It's finally starting to feel like Spring (thanks a lot, climate change), and baseball season is in full swing, no pun intended. For many, gone is the unbridled optimism and cackling electricity that opening day brought. Some of you may be White Sox fans. Maybe some of you have had a team with Goldie, or Judge, or Bo, or hell....even Acuna. The trials and tribulations of a fantasy baseball season can be tough - nobody should have to suffer through their best picks or their favorite teams being dogwater, but alas, the baseball gods are fickle beings. I thought I was being cheeky drafting Judge fourth (ADP of 12), and you know what I have to say to that?...."It's a long season!" That's it.
But fret not - everything will be okay, especially because we have waivers to save us! And in my case, two men by the name of Brice Turang and Brenton Doyle have saved me from Bo and Judge ( who is finally heating up!). But now is no time to relax and take the proverbial foot off the pedal. We don't know who's going to tear their UCL or slam their toe on concrete in Dodger Stadium next, so let's remain vigilant and continue to conquer the waiver wire, my friends.
Hitters
We've got a few new names this week that are looking quite promising. It's pretty nice that there's some good catcher options, as that can often be a source of misery for fantasy owners. Wilyer is now 50% owned so I didn't include him, but if he's available in your league, go for it. I expect this to be Doyle's last appearance as well. There's some guys from my previous entries that are still available but aren't emphasized here (I'm typically looking for new names), so check those out. I only repeat guys I really like, and feel like they're going to be owned 50%+ in the near future.
Patrick Bailey, C ( 10% Rostered )
Patrick Bailey has been nothing short of fantastic for the Giants, and has arguably been their most reliable source of offense when he plays. There's a lot to love about his underlying numbers. Hitting .308 against RHP and .314 against LHP, he's shown no obvious weaknesses at the plate - though be aware he's only been given 16 AB against LHP. It's obvious to me, and so it should be obvious to Bob Melvin, that Patrick Bailey should be an everyday player with as little rest as possible. This guy may be a star in the making, expect him to get more ABs.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Reddit Thief (13% Rostered)
Look, he may be getting sent back down whenever Bellinger returns, but A: We don't know when that is and B: Let's not pretend that if he plays well, he can't earn an everyday role. And to play well, he needs to show that his offensive game is as MLB ready as his defensive game. So far, he's displayed some good contact, but let's be real, it's only been 10 ABs. Still, this is Chicago's #1 prospect and we kind of expect him to be great at some point, so why not now? Also, his 107 mph off the bat HR was sexy.
Blake Perkins, OF ( 13% Rostered )
Blake Perkins has played a huge role in the Brewer's early season success, and it's really not hard to see why. He's displayed some moderate pop and some elite speed, and with this being his sophomore year, a breakout wouldn't be the most shocking thing. I'm a little hesitant on Perkins because he's just never displayed great power in the minors at any level, but has rather been a line-drive hitter that you'd expect to get tons of doubles. Perkins is a solid speed/average guy with power upside in a lineup that will continue to produce a bunch of runs, but again, don't be surprised if he never really goes on a HR tear.
Lawrence Butler, OF ( 1% Rostered )
Butler is a statcast darling with nothing to show for it in terms of production, and word about him has gotten around the fantasy community. So is he this year's Brent Rooker, or does he show more promise than his teammate? The answer is the latter. The one thing about Lawrence Butler that I believe in is Sweet-Spot %. He's just hitting the ball way too well to keep failing to produce and I do expect him to find success. But remember, he's in that OAK lineup, so will his success equate to fantasy success? That's for you to decide.
Tyler Stephenson, C ( 11% Rostered )
I've recently caught some Reds games to watch Stephenson, and I can confirm that he is absolutely torching the baseball. Appearing in last week's list, I had to once again emphasize that this guy is available and he's waving a damned good bat in a lineup that can see him getting tons of RBIs. Is he in the same tier as Patrick Bailey? Probably not, but he's rightttttt there. If he can find the sweet spot of his bat even a little more often, there's some major production waiting to be unleashed here.
Tyler Freeman, OF, 2B, SS, 3B ( 25% Rostered ) One of my favorites is the "Jack Of All Trades" statcast, as I've come to call it in my inner monologue. And Tyler Freeman has one of those, much like my dear Riley Greene did last year. Nearly everything is slightly above average to considerably above average, with only a few straggling categories, which in this case would be his humble 46th percentile chase %. There's a lot of potential here for the 24 year old to be a good player. If he even improves a little bit, he could wind up being one of the better five tool players in the league. Just bear in mind that he's only viable against LHP with a .974 OPS. He's terrible against RHP, sporting a .575 OPS. If you need a platoon bat, look no further. The wild thing is, he's seen more RHP ( 53 ABs) than LHP (22 ABs), yet he's still managed to put up a pretty red statcast. If he can start seeing pitches from RHP a little bit better, you can expect a star in the making.
Brenton Doyle, OF ( 38% Rostered ) Look, this is his 3rd and final appearance on my blog. He's divisive because of his high BABIP. To the people who believe in BABIP like it's a religion and downvote me on reddit- sorry you're missing out on production. Look, this guy consistently finds the sweet spot of the bat (again, my favorite stat) and has a 93rd percentile sprint speed that contributes to his "good luck." He's lightning fast out of the box and has velocity to find holes statcast deems as lucky. His top exit velocity this year is 107 mph off the bat, so tell me, is that the kind of ability that can really be faked? If you added him two weeks ago, you would have already enjoyed two weeks of stellar production, BABIP Bois. And to those of you who dismiss Rockies players because of the Rockies, you're missing out on an team with underrated talent - and that's before Jordan Beck arrives.
Trevor Larnach, OF (3% Rostered )
The Larnach breakout has been predicted for years and it's just failed to materialize. Everyone knows this guy can smack the shit out of a baseball, but everyone also knows he's never been able to find the sweet spot of his bat and lift the ball in any meaningful way. He's never posted an OPS above .900 in either AA or AAA. So what are the odds this 29 game sample size for a player who's failed to break out for years is real? Not great, but also not entirely out of the realm of question. He's 27 and one solid hitting adjustment away from being a masher.
Sean Bouchard, OF ( 0% Rostered )
Yeah, that's a big ol' goose egg you see there. He's not rostered. But honestly, why the hell not? In 2022 he posted a .954 OPS across 74 ABs. In 2023, he posted a 1.056 OPS across 38 ABs. Through the current campaign, he's posted an .879 OPS across 19 ABs. That's a .975 OPS across 131 ABs, which is actually quite impressive. Through every level of the minors, he's been a hitting machine - and before his recent call-up, he was boasting a 1.042 OPS at AAA this year.
Could this guy be most obvious, under-the-radar waiver sleeper? I guess that's for you to decide. Let's hope the Rockies let this guy get some more ABs.
Masyn Winn, SS ( 10% owned )
For me, Masyn Winn is not particularly exciting, and I've been on and off about including him. There's no power here to speak of, and there probably won't be. With his nice sweet spot %, he may sneak a few over throughout the year, but I can't imagine more than 5. Still, I had to include this guy because he's just good for averages. He's going to hover around a .750-.800 OPS and provide a .275-.280 BA consistently. Along with that, you're getting a strong OBP guy with speed, so the steals will be there. In fact, I expect him to steal much more going forward, because that's the most value he brings to the Cardinals lineup. If you're happy with your power and just want a guy that's not going to hurt your averages in a significant way, here you go. Masyn Winn is safe.
Ty France ( 12% Rostered )
Who remembers that half a year where Ty France was seen as an MVP candidate? What was that, two years ago? Maybe three? Then after the all-star break, he reverted into a pumpkin and fantasy owners were very, very sad. Since that hot stretch, I've kept an eye on France just to see if there was any hint of reclaiming that glimpse of potential. Now it's 2024, and the glimpse is here. His statcast shows a hitter making very good quality contact with the ball, but unfortunately the production isn't there. Frankly, he's slow as shit on top of his miserable luck. But we see that xBA of .297 and that xSLG of .509, and have to wonder if he's worth an add. Maybe the production will come for France, and maybe your team will be the beneficiary. Or maybe he'll go back to being a production AND statcast pumpkin.
Pitchers
Our only repeat here is going to be Keaton Winn, who today out dueled Jared Jones. I expect him to be approaching 50% pretty quickly. There's a lot of new quality and upside to mention this week, and it's honestly pretty exciting. I expect a few of these guys to definitely hit, and if your rotation is depleted or struggling, you should be pretty excited too. As for relief pitchers? Well, there's no shortage of studs that had a very strong week and may have earned some bullpen work for their respective teams.
Keaton Winn ( 25% owned )
This is Winn's third consecutive week on the blog, and if you added him three weeks ago, you've gotten two quality starts and nice ratios. At only 25% owned, this might the last chance to grab him if he doesn't wind up regressing. I was high on Winn when he had 0 quality starts and a bloated ERA, so you better bet I have no intention of dropping this man now that the production has materialized, even if a bad start comes here or there.
His pitch mix is nasty with a a splitter he throws 43% of the time at 89 MPH with a complimentary sinker that clocks in at 96 MPH. On top of the good stuff, he's been painting the zone like an artist. After a shaky start to the season which really hurt his peripherals, he's recovered quite nicely and looked dominant.
Slade Cecconi ( 4% owned )
Arizona's #19 prospect has been fantastic through two starts, posting a 2.25 ERA and .50 WHIP. And he didn't fluke his way to those numbers, as you can see the beautiful peripherals. His four-seam fastball is carrying his pitch mix, with a beautiful 7.4 inches of horizontal break. He's currently doing better than he did in AAA, where he boasted a 4.58 ERA and 1.27 WHIP - not exactly pretty numbers.
But so far, he's risen to the occasion and he's 24. He's worth a stream against good matchups, and you never know, he could be a keeper.
Hayden Wesneski ( 5% Rostered ) Now this guy, I like. His stuff is absolutely electric, boasting a disgusting sweeper as his primary pitch and a 96 mph fastball (his velocity is up a bit) as his secondary. He's shown immense promise in the MLB previously, racking up a 2.18 era and .94 WHIP in 2022. In 2023, he was up and down, but again showed flashes of potential. The whiffs and Ks haven't materialized as he only boasts a 4.3 k/9, but expect that to increase as he posted a 12.6 k/9 in AAA last year.
Albert Suarez ( 35% Rostered )
You see this statcast and you're immediately intrigued. Then you see he's 34, and you lose some interest. Then you see this is the first time he's pitched in the MLB since 2017, and you're confused. Then you see he's been pitching in Japan and Korea for a half decade, and you're intrigued again. Now let me say this: he's never been a dominant force overseas. In fact, I'd be remiss to say he wasn't even particularly good. But he's back in the MLB and showing out, and that's all that really matters. Just don't be surprised if regression hits,
Roddery Munoz
I looked over some film from his MLB debut, and the kid looked solid. His stuff had nice break and his fastball touched 96. Striking out 7 batters in a debut is about as good it gets, but I still had to look into his background to make sure it was real. And to be honest, Munoz has been very bad across the minors for many seasons, including this one, where he had an 8.62 ERA. Not what you want to see. Still, his first performance was encouraging and it's worth keeping an eye on him.
Tobias Myers ( 2% Rostered )
A 1.62 ERA earned Tobias Myers a call-up, and thus far, he's looked every bit the part. He sports a modest 4.5 ERA ( 3.00 xERA) with a solid 1.00 WHIP and 9 Ks to 1 BB. He features a 93 MPH fastball with a solid 3.4 inches of vertical break and 100% active spin (which I've never seen before.) Seriously, check this out:
It may not actually mean anything, but I've gone through the leaderboards for the last few years and nobody achieved 100% active spin over the course of a season. Now granted, it's 2 games in, and this could change, and frankly, active spin doesn't mean anything on its own - there are bad pitchers and good pitchers with 98%+ active spin - but it's just a weird little quirk that shows this guys pitches might be extra deceptive. And seemingly, they are. I think Tobias Myers is a good pitcher, and I'm seeing if I can make room to pick him up. Note, the Yankees did get to him today and really hurt his ERA, but he still had a 1.00 WHIP, 5 Ks, and 0 BBs.
Danny Coulombe, RP ( 3% Rostered ) At age 34, it seems Danny Coulombe just decided to go out there this year and K everyone and everything that gets in his way. He's been excellent and has a .68 WHIP to show for it. And in a span of a few days, from April 24th to April 28th, Coulombe has racked up 3 holds. If you're in a holds league, there's no reason not to own this guy, unless all of your relievers are better.
John Schreiber, RP ( 4% Rostered )
At age 30, Schreiber decided to go out there and K absolutely nothing and nobody. But that doesn't really matter, as he sports an 82nd % ground ball percentage on 88th percentile hard hit %. So basically, if you get the bat on a pitch from Schreiber, it's probably going to be an infield dribbler for an out. In a span of a few days, from April 23rd to April 26th, he's racked up 3 holds. Being the set up guy for the Royals ain't a bad gig, and it won't be a bad gig for your roster either.
Garrett Cleavinger, RP ( 10% Rostered )
Cleavinger is wild and filthy, just the way some of us baseball degenerates like our pitchers. There's something fun about a guy that throws filthy pitches without really knowing where they're going. Chaos is entertaining, and so is Cleavinger. Things must be pretty weird when you have a minuscule 2.45 ERA alongside a hefty 1.55 WHIP. From April 18th to April 24th, Cleavinger has racked up 3 holds. If you want a guy that is going to get you tons of Ks and solid ERA to go with those holds, and don't care about the BBs and WHIP, Cleavinger is your man.
Lucas Erceg, RP ( 2% Rostered )
And here we have the better Cleavinger. There's nothing not to like about this guy except for the fact he plays for the A's, which will really limit his chances to get holds. At 12-17, the A's are not necessarily allergic to wins like the White Sox, and he's racked up 2 holds over the last 4 games, but be aware droughts could happen. If the A's get hot, this guy is going to be top tier.
Colin Holderman ( 2% Rostered )
Per usual, the Pirates have come back down to earth after a hot start, and with it Colin Holderman's opportunities for holds. Still, this guy has been an excellent pitcher, flashing electric stuff that would make you wish he was on a better team. From April 22nd to April 25th, he racked up 3 holds, demonstrating there's still upside here.
Enyel De Los Santos, RP ( 2% Rostered )
Enyel was my sleeper last year and I wound up carrying him for a fair stretch of time. He started strong, but faded as the season progressed. This may wind up being the same story, but we still can't ignore that he's been excellent. He should be in line for holds if the Padres start performing, but that's asking a lot of a team that's mightily struggling. If the Padres get going, Enyel may be worth rostering.
Nick Sandlin, RP ( 3% Rostered )
Not much to say when you see a 2.70 ERA, a .68 WHIP, and solid peripherals. Above that, he's a K machine that doesn't walk batters. Sandlin has been phenomenal for the Guardians, and they've rewarded him with setup duty. From April 20th to April 27th, he had a whopping 4 holds. He's a must own in SV+H format.
All in all, I think we have some fresh new talent to keep an eye on, and there will be plenty more on the way. Teams are call-up happy. Also, I had a damned good week and wanted to share. Left a QS on the bench today in Winn too, just in case! 14 team league
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