I know this article is coming up a bit later than usual and I apologize for that. Don’t worry, nothing bad happened and the Category Impact articles will continue. The show must go on! Another injury to a regular closer opens the door for a setup man in Kansas City to rack up some saves. A strikeout arm returned from Tommy John surgery and looked solid in his season debut. Also, for some unknown reason, a young Chicago slugger is owned in only a quarter in fantasy leagues.

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Kelvin Herrera, RP KC— Joakim Soria is also in the conversation for saves, but Herrera’s numbers are far and away better than the former’s. In his last six appearances, covering six innings, Herrera has allowed just one hit while posting a dominant 12:1 K/BB ratio. For the season, he has a 1.40 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP, numbers that are worthy of save opportunities while Wade Davis is on the mend. One of the big keys to his success this season is the results from his wipeout slider. Opposing batters are hitting just .065 (2-for-31) and striking out half the time when the slider is thrown with two strikes. Herrera has no real split issues and he’s been essentially unhittable when a right-hander is up to bat. Saves are hard to come by on the waiver wire and even if the closing duties only last for a few weeks, that’s more than enough for owners. Get yourself some more saves, improve those ratios and let your team rack up the wins. It’s Herrera time.

Brandon McCarthy, SP LAD— In his first start from Tommy John surgery, McCarthy dazzled, showcasing the ability we all wanted to see following his return. Before I delve into the positives about McCarthy, keep in mind that he is coming off Tommy John surgery. We all saw what happened to Texas’ Yu Darvish following his return to the bigs. He made a few starts and then he was back on the disabled list with shoulder tightness. It’s not uncommon for pitchers to succumb to shoulder soreness following the major arm surgery. Back in 2014, he put up a 7.88 K/9, and then through three starts in 2015, he put up a 11.35 K/9. Those numbers, especially the latter, are well above his career mark, but in his first start in over a year, the strikeout ability shined. He punched out eight Rockies in five innings of work, allowing just two hits and one walk in the process. He’s only owned in 12 percent of fantasy leagues over on ESPN, which is understandable given the fact that he just came off Tommy John surgery, but a bit shocking for a guy who could became a quality SP3 or SP4 the rest of the way with quality strikeout upside. He has a favorable matchup in his next outing against the San Diego Padres, so you should add him immediately.

Javier Baez, 2B CHC— In the last seven days, Baez is hitting .324 (11-for-34) with two homers, six RBI, five runs scored and one stolen base. He’s still striking out a fair amount, but as long as he’s hitting homers and taking an occasional base, he needs to be owned in more than just 34 percent of fantasy leagues. Consider his numbers for the season; nine home runs, five stolen bases, 28 RBI and 27 runs scored. Those are plenty good to play and the fact that he has eligibility at three different positions makes him that much more valuable. You’ll have to live with the strikeouts, but he’s having the best season of his professional career to date and as he needs to be active in more lineups than he isn’t. If he’s still available in your league, go get him now, because it finally seems as if he has a regular gig in the Chicago lineup. His .176 ISO is impressive and he looks poised to reach the 20/10 club this season.