For the second straight season, Hunter Pence has been dealt at the trade deadline. Last season it absolutely worked in the favor of his fantasy owners, as he went on a modest tear to finish the season for the Phillies.
Now, going into this season Pence was touted as a possible fantasy MVP, and was said to be poised for a break out power season by, well, me. Now I am not going to jump on the recent Pence trade as what might save my bold (is bold the right word?), prediction; but let’s take a look see at Hunter Pence’s stat line:
398 at bats, 59 runs, 17 homers 59, RBI, 4 steals, .271 average
Pence is on pace for 632 at bats, 94 runs, 27 homers, 94 RBI, 6 steals, and a .271 average. Pretty good.
Now, slot Hunter Pence in the San Francisco Giants at possibly 5 or clean up. He should see a nice uptick in RBI opportunities with Melky Cabrera and Buster Posey around him. Overall, the Giants offense is in better shape than the Phillies lineup this season.
What this means for fantasy owners…
If you have Hunter Pence:
-And are out of the running for playoffs or the top spot in your league then Hunter Pence won’t do you much good rest of way. He is not going to finish with 110-40-120 or anything so he won’t propel you anywhere you don’t have a chance already.
-And are primed for a playoff push or in shooting distance of the top spot, Pence might be the spark you need. However like above he is not going to blow his pace out of the water the rest of the year so don’t sell other power sources thinking Pence will pick up the pace.
If you do not have Pence:
-And are out of the running, then why are you still reading?!
-Are very much in on an end of the year run, and you lack a little power. Then I would suggest sending out a trade offer for Pence IF it makes sense of course. If you have Nick Swisher, Nelson Cruz or perhaps Jay Bruce at RF then Pence will not be THAT much of an upgrade power wise, so he’s probably not worth buying. However if you have Ichiro Suzuki or maybe Shin-Soo Choo, Pence might be the perfect trade target!
He will hit, and he will have ducks on the pond, but it is not going to be enough to make a huge play at and sending too much in an offer for.
