| | | | Tuesday, August 20, 2024 | | The bar for Fantasy viability is so low at catcher. The No. 12 catcher in Rotisserie leagues right now is Willson Contreras, who missed over a month and a half of action with an injury and is currently hitting .261/.375/.475 with 45 runs, 15 homers, 35 RBI, and three steals. That's solid production from a catcher, but it pales in comparison to what the No. 12 player at other positions has provided: | | No. 12 1B, Jake Burger: .251 average, 53 R, 24 HR, 55 RBI, 0 SBNo. 12 2B, Willi Castro: .258, 71 R, 10 HR, 47 RBI, 12 SB No. 12 3B, Alex Bregman: .261, 65 R, 19 HR, 59 RBI, 3 SBNo. 12 SS, Ceddanne Rafaela: .264, 63 R, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 17 SB | | That shouldn't come as any kind of surprise to anyone who has played Fantasy Baseball before, but it's still worth keeping in mind – and remember, it's even worse in those leagues where you have to start two catchers. I point all that out to make a point I've made many times in the Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter: If you've got any juice at all, you're Fantasy-relevant at catcher. | | And Adrian Del Castillo has juice. | | | | The 24-year-old got the call for the Diamondbacks when Gabriel Moreno went on the IL a few weeks ago after a run in Triple-A where he absolutely terrorized the PCL. He wasn't just the best hitting catcher in the league, though he very much was, with only one other player at the position even within 200 points of OPS of him. But even beyond that, Del Castillo's 1.010 OPS was the very best of any player with at least 200 PA in the PCL. Again, he did that as a catcher. | | And he's looked the part in his early taste of the majors as well. He had a massive game Monday against the Marlins, going 2 for 4 with a ground slam, six RBI total, and even added a stolen base for good measure. In eight games since getting the call, he's now hitting .323/.400/.677 with three homers, 12 RBI, and six runs. | | Now, it's worth noting that the underlying numbers aren't quite as robust as all that. His .408 wOBA entering play Monday wasn't quite backed up by his .352 xwOBA, and his 35% strikeout rate isn't ideal, either. On the other hand, that .352 xwOBA (before he had two batted balls over 100 mph Monday, mind you) has been bested by just two catchers in the majors this season. | | Which is all to say, I think Del Castillo needs to be rostered in pretty much every league where you start two catchers. And even in one-catcher leagues, I'd be willing to give him a look if I have someone like Logan O'Hoppe in my lineup – I do rank O'Hoppe ahead of Del Castillo the rest of the way, but he's also hitting just .154 with a 39% strikeout rate over the past 28 games, so if you're desperate for wins right now, I don't mind making the switch to play the hot hand here. | | Del Castillo is certainly one of the hottest hands at the position right now, and if what he's done this season is at all for real, he might just be a must-start option there in the long run. | | | | Tuesday's waiver targets | | | | Masataka Yoshida, OF, Red Sox (73%) – I generally think Yoshida is what he is at this point – a strong source of batting average with a somewhat limited ceiling for Fantasy because he doesn't run or hit for much power. But there's no denying this: When he gets hot, he tends to get extremely hot, and he's extremely hot now. How hot is he right now? Well, he didn't even start Monday's game against the Astros, and he still homered and drove in a couple of runs. Since he came back from the IL in early June, he is hitting .310 with a 20-homer, 100-RBI pace over the past 52 games. When he's this locked in, Yoshida probably just needs to be in your lineup in all league types. | | TJ Friedl, OF, Reds (68%) – I was pretty skeptical of Friedl's breakout, but it sure looks like he would've followed it up with another terrific season if not for injuries. Sure, the .237 average is a disappointment, but he hit his 10th homer in just 49 games Monday, giving him a 150-game pace of over 30 homers and nearly 20 steals. And his .277 xBA suggests that the biggest flaw in his game might just be a fluke, too. Friedl is, to a certain extent, a product of his home park, but he still gets to play there, doesn't he? He should be started in all categories leagues, and probably a decent share of points leagues at this point, too. | | Connor Norby, 2B, Marlins (14%) – One downside of the Orioles ' crowded farm system and major-league club is, that it created weird situations like this, where Norby getting traded from Baltimore to Miami was unequivocally good for his Fantasy value. Not only should he get a chance to play every day after being recalled by Miami Monday, but he actually should get a slight park upgrade – Miami and Baltimore have similar park factors overall, but Miami is a slightly better place for right-handed power, a big deal for a guy like Norby with just average raw pop. It's a bad lineup, but Norby is going to get a chance to prove himself and for a career .295/.370/.498 hitter at Triple-A, that's worth getting excited about for Fantasy. | | David Peterson, SP, Mets () – I don't really believe in Peterson, but he just keeps getting the job done. And Monday might have been his most impressive start of the season, as he limited the Orioles to just two earned runs over seven innings while striking out eight, matching a season-high. He's mostly been beating up on subpar competition to get to his 3.00 ERA, but this was one of the best offenses in the league he just handled. I'm still hoping for just average production from Peterson moving forward, but this might have been a sign that maybe he can give us a little more than that. | | | | News and Notes | | The Braves' nightmare season continues: Austin Riley has a fractured right hand and will miss approximately 6-8 weeks, effectively ending his regular season. | | In the shallowest of leagues, check for Mark Vientos or Junior Caminero to fill your third base spot. After that, you have the likes of Michael Busch, Eugenio Suarez, and Colt Keith between 60-70% rostered, while in deeper leagues, you can consider names like Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Jonah Bride, Whit Merrifield, or Andres Chaparro. It's not ideal, given how good Riley has been since June, but that's the nature of the game. | | Freddie Freeman was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right middle finger but was in the lineup Monday and plans to play through the injury. Manager Dave Roberts said it's all about pain tolerance for Freeman moving forward, and Freeman looked more or less fine both at the plate and in the field. But it's absolutely fair to wonder both how sustainable this will be and how much it is likely to impact his performance moving forward. I think it's reasonable to expect Freeman to be a lesser version of himself with this injury. | | Both Max Muncy and Tommy Edman were reinstated by the Dodgers . Muncy was batting 7th while Edman was 9th, and Muncy homered while Edman stole a bas. That was good to see in both regards. | | With Edman back, Andy Pages was optioned back to Triple-A. He should be back when the roster expands, but probably won't be Fantasy-relevant again this season. | | Dave Roberts said Michael Kopech is gassed and will be held out from pitching for a few days. He's fine physically but pitched three of four days from Thursday through Sunday, so Evan Phillips got the save Monday, his first since July 23. I expect this to remain committee, more or less, though Kopech has been impressive enough that he could emerge as the favorite here after getting two straight saves over the weekend. | | Ketel Marte was placed on the IL with a sprained left ankle. He re-aggravated the injury as a pinch-hitter on Sunday. Kevin Newman started at second base on Monday. | | The Pirates have no plans to shut Paul Skenes down but are considering shortening his starts down the stretch. He's up to 125.1 innings between the minors and majors, and while I don't expect a Garrett Crochet situation, there could be some frustration along the way. | | Jacob deGrom is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday before making his first rehab start Thursday at Double-A. He is expected to make four starts on his rehab assignment, which should result in a season debut around Sept. 10-12 if he stays on schedule. | | Alex Bregman has now missed four straight with elbow inflammation. Shay Whitcomb started in his place. | | Pete Fairbanks was officially placed on the IL with a right lat strain. It could be any or all of Edwin Uceta, Manuel Rodriguez, and Colin Poche for saves moving forward, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a full-blown committee while Fairbanks is out. | | An MRI on Brandon Nimmo's shoulder came back clean. He was out of the lineup Monday and is considered day-to-day. | | Bo Bichette is expected to begin running in 2-3 days. He's been out since late July with a moderate right calf strain and it would sure be nice to see some signs of life from him before the season's end. | | Justin Verlander will return to start Wednesday against the Red Sox, but I wouldn't trust him in his first outing back from a multi-month absence. | | Alex Cobb was placed on the IL with a fractured nail on his right hand. Hopefully, it's just a minimum stay on the IL, but that's frustrating as it came out of nowhere after waivers ran. | | Yandy Diaz was back in the lineup after leaving Sunday with a hit by pitch on left forearm. | | An MRI on Ha-seong Kim's right shoulder came back somewhat favorable, but the results are still being evaluated and he could need more imaging. | | Thairo Estrada was reinstated from the IL and returned to the Giants lineup, batting 7th. | | Ke'Bryan Hayes was placed on the IL with lower back inflammation. | | The Reds promoted one of their pitching prospects, Julian Aguiar, to start on Monday. He allowed two runs on four hits over four innings while generating just three swinging strikes on 57 pitches. He isn't a strikeout pitcher, which makes it hard to get too excited about him playing half his games in a very good hitter's park. | | Monday's standouts | | Tanner Houck , Red Sox @HOU: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K – Boy, did Houck need this one. He had fewer than four strikeouts in five of seven starts since the beginning of July, and had 22 strikeouts to 21 walks in that stretch, too. He had the sweeper working well, generating 11 whiffs in this one, though even the sinker was excellent, garnering six whiffs of its own. His velocity was up over 1 mph on each pitch, which surely helped. Houck has a high floor thanks to his ability to generate weak contact, but the lack of strikeouts lately had me questioning the upside, so this was good to see. I think you're keeping him in your lineup moving forward. | | Seth Lugo, Royals vs. LAA: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K – I've been notably skeptical of Lugo all season, and the previous couple of starts sure vindicated that, as he surrendered 11 earned runs over his past 9.1 innings of work. But I've never doubted the ability to be an effective pitcher, especially against exploitable matchups like, say, the Angels. Lugo used his typical kitchen sink approach in this one, though his uncharacteristic wildness of late continued, and he has now walked 10 in four August starts; he didn't have more than nine in any month prior to this, and he probably has at least two more starts to go. Which is to say, you probably shouldn't be expecting the same ace results you were getting every time out from Lugo earlier in the season. But he should be plenty useful down the stretch as a high-volume option. | | Taj Bradley, Rays @OAK: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – Just as quickly as Bradley seemed to figure it out, he seems to have lost it. This wasn't his worst start recently – heck, it was even a quality start – but it remains hard to be optimistic about a guy who looked like he was making a leap to ace-dom just a couple months ago. I will note, however, that this start does look a bit better when you check under the hood, as he did create 12 whiffs on 89 pitches, including seven with his splitter and four with his cutter; he just seemed to have trouble putting A's hitters away. Still, after lowering his season ERA to 2.43 in late July, he's up to 3.55, having allowed 18 runs over his past 20 innings, with 17 strikeouts and nine walks in that span. Bradley clearly has talent, but consistency remains an issue, and as long as that's the case, it's going to be tough to trust him. | | Yusei Kikuchi , Astros vs. BOS: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K – Kikuchi continued to throw his slider more in this one, throwing it 35 times and generating five whiffs with it. But the fastball was the start of the show here, as he got nine of his 17 whiffs with it. We've seen different pitches take center stage for Kikuchi seemingly every time out for the Astros, and he has a 2.24 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 31 strikeouts in 22.2 innings over four starts. That ERA will rise, obviously, but I feel pretty comfortable just leaving Kikuchi in my starting lineup moving forward – knowing that there will likely be some bumps in the road along the way, of course. | | Gavin Stone, Dodgers vs. SEA: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K – The obvious question that springs to mind immediately probably has an equally obvious explanation: "How the heck did that happen? Oh, it was the Mariners ." That's not the most charitable take I've ever given, but we're talking about a guy who hasn't had more than five strikeouts in a start since June prior to this. He leaned heavily on his four-seamer and changeup, the latter of which generated eight of his 15 swinging strikes. We also continue to see flashes of a pitch that could help unlock more upside from Stone, as his slider also came with four whiffs on just 11 pitches in this one and remains a very effective swing-and-miss pitch that he just doesn't ever seem to throw more than a dozen or so times per game. Stone needed a start like this, but I just don't see much reason to think it's going to be the norm moving forward without a change in his underlying approach. | | Brandon Pfaadt , Diamondbacks @MIA: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – Pfaadt's improved pitching this season has mostly been the result of a big improvement in the quality of contact he's allowing, but that's a double-edged sword; every strikeout is basically a guaranteed out, while even weak contact can turn into hits and runs. It's why we're always necessarily skeptical of pitchers who don't get many strikeouts, and Pfaadt came crashing back to earth after a surprise 11 strikeouts in his previous outing. He's struggling through a tough August, with a 4.94 ERA, and isn't someone who needs to be rostered when things aren't going well. | | Kyle Harrison, Giants vs. CHW: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K – I'm not much of a believer in Harrison, but I started him in multiple leagues this week because of the matchups, and so far, so good. He's still way too fastball-reliant for a guy with a low-90s fastball that tends to generate merely decent swing-and-miss numbers, but that's good enough against this White Sox lineup, which whiffed nine times against his four-seamer. Now let's hope he pulls off the same thing against that Mariners lineup we just saw Stone dominate. | | Zebby Matthews, Twins @SD: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – Against the best contact-hitting lineup in baseball, I didn't expect much from Matthews, and I wasn't disappointed. If Matthews is going to be a viable major-leaguer, he's going to need to do so as a George Kirby or Logan Gilbert type, and that kind of pound-the-zone approach is going to run into problems against teams that tend not to swing-and-miss. I still think there's some upside here, but Matthews certainly isn't a must-start pitcher yet. | | Joe Boyle, Athletics vs. TB: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K – I can't help it, I remain intrigued by Boyle. He's got truly electric stuff – he averaged 98.9 mph with his four-seamer in this one and generated five whiffs with his slider, too, and if he could just throw strikes at an acceptable rate, he could be a very good pitcher in the majors. Of course, he has managed to walk fewer than three batters just once in nine starts in the majors this season and has a 20.4% walk rate in Triple-A this season, so I can hardly suggest you go out and add him. But I continue to watch him, at least out of the corner of my eye, for any signs that he might figure it out. | | Trevor Rogers, Orioles @NYM: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K – There was some hope that Rogers might be able to unlock some latent upside after getting away from the Marlins, but … I'm not sure why anyone really had that optimism. Sure, Rogers said he "already experienced more feedback and analytical information with his pitch mix and mechanics from the Orioles than ever before in his career," so maybe there's something they can unlock to rediscover the upside Rogers once showed. But, given how much his velocity has dropped since Rogers was a Rookie of the Year contender, it was always more reasonable to hope for some offseason work to pay off than for an immediate turnaround. If you were hoping for that, well, I don't think it's coming. Rogers needs a full rebuild, not a few tweaks. | | | | | | | | Serie A | | NWSL | For the first time ever on CBS, Serie A will go live with a match between Parma and AC Milan! Don't miss our broadcast debut this Saturday at 12:30 PM ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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