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It’s hard to believe that we’re just about at the halfway point of the baseball season. The All-Star break festivities will begin in a few weeks and fantasy managers everywhere are in the midst of the grind. Up to this point, storylines such as excessive amounts of no-hitters and the foreign substance crackdown have been discussed regularly. But more than that, 2021 feels like the season of the ‘young studs’.
We’re seeing young players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Fernando Tatís Jr, and Shohei Ohtani performing at very high levels. Beyond that, players such as Trevor Rogers, Freddy Peralta, and Cedric Mullins have significantly increased their fantasy values as the season has progressed. Not every young star that breaks out is, or has been, a big time prospect. There are numerous examples of players who were drafted in the later rounds of the MLB Draft, but later proved that they are one of the better players in MLB (Jacob deGrom). [[ad:athena]]
Every fantasy manager wants to be early on the next big breakout and the best way to be early is to be consistently active on the waiver wire. So far this season, we’ve already seen a handful of waiver wire darlings help out fantasy teams, and more than likely, we’ll see a few more before the season ends. Now is *not* the time to accept your sixth place standing in your league. Now is the time to continue to compete, continue to explore the waiver wire, and in this piece, I’m going to identify a handful of players that could help you going forward. So far in this weekly series, I’ve really only touched on players who are playing at the major league level. But maybe it’s time to also advise stashing a prospect or two who could make an impact during the 2nd half of the season. Let’s get into it.
Points League Options
(Players rostered in under 50 percent of ESPN leagues)
Jordan Romano RP, Blue Jays (49 percent rostered)
In his college days, Romano had experience closing for Oral Roberts University, so the mental task of being a closer is nothing new to him. He was then drafted in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, beginning his journey to The Show. He made 69 starts in the minor leagues, but finished off his minor league career as a relief pitcher. In his final minor league season pitching at Triple-A, he earned his first five career saves as a professional baseball player. It was becoming more clear that being a closer or high-leverage relief pitcher was Romano’s calling at the major league level.
Back in late March when it was announced that Kirby Yates would be undergoing Tommy John surgery, Jordan Romano was arguably the hottest relief pitcher target in fantasy baseball. With Yates hurt, many fully expected Romano to be ‘the guy’. They were wrong. Early-on, Julian Merryweather began to receive save opportunities and he would have likely continued to receive them if he didn’t go down with a left oblique strain. At this point, Romano had to be the guy, right? Wrong. Romano missed some time in mid-April due to right elbow issues and Rafael Dolis found himself seeing save opportunities, even shortly after Romano’s return. Then, Dolis was placed on the injured list with a right middle finger sprain on June 17th and now, the job should belong to Romano for the time being.
On the season, Romano has a 1.37 ERA (3.33 SIERA), 34:13 K:BB, 30.0% hard hit rate, and 56.7% ground ball rate. He’s been generating whiffs and strikeouts at a high rate, limiting hard contact, and inducing ground balls at a high rate using his mid-high 90s four-seam fastball and strong slider. It also appears he’s improved his slider command, which is likely helping his overall performance. He’ll likely be over the 50% rostered mark very soon, so if you need a reliable relief pitcher, grab Romano and hold, for now.
Jonathan India 2B/3B, Reds (48 percent rostered)
As a prospect, he dealt with a handful of injuries that ultimately limited his minor league sample size, but his talent never faded. India doesn’t seem to truly excel at any one offensive aspect of the game (power, speed), he’s just a solid all around player. His career batting average in the minors wasn’t ideal (.254), but he’s slowly been drawing more walks as he’s been gaining more professional experience. As a result, it’s possible he’ll always have an average to above average on-base percentage. Over his final 428 minor league at-bats playing in High-A and Double-A, he earned a .259/.365/.402 slash line with 11 home runs and a 11/16 steal rate. And to begin his MLB career, the former 5th overall pick has continued to showcase some of these skills.
Over 207 at-bats, he has a .271/.382/.415 slash line with 6 home runs and a 6/9 steal rate. He has a 121 wRC+ (a wRC+ at or above 100 is considered league average) and his defensive skills are above average, which will help him see regular at-bats. He does have a whiff percentage greater than 35.0% against both breaking and offspeed pitches, a weakness that pitchers could attack more and more. Nonetheless, India has the upside to reach double digit home runs and steals with a respectable batting average and an above average on-base percentage. He should be rostered in most formats.
Marco Gonzales SP, Mariners (43 percent rostered)
Gonzales established himself as a useful fantasy starter in 2019, when he threw a career high 203.0 innings. His 5.08 SIERA that year indicated he might’ve gotten a tad bit lucky (3.99 ERA), but his pinpoint command/control was, and still is, undeniable--for the most part. He missed a handful of starts this season due to a forearm injury, and since his return, he has a 4.66 ERA (4.38 SIERA) and 19:7 K:BB over 19.1 innings pitched. His cutter has been arguably his best pitch since 2018, but this year he’s throwing it less. More than that, his command of the pitch has been shaky. Whether this is related to his forearm injury remains to be seen, but his cutter’s success could be integral to his success as a whole. All in all, he lacks overpowering stuff, but he makes up for it with the ability to limit free passes while locating his pitches well. If he can begin to command his cutter better, he’ll once again be a guy who will regularly complete 6.0+ innings with respectable strikeout upside. In other words, an ideal fantasy option for any points league roster.
Sean Murphy C, Athletics (48 percent rostered)
We know he’s a great defender, but seeing Murphy’s offensive skills beginning to translate at the major league level is exciting to watch. Murphy has above average natural raw power matched with an ability to get on-base at a solid rate (9.2% walk rate over 966 plate appearances in minors, 12.0% walk rate over 441 plate appearances in majors). More than that, he does have a solid hit tool and is capable of making a good amount of contact. Over his first 376 MLB at-bats, he has a .229/.340/.463 slash line with 21 home runs.
So far in 2021, he has just a .222/.328/.440 slash line with 10 home runs over 207 at-bats. But since May 12th (115 at-bats), he has a .252/.341/.504 slash line with 6 home runs. It appears his batting average will remain in the .220-.260 range for now, but this range could widen if he can improve against breaking pitches. Catchers can be a headache in fantasy, but having one with legit 20+ home run upside can provide you with security at the position for the entire season. A slow start likely resulted in Murphy being dropped in some leagues, but there’s a strong chance that he’ll be a top-10 catcher option for the rest of the season.
Joe Ross SP/RP, Nationals (16 percent rostered)
We’ve been hurt before, but Ross is on pace to set a career high in innings pitched at age-28. The former 1st round pick had a very respectable minor league career (3.69 ERA and 12.8% K-BB over 483.0 innings pitched), but injuries mixed with inconsistent performances, when healthy, have limited his fantasy value up to this point. He’s still a sinker-first arm, but he’s made a significant change to his arsenal this year: he’s ditched his curveball. His curveball had a career .361 weight on-base average against and it appears Ross is ready to focus mainly on his sinker and slider. Sometimes, simplifying your arsenal and making things easier for yourself is one of the better decisions a pitcher can make.
He did have a rough start to the season, but since May 20th (38.2 innings pitched), he has a 2.56 ERA (3.67 SIERA), 40:9 K:BB, and a 43.7% ground ball rate. His command has been strong as of late, especially his command of his slider. He’s been able to consistently throw it down-and-in to left-handed hitters and down-and-away to right-handed hitters. And as a result, his slider is currently sporting a 27.4% K-BB and a .241 weight on-base average against. He’ll still have occasional poor efforts, but if he can stay healthy, 2021 might be the most productive season of his MLB career.
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Deep Points League Options
(Players rostered in under 10 percent of ESPN leagues)
Vidal Bruján 2B, Rays (7 percent rostered)
At this point in the season, Bruján’s call up is arguably the most anticipated out of all the redraft prospects who could see the majors at some point this season. His good friend Wander Franco was called up on June 22nd and Bruján will likely be joining him at some point before the season ends. Known for his elite speed, great bat control, strong plate discipline, and quality hit tool, Bruján is an early-round fantasy draft pick in the making. Then, when you consider that fact he’s tapping into more power in his first season at Triple-A, his upside becomes even more enticing.
So far in Triple-A, he has a .248/.333/.466 slash line with 9 home runs and a 14/16 steal rate. He started out red hot (.326/.414/.605 slash line over his first 86 at-bats), but has a .175/.247/.313 slash line over his last 80 at-bats. These are both extremely small sample sizes and it’s no surprise to see Bruján going through an adjustment period at this stage in the minors. There’s a good chance we see Bruján up before August, making now the right time to stash him, if you can afford to. If he starts out hot, he could be looked back at as one of the better waiver wire pickups of 2021.
Luis Patiño SP/RP, Rays (4 percent rostered)
With Josh Fleming heading to the injured list with a right calf strain, Chris Archer still on the injured list with a forearm injury, and Tyler Glasnow going down with a partial UCL tear, the Rays’ starting pitching depth is being tested. The Rays may feel obligated to call Patiño back up to see if he can help them out right now. With that being said, Patiño makes for a fun speculative waiver wire target.
The young righty has been utilized as needed by the Rays so far this season and has a 3.60 ERA and 19:4 K:B over 15.0 innings pitched. His slider and four-seam fastball command have improved this season and both pitches have a walk rate less than 4.6 percent. He also throws a sinker, changeup and curveball. There’s a chance they end up not calling him up, but if you have extra roster space and want an upside stash, Patiño certainly fits the bill.
