We just made it through the longest day of the summer this past week as the summer solstice came and went. It truly is the Dog Days of Summer as the temperatures rise and the MLB season rolls on closer to the All-Star Break. Fantasy teams are still battling injuries as they come through, cropping up here and there throughout the summer. This week, we saw Kyle Bradish go down with a season-ending injury and Anthony Rizzo was sent to the 60-day IL. It only gets more difficult to sift through the noise to find the players that will sustain their high levels of performance and benefit teams the rest of the season.
Let’s take a look at the landscape of the league and find some players to spend our FAAB on this weekend while we’re hanging out in the hammock, hoping to improve our teams at the near midway point of the season.
As a reminder, we’re focusing on players who are between 20-25% rostered in most 12-team leagues and/or 25-50% rostered in 15-teamers. Every league is different, so we won’t be labeling player bids with any sort of recommended dollar amount but instead will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker (or LEAGUE-WINNER, if you will).
Investment Rating System
Half of the teams are scheduled for a full seven-game slate from June 24-30. The Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays all have seven-game slates. Only three teams – the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, and New York Mets – have just five games this coming week while the other 12 squads are scheduled for six games.
SEVEN GAMES: ATL, BAL, CHC, CIN, CLE, CWS, DET, KC, LAA, MIA, PHI, SFG, STL, TEX, TOR
FIVE GAMES: COL, HOU, NYM
Batters
Outfielders
Will Brennan ($$$): The Cleveland Guardians continue to run Brennan out to a corner outfield position every day and likely will continue to, especially when he hits like he did last week. Brennan strikes outs at just an 11.9% clip, makes hard contact at a 29.4% rate, and has an xAVG (.281) 25 points higher than his batting average. He’s an outstanding pickup for five-outfield leagues and should contribute decent power, some speed, and counting stats without hurting your batting average. In fact, if he gets a little lucky in the second half, he could help there too.
Wenceel Pérez ($$): Streaky hitter with a penchant for soft contact, but he does steal bases when he gets on. He can help in speed categories in deep leagues.
Pete Crow-Armstrong ($$): If he gets one base, he’s probably running. The problem is that he isn’t really getting on base all that much. With a .200 batting average and .250 on-base percentage, it’s not pretty. But the speed is real.
Hunter Goodman ($): The good news is that Hunter Goodman hit four home runs in his past seven games. The bad news is that they all came at Coors Field, and he only has five games this week all on the road. The ugly news is that he plays for the Rockies.
Ramón Laureano ($): He’s the flavor of the week in the Atlanta outfield, and until the Braves make a move to acquire another outfielder via trade, he’ll likely stay out there. Time will tell if there’s anything left in the tank.
Infielders
Noelvi Marte ($$$$): Marte could be a season-changer if he was drafted and then cut. In leagues where he wasn’t drafted at all (selecting after his suspension was issued), managers will have to wait until he’s made his season debut, which isn’t coming until a couple of weeks from now.
Orelvis Martinez ($$$): He’s finally up to the big leagues, and based on the way that Toronto has handled its prized prospects, he’s likely here to stay. Martinez’s profile is highlighted by big-time power while the rest of his tools have been questioned a bit. He could add 15-home run pop to a team in the middle infield.
Tyler Black ($$): Last time I touted Tyler Black in one of these weekly pieces he was sent back to the minors, like clockwork. Well, Black is still projecting out as Ryan Braun-lite, and I want him on all my teams so long as he stays on the MLB roster.
Tyler Soderstrom ($$): The power is legit. But so is the swing-and-miss. Soderstrom has 24 hits this season compared to 35 strikeouts. With a 16.1% barrel rate, pretty much all of the contact that he does make is loud. Might be worth a shot for power-needy squads, but it might take a Luis Arraez type to balance the batting average if his strikeout issues persist.
Geraldo Perdomo ($): Back from injury, Perdomo is playing nearly every day in the Diamondbacks’ infield. He has some pop, but will mostly just hit for average as a replacement-level middle infield guy.
Brett Wisely ($): Wisely leads off for the Giants against right-handed pitchers and has played the role well. He’s batting nearly .300 with 10 runs scored in just 86 plate appearances. If he continues to get on base at a .326 clip, he’ll provide value for fantasy managers looking for cheap production in the middle infield.
Catchers/UT
Jacob Stallings ($): He’s the starter in Colorado until Elias Díaz returns from injury. Ride the wave while he’s getting playing time.
Miguel Amaya ($): Yan Gomes was DFA’d, and even though the Cubs signed Tomás Nido, it’s Amaya’s gig for the time being.
Yasmani Grandal ($): With Joey Bart and Henry Davis both on the IL, Grandal is the default top catcher in Pittsburgh with Jason Delay spelling him. Grandal is the superior bat.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Ben Brown ($$$$): Brown will be back sooner than later, as he recovers from a muscle strain in his neck. Brown strung together a few great starts and was looking promising as a starter before his most recent injury, and fantasy managers could absolutely benefit from scooping him in leagues where he is available. Assuming he resumes his spot in the rotation, Brown could tilt the tides over the second half of the season.
Tobias Myers ($$$): Myers has now put together three straight outstanding starts and goes against Texas on Sunday before pitching against the Cubs later next week. Myers has allowed eight hits and just one earned run over his last 22.1 innings pitched, with 15 strikeouts to just six walks. His fastball plays up with the seventh-most vertical movement among qualified MLB pitchers, while his secondaries have done enough to get the job done. He’ll continue to ride the fastball as far as it will take him, and fantasy managers should too.
Logan Allen ($$$): Since May 12, Logan Allen has started seven games. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of them, and the seventh game was a seven-run clunker at Coors Field. Allen gets a two-step with the Orioles at Camden Yards and then the Royals in Kansas City. Only 80% owned in most 15-team leagues, Allen won’t generate the strikeouts that most owners are looking for, but he will improve ratios and provide solid opportunities for pitching wins.
Mitch Spence ($$): Oakland hasn’t been great in its recent action, but Spence has pitched just fine throughout the past month. He’s tallied two quality starts in his last four, and that doesn’t include a one-hit performance over 5.1 innings against the Rays on May 28. With a 5.54 PLV, Spence leads all of MLB in the category with a 3.59 xERA despite a .302 BABIP for batters he’s faced. Not only should his luck improve, but Spence pitches against the Angels on Tuesday and then gets a two-step the week after, so his schedule is favorable in the next few weeks.
Cal Quantrill ($$): Quantrill pitched against the Dodgers at Coors Field in his last start. Don’t judge him based on that (3 ER in 5.0 innings pitched). He’ll get the White Sox on Saturday and (despite his terrible metrics) should get to feast on a bad, bad offensive team.
Cade Povich ($$): Even with Dean Kremer coming back to the Baltimore rotation, Povich should retain his spot in the rotation. Through three starts, Povich has posted a top-30 Str-ICR rate (53.0%) and has allowed just one earned run in 10.2 innings pitched over his last two outings. Povich will go against the Guardians and Rangers in a two-step this coming week, making him an appealing option for those looking for wins.
Relief Pitchers
Tyler Kinley ($$): Saves in Colorado are always dicey, but Kinley is the guy for now. There’s probably no other closer on the market.
Pedro Avila ($): Avila has gone eight straight outings without allowing an earned run over 15.1 consecutive scoreless innings. He recorded his first save of the season, finishing out a win with three scoreless innings a couple of weeks ago, but shouldn’t be expected to record saves. He’ll boost ratios and tally strikeouts though.
Bryan Abreu ($): Abreu isn’t uprooting Josh Hader anytime soon, but he’s the setup man in Houston and will be the next in line for save opportunities if Hader isn’t up for it. Ryan Pressly could factor in at some point, but he hasn’t been inspiring either.
Lucas Erceg ($): Mason Miller might get dealt. If he does, Lucas Erceg becomes the closer. It’s relatively cut and dry in Oakland. He’s great for ratios and strikeouts and could eventually pick up a couple of saves as well.
Alex Vesia ($): Vesia has proved valuable in the back end of the Dodgers’ bullpen recently, allowing just one earned run over the last 10 outings. With a 35.4% strikeout rate and 16.1% swinging strike rate, Vesia could be helpful even without finishing out games.
For those who didn’t see, Orelvis was suspended minutes after this article was published! Such a bummer