FANTASY FURNACE

Yonder Alonso is a name you might not be too familiar with but in fantasy circles his name is less unknown. For the past two months, the 25 year old, former 1st round pick of the Cincinnati Reds, has been on fire! Over the past 27 games he has hit safely in 24 of them, good for a .367 clip.

1B/OF Yonder Alonso scores ahead of the tag by Mets catcher Rob Thompson at Citi Field on Thursday, May 24th. Photo: (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

But, as they say on those late night informercials, “that’s not all”… He has become a fantasy writer’s delight because of some of the amazing stats he’s posted and the fact that he’s not that well known. Only owned in 30% of leagues, Alonso has enormous upside and has to be considered a must add especially in keeper leagues, while for other team managers, we would recommend him in deeper leagues of 12 or more unless or until his performance continues to accelerate or begins to ebb.

For starters, the youngster in just his third season in the bigs, has a modest eight game hitting streak going to go with his nine game hitting streak earlier this month! Besides his .300+ batting average, a key category in most 5×5 standard leagues, he has been a ‘Doubles’ machine, amassing 16 so far in the season, on pace for 50.

On Thursday night, Alonso had two doubles in a game for the sixth time this season. That ties him with Tony Gwynn (1993) and Adrian Gonzalez (2007) for the most muti-double games in a season by a Padre, and it’s only May!

Of course, playing at spacious Safeco Field hasn’t helped his power numbers. Alonso is just one year removed from hitting five homers in 88 AB with the Reds which means that in a full season at most parks, he has the potential for around 30 HR’s. They should pick up as the season progresses with more coming on the road. Runs could be at a premium given the anemic offense of the Padres but all in all, the 1B/OF has a world of potential and as stated earlier, should be considered in keeper leagues especially in the event he is traded to a team with a more hitter friendly ball park at some point down the road.

We suggest that you take out a flier on Alonso, follow his progress, and watch him meld into a sleeper candidate for hits, BA, and doubles and do so before the other 70% of leagues are on to him…