Fantasy baseball: Hidden home runs in Miami, St. Louis and Washington

Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals

I’m a bit surprised to be writing about another Nationals player, but Luis Garcia isn’t the only player in D.C. worthy of an add to your roster. Unlike whether or not our elected officials will get the debt ceiling in order, there is no question that right fielder Lane Thomas is having a great month and on pace to have the best season of his career.

After a decent start to the season that found him batting .260 with zero homers heading into May, Thomas has jumped his batting average 30 points over the past few weeks and, more importantly, as it pertains to here, has six homers in May and two in the past week. On the season, Thomas is hitting .290 along with the six homers and 23 RBI. Thomas leads the Nationals in home runs and RBI and is second on the team in batting average and the all-important total bases.

The six-year veteran is certainly being aggressive at the plate. Four of his six home runs have come early in the count. One was off the first pitch in the at-bat while two have come down 0-1 and another with the count 1-2. Safe to say Thomas’ approach at the plate this month is “down but not out.” Additionally, four of his homers have come as the leadoff hitter.

The Nationals are still in last place in the NL East, but if Thomas can remain hot and get Washington out to early leads from that leadoff spot maybe, just maybe, they can leapfrog Philly in the standings.

The Nationals finish up a series at home versus the Padres before heading to Kansas City for the holiday weekend then hit Dodger Stadium next week. With the Royals on the schedule, there’s certainly an opportunity for Thomas to add a few dingers. As for the debt ceiling … yikes.

Good luck out there!