Fantasy Baseball: Michael Harris leads four intriguing players to consider

Normally I’m turned off in fantasy by anyone batting ninth in his lineup, but the Braves have won 14 straight games and I want as many cogs in this lineup as I can get. So let’s keep an open mind with Michael Harris.

Harris always slots ninth in the loaded lineup, but at least he’s playing every day. And his bat has been electric in June: .370/.357/.537, with two homers and two steals. This could be a rare five-tool player.

Harris had a bit of prospect juice before the year, slotting between No. 46 and No. 65 on the three primary scouting clipboards. He was a .305/.372/.506 man in Double-A last year, with five homers and 11 steals over 43 games. He’s athletic enough to play center field, and still just 21. There’s a lot to like here.

Harris is still waiting your call in about 56 percent of Yahoo leagues. And he has a believer in Rotowire prospect analyst, James Anderson:

There's still a lot to like with Luke Voit

We’ve had some good times with Luke Voit in the past. It wasn’t that long ago. Maybe it’s the right moment to run it back.

Voit has taken over the cleanup role in San Diego, slotting there in 17-of-19 games. And he’s played in all of those games, either as the team’s first baseman or DH. Voit’s rediscovered power stroke is marking his territory: he’s batting .270 and slugging .539 over that span, with six homers and 21 RBIs.

Isn’t it lovely to see offense making a comeback?

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Voit’s career stats show a reverse-platoon trend, but given that we live in a right-handed world, that’s a feature, not a bug. Let’s not forget he led the major leagues in home runs just two years back, for whatever the funky and truncated 2020 season meant to you. Voit’s tank doesn’t appear empty at age 31.

Why is Jon Berti still available?

I suppose it’s last call on Jon Berti, who we discussed recently. He swiped two more bags Wednesday, giving him 17 on the year — and 12 in his last 17 games. He’s a solid .279 stick, a .385 OBP is an asset in today’s game, and a .404 slugging isn’t a kill shot, either. And you can slot Berti at second, third, or the outfield in Yahoo formats.

Trading has been active in the last day or so, but he’s still free to add in about two-thirds of the Yahoo world.

Santiago Espinal, still under the radar

Some of the big names have been mild disappointments in Toronto, which might be keeping the Santiago Espinal story under the radar.

This guy can play.

A 298/.350/.451 slash is welcome in anyone’s lineup, and Espinal is getting a chance to lead off Thursday, after slotting sixth for most of the month.

Espinal offers the occasional homer, the occasional steal and of course the plus average. He’s been a run-scoring machine all year. His hard-hit metrics are ordinary, but he doesn’t beat himself — he makes contact and rarely swings at a bad pitch. Not everything in 2022 baseball has to be about going for the seats.

Maybe Espinal can become the player we expected Cavan Biggio to be a year or two ago. Espinal is still unclaimed in about 40 percent of Yahoo pools.