Hitters

Eloy Jimenez (CHW) – One thing that bugs me when subbing in on an article is when an obvious grab is still floating on waivers. I hate leading off with chalk, but Eloy Jimenez is available in over 30% of ESPN leagues and I can’t quite understand why. He’s a little ahead of his return schedule and can be a fantastic contributor down the stretch for your fantasy team. In last year’s shortened season (which is what he’ll basically play when he returns), he had 14 home runs and drove in 41 RBI from July 24th to September 24th. If we’re to believe he will be completely healthy next month, he needs to be 100% owned since he’s easily a top 20 outfielder at full health.

Jarren Duran (BOS) – This caught me completely by surprise. As a Red Sox fan I was told that Duran likely wouldn’t get brought up until after the Olympics. And then this came across my Twitter feed…

So naturally, I alerted the MLB Seasonal Discord, while picking him up everywhere I could in my own fantasy leagues. You should look to pick up Duran as soon as possible to at least stash. Sure, we’ve seen our share of rookies struggle when they’ve gotten the call in the last year, and Duran could have similar skids, but this is the competitive nature of fantasy baseball. You have to be ahead of the curve. Duran has 15 home runs, a dozen stolen bases, and a .926 OPS at Triple-A this year.

Oscar Mercado (CLE) – In a very small sample size leading up to the All-Star Break, Mercado was heating up. He made his 2021 debut on June 28th and since July 2nd he went 9-for-26 with a home run, five runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases. I’ve always liked the prospect pedigree with Mercado. After all he was a 15/15 player just two years ago in 115 games. He’s hitting toward the bottom of Cleveland’s lineup, but if he can contribute in any way, Cleveland will bump him up. I’ll also briefly mention Vidal Brujan because he is getting closer to gaining outfield eligibility in a few different formats after coming up as an infielder (second base, more specifically). He didn’t get off to a great start but give him a little more time because the position flexibility will only help his value.

Eric Haase (DET) – I’m very frugal with the catcher position. So while I was more bearish than bullish on him a couple weeks ago, the #FANation did alert me to the streak this guy was starting to get on so I did manage to get him in two of my deeper leagues. That being said, you just hope the few days off didn’t hurt him or stint his hot streak. He has 13 home runs over the last two months and his .538 slugging percentage is welcome in any format.

Starting Pitchers

Logan Gilbert (SEA) – Similar to Eloy, this is the player to grab if looking for some help in the starting pitching department. Gilbert started to hit his stride in his last two starts heading into the All-Star Break. Against the Yankees and Rangers, he logged 12.2 innings with 14 strikeouts with a decent 13.7% swinging strike rate. The start against the Yankees is most noteworthy because he allowed just one hit across seven innings with eight strikeouts. He was truly phenomenal and the Mariners are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. They’ll certainly need his arm to make the postseason.

David Price (LAD) – You’re not getting the player he was ten years ago. You aren’t even getting the player he was five years ago. But you are getting a player with an opportunity. The recent news surrounding Trevor Bauer opens up a spot in the rotation. Remember just a couple months ago how the Dodgers were considering pitching Trevor Bauer every fourth day? That would’ve easily made him the most valuable player in points leagues. Now, he may not play again this season and that opens the door for Price, who did pitch three innings in a start last Friday. It wasn’t a spotless trio of innings but it was effective for a guy who has grown accustomed to pitching in relief. 

Wily Peralta (DET) – If you’re looking for a two-start streamer this week, you can probably do a lot worse than Peralta. Hear me out… He won’t generate a ton of strikeouts, but he also might just do enough to put your ratios in a good spot. No one is expecting a lights out performance from this guy. You’re hoping he’s in position for a win or a quality start with minimal damage and maybe five strikeouts. Peralta gets two starts this week (as do plenty of other arms, given the nature of the scoring period) and those starts are against Minnesota and Texas, two of the worst teams in baseball.

Relief Pitchers 

Heath Hembree (CIN) – I’m going to continue to grasp at the low-hanging fruit, but when a guy who is under 20% owned in ESPN leagues has five saves this month then you need to be grabbing him in rotisserie or category leagues. The Cincinnati closer role has been a controversial one at that and they’ve struck gold in the first two weeks of July. Aside from the saves he touts a 15.30 K/9 which is great, but he also has a 2.40 HR/9 and, as a closer, that could catch up to him at some point. But over his last eight appearances he’s kept the ball inside the park and he’s made the most of his situation. He certainly hasn’t done anything to warrant losing the job.

Ranger Suarez (PHI) – Another reliever that rode into the break on a high note is Ranger Suarez who is still heavily available in plenty of leagues. In Joe Gallina’s latest Bullpen Report heading into the break it seemed like he was more confident in Suarez keeping the job than he was with Hembree if looking at the Closer Grid. There have been some rumors circling in the Philly faithful blog circuit that Suarez would be better served in the team’s rotation but for now he’s worth looking at as an option for saves. And as always, if the situation gets a little muddy post-All Star break then you throw him back to the waiver pool.

Tylor Megill (NYM) – Leave it to the Mets to make use of a guy with typo’s in both his first and last name. Megill is a bit of a gem in points leagues as a player that qualifies as a relief pitcher, but he had four starts leading up to the All-Star break. In 18 innings of work he has 26 strikeouts, 14 hits, nine walks, and seven earned runs. Great? No. Good enough? Yes, he’s given up the long ball at a higher clip than we’d like to see, but the strikeouts make him appealing as a SP/RP in points formats. He’s probably more of an add in deeper leagues. I wouldn’t drop a top 60-75 pitcher for him