Tommy Pham's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

With a right-hander on the mound for the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the wild-card series on Wednesday at Camden Yards, Kansas City Royals veteran outfielder Tommy Pham will start on the bench. Hunter Renfroe will instead get the nod in right field and will bat seventh against Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin. In the Game 1 win over the O's on Tuesday, Pham made the start in right field and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the victory. Neither veteran outfielder is particularly attractive in DFS while hitting near the bottom of the Royals' batting order. The 32-year-old Renfroe doesn't move the needle much offensively these days after slashing .229/.297/.392 with a below-average .689 OPS, 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 120 games this year for KC. He hit just .177 (9-for-51) with three homers, five RBI and 16 strikeouts in 16 games in the month of September.

Free agent outfielder Tommy Pham has been claimed by the Kansas City Royals, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. Pham was DFA'd by the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, only a month after acquiring him at the trade deadline. Pham posted a mere .208/.286/.368 slash line with two home runs across his 23-game stint in St. Louis. However, earlier this summer with the White Sox, the veteran held a solid .266/.330/.380 line. Fantasy managers should expect the 36-year-old to see most of his starts in right field and will likely compete with switch-hitter Robbie Grossman for playing time. Managers in deeper leagues should consider adding Pham as he could earn a stable spot in the starting nine and should produce solid counting stats batting in the heart of a competing Royals lineup.

The St. Louis Cardinals designated outfielder Tommy Pham for assignment on Friday and recalled outfielder Jordan Walker from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. It was announced on Thursday that the Cardinals were looking to put the veteran Pham on waivers for some financial relief while also giving some younger players more playing time in the outfield for the final month of the season. The 36-year-old is now off the team's 40-man roster, but he could be claimed by a team in postseason contention looking for a veteran presence on their roster. At best, though, he'll probably be just a platoon player against left-handed pitching, like he was with St. Louis. Since being acquired at the deadline from the Chicago White Sox, Pham disappointed with the Cardinals, going 14-for-68 (.206) with two homers, 12 RBI and 16 strikeouts in 23 games played.