| | | | Wednesday, August 9, 2023 | | Scott White here again! I'll be with you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the end of the season. Tuesday saw a return to form for Logan Gilbert, who struck out a career-high 12 over seven one-hit innings. I say "return to form" because he had averaged 7.3 K/9 over his previous 12 starts after averaging 10.4 K/9 over his first 10. It's doubtful anyone was that worried about him given that his ERA has been in the mid-to-high threes virtually all season, but in only his second full season, he's still sorting out just how good of a pitcher he's going to be. Ultimately, we prefer the one who gets strikeouts. | | Meanwhile, a couple of potential waiver wire pickups homered twice Tuesday. The home runs were Joey Menses' eighth and ninth in his past 26 games, a solid stretch to be sure, but it's worth noting he has just 11 overall. It's also worth noting that his average exit velocity during the power binge is only 88.5 mph, so it's unlikely he's recaptured the form that carried so many Fantasy teams down the stretch last season. | | The better bet is Nolan Jones, whose two-homer game Tuesday comes not long after a four-hit game Aug. 4. His exit velocities remain impressive, and he of course has all the advantages of playing half his games at Coors Field. He no longer has to worry about C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk intruding on his playing time either. | | | | If pitching is more your need off the waiver wire, you're better off referring back to Monday, when Gavin Williams broke through with 12 strikeouts over seven one-hit innings and Cole Ragans continued to state his case with an 11-strikeout performance at the Red Sox. You can read more about those in this article by yours truly. | | For now, though, let's talk about Emerson Hancock's impending debut and some other prospects who may not be far behind. | | | | Emerson Hancock, Mariners | | His 4.32 ERA at Double-A Arkansas this year doesn't tell the whole story, though. He got off to a crummy start but has enjoyed one of the best stretches of his minor-league career since then, putting together a 2.97 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 8.9 K/9 in 10 starts, one of which was a nine-run disaster. Take it out, and his ERA during that stretch drops to 1.61. | | "He's definitely ready for this," Mariners GM Justin Hollander said. "This was coming eventually, whether it was this week or next week or the week after." | | Some other interesting details from that 10-start stretch are the 68 percent strike rate, demonstrating improved control, and the 14 percent swinging-strike rate, demonstrating better bat-missing ability than the strikeouts themselves would suggest. | | So maybe there is more upside here than meets the eye. My expectation for Hancock, though, is that he'll be more of a stabilizer than a standout, working deep into games and giving his team a chance to win most nights. How many nights will he actually get? The Mariners aren't anticipating a long absence for Woo, so it may amount to just a couple turns. If Hancock delivers, though, he might convince them to go six-man for a while. | | Five on the verge | | (These are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.) | | Jonathan Aranda, 2B, Rays | 2022 minors: .318 BA (403 AB), 18 HR, .915 OPS, 45 BB, 100 K
2023 minors: .332 BA (337 AB), 20 HR, 1.019 OPS, 60 BB, 84 K | | After Aranda's batting average peaked at .349 in late July, it's (gasp!) all the way down to .332 now, which is to say still nothing short of spectacular. The Rays ended up moving Kyle Manzardo at the deadline instead of Aranda, which means the 25-year-old remains in limbo, unable to break into a lineup that already has too many hitters like him. | | It was discouraging to see Curtis Mead get the call instead over the weekend, though his right-handedness surely played a factor on a team that loves its platoons. He's not expected to stick around for long anyway. The fact remains that an injury to any of Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Luke Raley or Joshua Lowe opens a crack for Aranda, and once he breaks through it, he may never look back. | | Michael Busch, 2B, Dodgers | 2022 minors: .274 BA (552 AB), 32 HR, .881 OPS, 74 BB, 167 K
2023 minors: .321 BA (315 AB), 20 HR, 1.029 OPS, 53 BB, 77 K
| | As with Aranda, I had hoped the Dodgers would dangle the 25-year-old Busch at the deadline, but alas, he's left to brutalize Triple-A pitching, which he has done to the tune of a .400 (26 for 65) batting average and seven home runs over his past 14 games. He has 13 home runs in 32 games since his last big-league stint, which probably means he's due for another, but rather than moving him at the deadline, the Dodgers saw fit to block him several times over, acquiring infielders Amed Rosario and Enrique Hernandez. So why do I still have Busch as one of the top prospects to stash? Because for all of the Dodgers' excess infielders, none (excluding Freddie Freeman, of course) can do what he can do with the bat. If they pull away in the NL West, surely they'll want to try him out for the playoff run. Or maybe J.D. Martinez's hamstring injury will be the ticket. | | Ronny Mauricio, SS, Mets | 2022 minors: .259 BA (509 AB), 26 HR, 20 SB, .768 OPS, 24 BB, 125 K
2023 minors: .287 BA (414 AB), 17 HR, 19 SB, .819 OPS, 25 BB, 83 K | | The jettisoning of Mark Canha and Tommy Pham at the trade deadline seemed to clear the way for Mauricio in left field, a position he had been playing more regularly at Triple-A, but a report came out soon afterward suggesting that the Mets don't view him as big league-ready yet. First of all, they can't say he's ready and then refuse to call him up, so like, what else are they going to say? Secondly, no sooner did a struggling Brett Baty get sent down than a report came out saying Mauricio would get more reps at third base. | | It seems like the Mets are preparing to play him wherever makes the most sense once late August rolls around. Why wait until then? Because if they preserve his rookie status for next year and he turns out to be one of the best rookies, they have a chance to score an extra draft pick. This late in the year, with a playoff spot out of reach, there's no harm in waiting a little longer. Of course, it's worth noting that for all of the hand-wringing over his promotion, he's batting just .226 (45 for 199) since June 1, but the underlying data remains strong. | | Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals | 2022 minors: .283 BA (474 AB), 12 HR, 43 SB, .832 OPS, 63 BB, 115 K
2023 minors: .284 BA (426 AB), 17 HR, 17 SB, .822 OPS, 41 BB, 78 K | | I'm not the only one pointing out that teams are better off waiting until late August to promote their top prospects if they've already waited this long. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently did the same. True, Winn is currently nursing a strained glute that renders the point moot, but it's more of a day-to-day issue than something that threatens to shut him down for the year. | | The 21-year-old has an even better chance of placing high in Rookie of the Year voting next year than Mauricio does, given the highlight-reel plays he's capable of making with his 80-grade arm. He's turned out to be a pretty good hitter, too, cutting down on his strikeouts this year while continuing to build on his power breakthrough of a year ago. Over his past 24 games, he's batting .364 (36 for 99) with nine homers, three steals and an 1.191 OPS. There was a time when he looked like he might be a defensive-minded shortstop, but I now have some hope of him being a Randy Arozarena-caliber hitter. | | Matt Mervis, 1B, Cubs | 2023 majors: .167 BA (90 AB), 3 HR, .531 OPS, 8 BB, 32 K
2023 minors: .294 BA (218 AB), 12 HR, .951 OPS, 46 BB, 53 K | | The Cubs ended up being buyers rather than sellers at the trade deadline, which means a couple different things as far as Mervis is concerned. One is that Jeimer Candelario has joined Cody Bellinger as a potential obstacle at first base. The other is that the Cubs are in no position to let Mervis take his lumps, not as they move ever closer to chasing down the Brewers in the NL Central. Of course, there may come a point when they see his bat as a potential boon rather than a hindrance, but that point doesn't appear to be on the horizon even as he continues to produce at Triple-A Iowa. So why call him a stash here? The fifth spot came down to him and Heston Kjerstad, who himself is pretty well blocked in Baltimore. | | | | | | | | Attacking Third | | Fantasy Football Today Dynasty | A soccer podcast from CBS Sports covering the NWSL, US Women's National Team and more. Attacking Third will bring you insider analysis, commentary, preview & recaps while tackling the biggest news stories from the sport you love.
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