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 the emergence of one of Cleveland’s top pitching prospects, the rise of a potential elite fantasy stopper in Houston and a potential injury replacement for fantasy managers at the catcher position.
Logan Allen, SP, Guardians
Available in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues
With Triston McKenzie (shoulder) and Aaron Civale (oblique) sidelined due to injury, and Hunter Gaddis jettisoned from Cleveland’s starting rotation for performance-based reasons, Allen got his shot on Sunday afternoon against the Marlins. The 24-year-old southpaw authored a brilliant performance in his major-league debut, allowing one run on five hits with eight strikeouts and only one walk over six frames. He generated an astounding 17 swinging strikes and finished with a strong 33 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs). Universally-regarded as one of the better pitching prospects in the Guardians’ system, he was off to a tremendous start at Triple-A Columbus, posting a microscopic 1.26 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 20/5 K/BB ratio across 14 1/3 innings (three starts).
There are some obvious workload concerns, and he might struggle against right-handed hitters at the highest level, but he misses a ton of bats, and represents a viable streaming option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues over the next few weeks, especially given all of the recent injuries to big-name starting pitchers across the fantasy landscape. It’s a bit unclear how the Guardians’ rotation will shake out over the next week, but Allen appears to be lined up to face the Red Sox’ lefty-heavy lineup on Sunday at Fenway Park. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats.
Bryan Abreu, RP, Astros
Available in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues
It might be too early to give up completely on veteran stopper Ryan Pressly, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that Abreu is the most talented reliever in Houston’s bullpen. The hard-throwing 26-year-old right-hander, who is rapidly evolving into one of the most dominant high-leverage relievers in baseball, converted a pair of save opportunities over the weekend against the Braves and holds a sparkling 0.73 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 19/6 K/BB ratio across 12 1/3 innings (12 appearances). Forecasting saves is an extremely difficult exercise, but Astros manager Dusty Baker has called on Abreu for two of their last three save chances. There’s a chance he takes over the closer role and blossoms into one of upper-echelon relief pitchers in the fantasy landscape.
Gabriel Moreno, C, Diamondbacks
Available in 76 percent of Yahoo leagues
The injuries are starting to pile up at the catcher position with burgeoning star Logan O’Hoppe, who is expected to miss the next four to six months with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, becoming the latest backstop to hit the shelf over the weekend. There aren’t a ton of intriguing options out there on the waiver wire, but Moreno has gotten off to a nice start in his Diamondbacks debut, batting .288 with one homer and 12 RBI through 61 plate appearances. The 23-year-old top prospect has recorded three multi-hit performances in his last six games and is in line for a pair of favorable series this upcoming week against the Royals and Rockies.
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