August 8th, he is hitting .414 with nine runs, five home runs and 17 RBI. In his past four games, he has 11 RBI with at least two in each game.
Sometimes it’s the deals that don’t happen that end up helping you the most.
I can see sitting him against a tough lefty, but don’t avoid southpaws completely. Bruce has eight home runs in 120 at-bats against them and a solid .851 OPS.
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