LAB REPORTS

Braves Fans Rejoice With Acuna Jr. Return, Andruw Jones HOF Celebration, Incoming Trade Deadline & Abrams Shines

Welcome to the second edition of The Weekly Wood Chipper!

As the impending turmoil of the Aug. 3rd trade deadline approaches, teams race to see if they will be buying or selling when the time comes. The August-September phase in the baseball season is one of my favorite times of the year. Prospects are called up, trades can shake up the league, and teams gear up for an October run. Of course, it's hard as a Braves fan to not get excited about what happened at this time in 2021 when GM Alex Anthopolous had one of the best trade deadlines ever when he acquired Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario, who propelled the Braves to their first World Series win in my lifetime. That's a trade deadline I'll never forget. Shoutout to my amazing wife, Taylor, for surprising me with tickets to go with my then roommate and friend to attend our first ever WS game. Braves' pitching legend, Ian Anderson, was famously on his way to a no-no in the rain, before getting pulled by manager Brian Snitker. Ah, memories.

This time of the season can also have some major fantasy implications for us. I will forever hate how teams go to 6-man rotations, and pitch count/innings limits are enforced for the young arms in the league. I understand why, but it sucks managing it for fantasy. I know MLB front offices care about my fantasy squad. I don't know about you, but I've lost many a playoff game because a team shuffled their rotation the week of a critical matchup. On the flip side, the exciting part of this time for fantasy is that players on struggling teams may be given "new life" when they're traded to a healthy and winning team environment. One of the trade deadline moves that jumps out in recent memory was when elite closer Mason Miller was acquired before the deadline by the Padres from the A's for top prospect, SS Leo DeVries. Moves like that can propel an already elite closer to certain stardom in a winning team context, top hitters can improve their game when they actually have protection from other great hitters in a solid team lineup, and quality starting pitching can find some more wins on a contending team.

Okay... let's review the week.

League News- Tigers Staying Put? Nats Make a Big Move

If you've paid any attention at all to the rumors swirling around the trade deadline, then you know that SP Tarik Skubal's name pops up a lot. If the Tigers think they've got any hope at all for the postseason, I don't think they trade him. It may be one of their last chances to get a great return for Skubal in his prime. However, they are 6-4 in their last 10, 6 GB in a close division, and only 3.5 GB in the Wild Card. A postseason berth is still very much within reach. To help matters, Detroit is in the top ten in easiest remaining strength of schedule too. I honestly don't think they sell, and they might even look to be buyers as a result.

In other news, a surprise twist happened with an almost "win-win" trade between the Boston Red Sox (54-50) and the Washington Nationals (54-52). The Nats acquired promising left-handed starter, Connelly Early, from the Sox for 1B/3B Curtis Mead. I somewhat get the play by the Sox, but I guess I thought they would maybe use Early's value for a bigger-named veteran bat if they were intent on trading him. Big win for the Nats, honestly. Early has five more years of team control... five. They improve their rotation, and sell-high on Mead, who although he has been great this year, he also just as unproven as Early. I'd prefer the Early side of this one, especially after nothing structurally was found wrong in Early's second opinion for his injured elbow.

ATL News- Splinter Updates and Andruuuuw

Probably some of the biggest news in the past week for Atlanta fans was the celebration of OF Andruw Jones being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a part of the 2026 class. It was long overdue, guys. As a Braves fan, but also as a guy who loves both Jones (Chipper and Andruw), I felt he should've gotten in a LONG time ago. His resume is insane, and he's largely considered to be one of the best defensive center-fielders ever. He showed out in the steroid era, and I feel he was honestly punished for how he fell off at the end of his career. But he came into the league at the age of 19? His prime was still amazing. At the age he's falling off, some guys are only just getting going.

One of the most telling stats I saw during the campaign to get Jones into the Hall was this: He accumulated a 24.4 defensive WAR (wins above replacement) during his career, which is over 3 points higher than the next closest and the highest by any outfielder in MLB history (Thank you, Sarah Langs, via MLB.com). You couple that with over 400 homers and 10 gold gloves, he deserves to be in the HOF in my obvious professional opinion.

In terms of injury updates, Braves Country can rejoice! Acuna Jr. is back, baby. As a fantasy owner with a share of Ronnie (Team name: Beauty and La Bestia, which means, "The Beast," in case you wanted to know.), I'm even more pumped. Now, let's hope he can remain healthy for the rest of the season for the ATL. Ronnie is the straw that stirs the drink, and the Braves are better with him than without. Per ESPN, the Braves are 37-16 this season with Acuna in the lineup. 25-27 without... that matters. As much as we might get frustrated with his proneness to injury, he's an all-time great for the Braves, and his presence matters to this team. I personally hope they extend him. He matters that much.

Hittin' like Chipper

Debuting some new sub-headers for the blog this week. The first is "Hittin' like Chipper," where I'll highlight two or three bats that were hot and hitting good like my blog's namesake, Chipper Jones. I'll try to spotlight a rostered player, and then maybe one or two bats who could still be on the waiver wire in your league. First, shortstop CJ Abrams has to be mentioned for the Nats. He has easily played his way out of any trade considerations that happened in years prior to being one of the best shortstops in the league and in fantasy. The Nats are way ahead of schedule in their rebuilding process, and Abrams is a big reason why. This past week he set the world on fire to the tune of a .577 BA/.593 OBP/1.346 SLG slash line and an OBSURD 1.939 OPS. 6 homers and 12 RBIs for 25-year-old. Altogether, this led to a 58 point weekly total in my league (points format where strikeouts aren't counted).

Two potential waiver wire additions I loved from this past week are: Guardians OF Chase DeLauter (65.1% rostered, ESPN) and Padres 1B Ty France (14.3% rostered, ESPN). DeLauter (35 R/11 HR/ 50 RBI) has really had a solid rookie season. He continues to provide lift for the Guardians at the top of their lineup, and with Jose Ramirez back, I really like him the rest of the way if you need help at OF, and he's still somehow available in your league. This week, the Guardians have 3 games at the Great American SMALLpark before facing Arizona pitching to end the weekly period. Ty France's resurgence is the other top highlight from this past week. He has been hitting cleanup for the Padres, hitting .367 over his last seven days, and has homers and 15 RBIs over his last 15. The Padres have 6 games this week with home games against the Rockies and the Giants.

Into the Wood Chipper

In the debut of "Into the Wood Chipper," I'll spotlight a couple of hitters who now find their bats "in the wood chipper," and have struggled recently. With that, a real tough week for Royals OF Jac Caglianone. He was 0 for 16 this past week with 4 Ks, and no walks. He still strikes out at a 28.4% clip, so if you're in a shallow league I understand wanting to drop Cags. His lack of plate discipline makes him tough to roster in the tough stretches unless you play in a deep league or like the weekly matchups. Still obviously love Cags, but he currently finds his bat in the chipper. Another bat that has struggled of late is Tigers SS/3B star rookie Kevin McGonigle. He is 6 for 23 in his last 7, and 9 for 38 in his last 15. Obviously, stick with him though as the Tigers fight for playoff positioning. His plate discipline is solid for a rookie with a still incredible 64:62 BB-K ratio on the season. That helps stop the bleeding during the rough patches.

The Week Ahead

Braves hitters are in for a fun in-division 7-game slate this week with 3 games against the Mets and 4 against the Nats. If you're in a super deep league, SS Jim Jarvis has had a decent bat going, and he has started more at shortstop recently. If the Braves make a move for a SS before the deadline, his bat would become mute, but if you're looking for someone in a deep deep league, he's an intriguing Brave for me.

As for the rest of the league, on the pitching side, we have a super tough two-step for Boston SP Payton Tolle. I have him, and I'm sending it for his matchups at Sac-town and at the "Blue Empire" (Dodgers) this week. He has been great recently with a 22 K: 3 BB ratio over his last 15.1 IP. Be bold and believe this week for my fellow "Peyton/Payton." On the hitting side, I still don't think 2B/3B/OF Sam Antonacci has gotten enough attention for the White Sox. He remains grossly under-rostered in ESPN leagues at 25.5%, yet he continues to have an awesome rookie season (55 R, 7 HR, 30 RBIs, and 14 SBs). With how good his hit tool has been and with how thin 2B can be, I love his value, especially for OBP formats. Even with some tough pitching matchups against NYY in Cole and Schlittler this week, I am sticking with the Italian prodigy in my weekly points league.

Well, that does it for the second edition of The Weekly Wood Chipper. Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has the best luck possible this week, surviving any shake-ups that happen in the league at this year's trade deadline. Keep believing and don't forget to have fun. It's fantasy after all, and it's one great distraction from the crazy world we live in.

Explore The Lab.

THE BASEBALL LAB

THE PITCHER LAB

THE HITTER LAB

THE CLOSER LAB

THE REHAB LAB

THE PROSPECT LAB

THE DYNASTY LAB

The Lab

on X

LAB REPORTS

LAB NOTES

Recent Lab Articles.