Rotoworld’s brand-new Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there’s value to be found on the waiver wire, we will find it and bring it your way. Today’s edition features a stellar debut for an unheralded pitching prospect in Houston, an unlikely breakout high-leverage reliever with the Cubs and a former top prospect tearing the cover off the ball in Texas.
J.P. France, SP/RP, Astros
Available in 82 percent of Yahoo leagues
With Luis Garcia set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Jose Urquidy also sidelined due to a shoulder injury, there’s a legitimate opportunity for France to stick in the Astros’ starting rotation until further notice. The unheralded 28-year-old right-hander turned in a stellar performance on Saturday evening against the division-rival Mariners in his major league debut at T-Mobile Park, wriggling out a bases-loaded jam in the opening frame before limiting Seattle’s strong lineup to just a pair of hits over his final four frames. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk. He departed in line for a win, but the Astros’ bullpen wound up surrendering seven runs in the eighth inning to saddle him with a no-decision. He was off to a strong start this season for Triple-A Sugar Land, compiling a microscopic 2.33 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 26/11 K/BB ratio across 19 1/3 innings (five appearances, three starts). He’s lined up to face the injury-depleted White Sox on Friday in an extremely favorable road matchup and is worthy of a speculative roster spot for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.
For the complete sabermetric breakdown on France’s repertoire, we consulted our resident advanced stats guru, Shelly Verougstrate, who supplied this excellent breakdown: France has four above-average pitches according to Eno Sarris’ Pitching+ metric. His best pitch is his slider, with eye-popping 132 Stuff+, followed by his curveball (127 Stuff+) and four-seam fastball (113 Stuff+). To put that in more context, France leads the Astros in Stuff+ in all three of those pitches. There is typically a bump up in production in pitchers making their debut so there could be a bit of regression in his next start. However, unless France takes a massive step backward, he should be a reliable starter for the Astros going forward.
Mark Leiter Jr., SP/RP, Cubs
Available in 79 percent of Yahoo leagues
We’re not exactly sure what direction the Cubs are ultimately headed with the roles of their high-leverage options between Adbert Alzolay, Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger moving forward, but it’s becoming apparent that Leiter Jr. is worthy of consideration for save opportunities until further notice. The 32-year-old journeyman right-hander has been phenomenal this season for the Cubs, compiling a microscopic 1.13 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 25/6 K/BB ratio across 16 innings (16 appearances). Even if he’s not the primary closer in Chicago, he’s proven that he’s capable of handling high-leverage spots of late, and is worthy of a roster spot in shallow mixed leagues as a ratio stabilizer and occasional saves source.
Leody Taveras, OF, Rangers
Available in 98 percent of Yahoo leagues
Taveras missed the first two weeks of the season due to a left oblique strain that he suffered during spring training and got off to a relatively slow start at the plate. The 24-year-old former top prospect has caught fire over his last four games, batting .625 (10-for-16) with one homer and five RBI since May 3. He went 4-for-5 with four RBI on Sunday in the Rangers’ blowout win over the Angels to push his triple-slash line to .300/.372/.457 with 15 runs scored, one homer, 10 RBI and two stolen bases across 78 plate appearances. With Bubba Thompson, Brad Miller and Josh Smith profiling as better fits in reserve roles, there’s an opportunity for him to emerge as the Rangers’ everyday center fielder. He possesses enough over-the-fence power and stolen base upside to warrant consideration for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.
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