With the All-Star break upon us it is good time to take a breath and reset ourselves. We have made it through the first half of the season (actually a little more than that mathematically) and aside from a lack of offense and a sticky situation that now causes pitchers to undress between innings, things have gone pretty well. I hope the same is true for all of your fantasy teams, but regardless of the level of success you may be having, now is as good a time as any to reevaluate things to finish the season strong. With this edition of the waiver article, that is the slant I am looking to take.
Hitters
Jo Adell (LAA); FAAB Bid: 1% - Part of the logic here is simply to serve as a reminder that Adell still exists. It wasn’t that long ago that the outfielder was one of the top prospects in baseball and then 2020 happened. In 38 games last season Adell struck out 41.7% of the time and hit just .161 with only three home runs and nine RBI. He is obviously better than this but the outfielder also gave us some real cause for concern. Entering the weekend things were a lot better for Adell in Triple-A this year as he is hitting .273 with 18 home runs, 50 RBI and five stolen bases although he is still striking out 29.4% of the time. I would look for Adell to get another shot at some point this season as the Angels are likely looking towards 2022 which makes the prospect an ideal option to stash on the end of your bench.
Jarren Duran (BOS); FAAB Bid: 1% - Initially, Duran appeared to be headed to Tokyo as part of the US men’s baseball team but that would have taken him off Boston’s radar until mid to late August. Duran is no longer on the team but that doesn’t mean he, for certain, will be promoted prior to that time frame. At the very least though he certainly is on Boston’s radar as they look to secure what would have been considered an unlikely division championship back in April. In his first taste at Triple-A, Duran is hitting .279 entering the weekend with 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases. That is a combination that could truly leave a lasting impact in the standings as that kind of speed is simply not available at this point in the season. The stolen bases aren’t coming as a surprise but the home runs are more than he had combined in his entire career prior to this season (eight). To say he has had a power explosion this year would be an understatement as evidenced by his .302 ISO while only seeing his fly ball rate rise to 26.6%.
Jon Berti (MIA); FAAB Bid: 1% - Berti doesn’t play every day and when he does, he fluctuates between the top and bottom of the batting order, but he does bring a very specific skill set to the table; stolen bases. Over the last 14 days entering action on Saturday the utility player stole four bases while batting .257 in 35 at bats. On the season Berti has eight stolen bases while he is batting just .218, but it’s that one specific item of production we are after.
Austin Hays (BAL); FAAB Bid: 2% - Over the past week or so Hays has settled into the second spot in the order for Baltimore. In his last 46 at bats the outfielder is hitting .348 with two home runs and 10 RBI which is far cry from his struggles earlier this season. It brought his batting average up to .247 on the season to along with eight home runs and 28 RBI. Hays is barreling the ball up at highest level he has in his career (10.8%) while also seeing a spike in his exit velocity (86.9 to 89.5 miles per hour) compared to last season. Compared to last season, Hays is more disciplined at the plate seeing his chase rate drop from 38.2% to 31.5%. Nothing is going to truly jump off the charts here but the outfielder can be a solid contributor down the stretch as he does have a solid approach at the plate and batting at the top of the order also helps.
Trevor Larnach (MIN); FAAB Bid: 2% - Let’s stick a theme here of young outfielders who are hitting atop the lineup in prime spots. Larnach has shuffled between the second, third, or fourth spot in the order these days and entering action on Saturday he has driven in runs in seven of his last eight games. In the last 14 days he hitting .308 with two home runs and eight RBI to bring his average for the season up to .262 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 51 games. Larnach is still striking out 30% of the time while also benefitting from .359 BABIP. A 12.7%-barrel rate is nice and he does have a track of success in minor leagues so we are working with a solid hitter here.
Starting Pitchers
Triston McKenzie (CLE); FAAB Bid: 4-5% - Talk about a welcome back. There is no questioning the talent McKenzie brings to the table but the results this season haven’t exactly been indicative of that. The complete opposite is true as the right-hander took a 6.38 ERA into Friday’s start against Kansas City in his first start at the major league level since May 31st. McKenzie shut out the Royals in seven innings as he struck out nine batters while allowing just one hit and one walk. To say that is a big deal would be an understatement as he had previously walked 39 batters in 42.1 innings. Even at Triple-A, McKenzie struggled with control walking just over five batters per nine innings, but prior to this year he hadn’t walked more than three batters per nine innings at any stop in his career. Strikeouts won’t be a problem for him and it was nice to see him get back on track from a ground ball perspective (61.5%) which brought his rate for the season up to just 28.2%. His ERA now sits at 5.47 (4.79 xFIP) but all that really matters here is whether or not he can continue to throw strikes.
Carlos Carrasco (NYM); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - It’s no secret the Mets need pitching, and at this point it was expected Carrasco would have made his return by now from a hamstring injury. The good thing is that we aren’t dealing with an arm injury but the right-hander still needs to boost his stamina. After facing opposing hitters without issue on Tuesday, Carrasco did so again on Saturday with two up-downs. The next step after this would be an actual rehab stint. At this point if all goes well, and that is a big if, we should see Carrasco back towards the end of the month. His first few spots will likely be used to help him build up stamina but the results should be there and he can make a nice addition to your squad as you are likely in the same situation as the Mets when it comes to pitcher and if not, you can never have enough as he is coming of a 2020 that saw him post a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts.
Luis Severino (NYY); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Severino shouldn’t be that far behind Carrasco in returning as he already has two bullpens under his belt and likely will be facing opposing hitters for the first time this weekend, or very soon thereafter. Severino really hasn’t pitched since 2018 but he did eclipse 190 innings for the second straight year to go along with a 3.39 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. The setback in his return was due to a groin injury so all appears to be in working order from his Tommy John surgery and with his return getting closer, you can’t ignore getting a pitcher of his caliber for what is essentially free.
Relief Pitchers
Ryan Tepera (CHC); FAAB Bid: 1% - With the Cubs declaring that they will be sellers prior the end of the month, it is becoming clear that Craig Kimbrel will have a new home come August. That opens the door for saves and at this point the successor appears to be Tepera. The right-hander returned from the Injured List on Friday and promptly retired both batters he faced. Tepera has one save so far this season but he has found success pitching to a 3.29 ERA while striking out 41 batters in 38.1 innings to go along with 12 walks. In 2018, Tepera did save seven games for Toronto so there is at least some experience in the role and he has been dependable out of the bullpen for Chicago over the last two years.
Anthony Bender (MIA); FAAB Bid: 2-3% - Bender had been having quite the season out of the bullpen for Miami but for the most part he managed to stay off everyone’s radar until picking up a save earlier this week. It hasn’t been the best of seasons for Yimi Garcia but the right-hander did pick up his 13th save of the season on Saturday and for now he still appears to have the job in hand as Bender’s last appearance came on the Friday in the seventh inning with Miami trailing by one run. With the Marlins in last place there is a good chance that Garcia gets moved by the end of the month and it is also possible that his struggles force him from the role which makes Bender an intriguing addition. Even if he doesn’t pick up any saves, at least initially, it’s hard to argue with a 1.59 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.