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 arrival of an intriguing top prospect in Milwaukee and a prime streaming option for fantasy managers in line for a tasty matchup against a struggling Royals’ lineup.
Sal Frelick, OF, Brewers
Available in 75 percent of Yahoo leagues
The Brewers finally summoned their top prospect to the majors prior to Saturday’s showdown against the sizzling-hot Braves, and he wound up making an immediate impact for Milwaukee, going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI, and also made several dazzling defensive plays in right field. He followed that performance up during Sunday’s series finale by reaching base in two of his four plate appearances and also scoring a run. The 23-year-old rookie outfielder is only rostered in roughly a quarter of Yahoo leagues entering Monday’s showdown against the upstart Reds, which means there’s still an opportunity for fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues to pluck him from the waiver wire. He’s excelled at every minor-league level during his ascent to the majors, and possesses enough pull power to reach double-digit homers, despite a strong opposite-field approach. His biggest strength from a fantasy standpoint will come from his on-base skills, in tandem with his plus speed and base running savvy. He doesn’t project as an immediate fantasy superstar, but he’s the type of all-around talent that can make an impact in all five standard rotisserie categories moving forward. He has a chance to blossom into an elite fantasy outfielder in the future, if he develops some additional over-the-fence pop, and is also stealing 15-20 bases annually. He’s the prototypical high-floor, low-ceiling fantasy outfielder that can be a solid foundational building block, but is a bit unlikely to become an upper-echelon contributor without some changes to his batted-ball profile.
Logan Allen, SP, Guardians
Available in 60 percent of Yahoo leagues
Allen finds himself in line for an extremely favorable matchup on Monday against the last-place Royals and is still available on the waiver wire in more than half of Yahoo fantasy leagues. The 24-year-old southpaw has been featured in this space on several occasions this season, and deserves another mention after firing five shutout inning last Tuesday against the Pirates in his first big-league outing since June 28. He piled up eight strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass over five stellar frames. There’s some reason for trepidation here since his average fastball velocity was roughly two miles per hour slower last week than previously this season, which certainly decreases his margin for error, and amplifies the risk in his profile. However, he’s in line for a phenomenal matchup against a Royals’ lineup that ranks 29th in runs scored this season, barely ahead of the floundering Athletics. It’s too tasty of a matchup to ignore for streaming purposes, but fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his fastball velocity in this outing.
