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Closing Time: We had a better headline, but Cesar Hernandez stole it

Closing Time: We had a better headline, but Cesar Hernandez stole it

In the Tuesday Closing Time, we went with a soft sell of Cesar Hernandez. In the current edition, we’ll amp things up a bit.

He keeps running, so we keep writing.

When it comes to fantasy specialists, there’s a low barrier to relevance. Anyone who is collecting saves for a major-league club is worth rostering in most fantasy leagues, even if the other stats are dodgy (the good old Mesa Mandate). It isn’t quite that simple with offensive players, but if someone is capable of running aggressively when they reach base, we’ll overlook some other stuff.

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Hernandez, a 25-year-old infielder with the Phillies, was born to run. He swiped two more bags Tuesday (undeterred by an early pickoff), giving him six steals in his last four games. He batted .324 for June, with a .395 on-base percentage, and he’s taken ownership of the No. 2 slot in the batting order. With Chase Utley out indefinitely (ankle), not to mention carrying that unsightly .179 batting average, this Hernandez story could last for a while.

And heck, maybe Hernandez will settle into a role even when Utley returns. Here’s what interim manager Pete Mackanin had to say about Hernandez on Tuesday - head over to the Phillies team site.

"I would like to think that Cesar has proven that he deserves a chance to be the everyday second baseman," Mackanin said. "That remains to be seen. I don't know. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Let's just wait to see when Chase is healthy and how he feels and we'll go from there."

"When you see part-time players and perhaps at times they're not doing as well as you'd like them to do, you can see now the benefit, obviously, of playing on a daily basis," Mackanin said about Hernandez. "Cesar has been fantastic. We always felt he had it in him. It's been a long process. I think he's making a good statement for himself in the future."

Hernandez never showed much pop over his eight minor-league seasons, but he did steal 155 bags over 645 games. A .294 average and .352 OBP, you can work with that. The Phillies don’t have much of an offense (no NL team has scored fewer runs), but they are 12th in the majors in stolen bases. If you can’t rake, you scamper.

Hernandez is one of the common adds over the past 24 hours, but he’s still unowned in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues. You can plug him in at second base, shortstop or third base. We know he’s outstanding in one area, and passable in a second roto column. Take the case. Rabbit, run.

Need help with a drop? We can do that. Martin Prado and Adeiny Hechavarria are simple cuts. Even if I had unlimited DL space, I’m not bothering with Utley. Jose Iglesias has a pretty average, but he bats low in the order and can’t dominate the steals category. Is Francisco Lindor ready? Is Danny Santana salvageable? I’m not immediately bullish on either.

Monty makes good (Denis Poroy/Getty)
Monty makes good (Denis Poroy/Getty)

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Back a few years ago, Mike Montgomery was just another ballyhooed Kansas City prospect, perhaps overrated. These days, he’s a Seattle lefty with a bagel habit.

It’s about time the 2015 Mariners got a break.

Montgomery has made six starts in his rookie season and five have been excellent. He’s turned in a pair of shocking shutouts in his recent work, a five-hit blanking of KC last week (with 10 strikeouts), then Tuesday night’s coconut stroll down in San Diego (1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K). Video killed the radio star. (Should strikeouts against Jedd Gyorko count?)

The strikeout column is the puzzling part of the Montgomery file. He only whiffed 12 men over his first four turns, but he’s rolled up 17 in the last week, with 10 coming against the contact-heavy Royals. His average fastball is a modest 91.1 mph. He’s only getting a swinging strike 8.2 percent of the time, well under the league average of 9.7 and the starter average of 9.0.

Some pundits might write the convenient “sell high” ticket, but where do you find a buyer in a case like this? Your opponents have the Internet, too. They recognize Montgomery’s 3.02 FIP and 4.11 xFIP. Even the worst owners in your league probably understand what regression means.

The Mariners will have a crowded rotation when Hisashi Iwakuma returns. Felix Hernandez is the obvious ace, and Taijuan Walker isn’t going anywhere. J.A. Happ probably has a leg up over Roenis Elias, I suppose. I’m not confident in what Montgomery will do against Oakland this weekend, but he’s done a lovely job of proving me wrong the last month.

Rest-of-season ERA? Put me down for something in the high-3s.

About Last Night: You’re a better man than I if you predicted the 1-0 showdown between Kyle Hendricks and Jon Niese. Dexter Fowler struck out twice in four at-bats, along with a single - an extended slump has him down to .237/.312/.387, and he hasn’t been running . . . Possible thunderstorms made things complicated in DFS, but the Rangers and Orioles played another keg tapper (14 runs), with Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis both going deep twice. Moreland seems to tease us every year with a power run, but he’s never posted a full-season OPS over .800 before. Right now, he’s at .916 . . . Speaking of scuffling NL hitters, why is everyone so in love with Gregory Polanco? He’s down to .233/.299/.335 after a 1-for-5 night. He’s on a pace for 36 steals, six homers and 38 RBIs, along with that messy average . . . Ian Desmond struck out all four trips, dropping his OPS to .618. It’s not much of a trade market, but maybe the Nats should look for a different shortstop. Desmond’s been awful in the field, too . . . Billy Hamilton stayed in the leadoff spot but didn’t try a steal in his 5-1-1-0 evening . . . Although the Giants couldn’t solve Cat Latos, Joe Panik keeps chugging along (.312/.380/.460), looking comfortable in the No. 2 slot . . . Keep an eye on Erasmo Ramirez, who was effective in a tough-luck loss to Cleveland (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K). A weekend start at Yankee Stadium makes me nervous, but after that he gets Houston at home . . . Ben Zobrist reached base three times in Oakland’s loss to Colorado (the A’s are comically unlucky in those one-run games). Zobrist has an .837 OPS since returning a month ago.