Welcome to the final edition of our Category Analysis feature for fantasy baseball 2018. Most of the head to head leagues are probably beginning their league playoffs in the next week or two but those of you in roto leagues still have a solid month of games left to play. There is still an opportunity to catch up (or stay ahead) of your competitors in specific categories. Once again, we will list the ratio categories and offer you a player that can help you, but it’s really the counting stats that you should be concentrating on. Good luck to all of you in your pursuit of a title. Finally, thank you for reading. We hope that in some small way we were able to help you improve your teams.
Import your team to My Playbook for custom advice all season 
Batting Average
Roman Quinn (OF – PHI): 4%
The mighty Quinn has a .370/.393/.593 triple slash over the last month. Add in his 10 runs scored, seven RBI, and six stolen bases and you have a nice four category contributor. Quinn was recently moved to the top of the batting order, so you may see an uptick in steals if he sticks there.
Home Runs
Tyler White (OF – HOU): 30%
Since being recalled from the minors on July 29, White has been, er, white hot with a triple slash of .325/.379/.728, which is much better than the .219 effort he put up the first time around this season. White has also hit eight home runs with 24 RBI and 16 runs scored during that span.
Runs Batted In
Hunter Renfroe (OF – SDP): 20%
Renfroe was featured here last week for his home run prowess but he’s also made his hits count by driving in 26 RBI with an impressive .304/.324/.618 triple slash. He doesn’t run much but he has scored 12 runs which makes him worthy of addition in most formats.
Runs Scored
Amed Rosario (SS – NYM): 30%
It’s no surprise to see Mookie Betts among the top run-scoring players but Amed Rosario? I guess he’s acclimated to his surroundings in the Big Apple. Rosario has batted a healthy .286 over the last 30 days with 21 runs scored, 16 RBI, three home runs and six stolen bases. Five category contribution from a one dollar player? Sign me up.
Stolen Bases
Mallex Smith (OF – TBR): 49%
Nobody has stolen more bases over the past month than Smith who has nine steals in 10 attempts. In addition, he’s showing off some nice on-base skills with a .307 batting average and .377 OBP. Considering how scarce stolen bases have been this season it’s a bit surprising to see him still available in half of the leagues out there. He should be 100% owned at this point.
Earned Run Average
Trevor Williams (SP – PIT): 42%
Williams continues to steamroll through the league and lead the Pirates’ staff with a 3.30 ERA overall. Over the past month, though, he’s pitched to a 1.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP with 21 strikeouts and opponents batting just .209 off him.
Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched
Mike Minor (SP/RP – TEX): 19%
Here’s some pitching help from an unexpected source. Over the past month, Minor has pitched to a 2.55 ERA with a 0.73 WHIP. He also has 24 strikeouts in his last 24.2 innings while notching three wins.
Strikeouts
Lucas Giolito (SP – CWS): 21%
With 40 strikeouts over his last 37.1 IP, Giolito is racking up some serious Ks. What’s even better is the 3.86 ERA and 1.10 WHIP he’s posted over the last month. Giolito is suddenly looking like the hotshot prospect we all thought he was. He’s someone to remember next spring, especially if his improvements hold through the end of the season.
Wins
Jalen Beeks (SP – TBR): 2%
Beeks is another obscure name nobody has heard of. All he’s done is rack up four wins in his last four outings, a span of 27.1 innings during which he’s pitched to a 2.63 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP and 24 strikeouts.
Saves
Hector Rondon (RP -HOU): 43%
Rondon has gotten it done for the Astros with four saves over the last 30 days. He’s been mowing down hitters with a 1.59 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with 10 strikeouts over the last 11 innings.
Import your team to My Playbook for custom advice all season
Tim McCullough is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Tim, follow him @timstenz.
