We’re almost at the All-Star break, folks, as June is rolling to an end. This is sort of the heart of the fantasy regular season, and it’s a time when plenty of players are gearing up to return, teams are looking to call up prospects, and rookies new to the big leagues are fully becoming acclimated now. It’s an important time to be making waiver claims, and with those often come FAAB bids.
Throughout the season, this column is designed to help guide those in Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) leagues make the best choices in who to target on the waiver wire. Specifically, 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).
Let’s dig in!
Investment Rating System
SEVEN GAMES: CHW, CLE, MIA, CIN, MIL, PIT, LAD, COL, SDP
Batters
Outfielders
Dylan Crews ($$$): 35% rostered on Yahoo
The Dylan Crews breakout may be upon us, and that is quite the reason to celebrate. Crews went second overall in the Paul Skenes draft and was viewed as an absolute can’t-miss prospect. He’s struggled in the Major Leagues so far, with pretty putrid basic stats and advanced metrics. There is plenty of potential there for him to be a power/speed combination, though, something he was drafted to be. Crews needs to be more selective with his pitches, as he swings quite a bit, as evidenced by his horrible walk rate. Still, he’s turning around at the end of June, and if he makes a few adjustments, he has the tools to be one of the best players in the big leagues. He feels kind of reminiscent of PCA during his slumps, a sleeping giant who shows signs of being that ultra-talented player fantasy managers expect him to be.
Henry Bolte ($$): 14% rostered on Yahoo
Bolte has been leading off for an Athletics lineup that plays half of their games in an incredibly friendly offensive environment. Bolte has looked great so far, and is also one of the toolsiest prospects you’ll see. He’s been great defensively, but his offensive ceiling is even more impressive. His bat speed is incredible, and he is also one of the fastest runners in the Major Leagues. He’s already stolen 10 bases in a month, and it feels certain that the home runs will come with his raw bat speed. He’s worth some bids in your leagues if available.
Tristan Peters ($): 2% rostered on Yahoo
Peters was recently featured in my Friday hitter recap, and I said there that he’s a great pickup to ride the hot hand with, but his underlying data isn’t amazing. He is hitting well in a White Sox lineup that is putting up runs across the board, and his wRC+ is over 120, which is awesome to see from a prospect that was somewhat forgotten about. However, he isn’t really worth spending too much on, as his offensive skillset is somewhat limited. You’d have to think this is his ceiling.
Infielders
Sam Antonacci (2B, 3B, OF $$$): 46% rostered on Yahoo
Antonacci is an analytics nerd’s dream of a player. He’s an expert at getting on base, blending great contact skills with solid discipline, even if his walk rate is somewhat low. He’s been on an absolute tear so far, with a 132 wRC+ in 62 games this season. He leads off quite a bit for the White Sox, which means that when that offense is producing (and it definitely has the means to produce), he will be scoring runs fairly often. He also steals bases to go along with his great ratios.
Caleb Durbin (2B, 3B, $$): 20% rostered on Yahoo
After a really disappointing start to the season, Caleb Durbin is giving the Red Sox lineup some life. His monthly wRC+ marks have really told the story of Durbin, as in his first two months, he posted a number below 50, while in June, he has a 165 wRC+. This has made him one of the hottest players on the fantasy markets, as he’s been one of the top added players every day of this past week. Realistically, it’s fair to expect regression with Durbin. This means both regression from the highs in June and positive regression from his horrific start. It’ll balance out, and he will be a decent player. A fantasy-relevant one for the rest of the season? Probably not, but now’s the time to ride the high and be ready to cut bait when the going gets rough.
Sean Keys (1B, 3B, $$): 2% rostered on Yahoo
The Blue Jays recently called up prospect Sean Keys in a play to add more power to their lineup. A bunch of injuries and regression has led to the Blue Jays’ lineup not looking like it was last season, but this is a great shot in the arm for the team. Keys tore it up in the Minors this year, with a 164 wRC+ across AA and AAA and a total of 21 home runs in 67 games. Let’s see if he can find a permanent spot in this lineup; the potential is super high. It’s of note that the Blue Jays have pretty good players locking down first and third base, which is the main reason why I don’t have him pencilled in for a higher value bid.
Cooper Pratt (SS, $): 6% rostered on Yahoo
Last week, I mentioned the newly called-up Pratt as a potential pickup for teams that are in need of some stolen bases. He’s proven me right so far, nabbing five bags in his first 10 games. He also has hit pretty well, getting on base somewhat frequently in his short stint in the Big Leagues. If you’re a believer in him long term, you should definitely put a small bid in if he’s available, because his name is going to be coming up quite a bit as the Brewers continue to roll.
Catchers/UT
Carter Jensen (C – $$$$): 66% rostered on Yahoo
By now, it’s expected that Jensen has been picked up in most of your leagues, but the 66% rostership showcases that this may not be the case. He entered the year as one of the top prospects in the Major Leagues, and while it did take him a bit of time to fully find his footing, he’s been one of the best hitters, period, as of late. Unfortunately, the Royals are coming off a pretty ugly stretch of back-to-back horrific (and I mean horrific) blowouts, but Jensen has been a bright spot at the plate.
Kyle Teel (C – $$$): 17% rostered on Yahoo
I’m big on Kyle Teel. He’s not going to set the world on fire, but he has a pretty high floor for a fairly inexperienced young player at a position where the lows can be ugly offensively. The White Sox offense has been incredibly hot as of late, as the vibes are way up in the Southside. Teel just rejoined the team, so he hasn’t really been too much of a part of that, but good production feels more sustainable from him over a full season if he can stay healthy.
Cooper Ingle (C – $): 3% rostered on Yahoo
Ingle debuted earlier this week and has a solid offensive toolkit that should allow him to remain fantasy relevant if he remains up with his big-league club. I think the uncertainty with him will allow him to be cheap, but right now, he’s going to be filling in some games at a position where the Guardians haven’t seen much hitting from.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Joey Cantillo (SP – $$$): 40% rostered on Yahoo
I feel like the Joey Cantillo breakout is finally here. He’s always been a bit untrustworthy, with some walk issues that are uncharacteristic of a pitcher who relies on low-90s heat. Yet, he’s clearly figured something out, carving up with ease, keeping the WHIP below 1.00 and striking out nine in each affair. Now he has a really good-looking schedule coming up, including the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, and the scrappy, but not too intimidating, Miami Marlins. If he’s been dropped already after his great recent start in your leagues, grab him now as he seems like a clear hold for a while.
Tatsuya Imai (SP – $$$): 45% rostered on Yahoo
Do we believe in Imai yet? He’s really become one of the toughest pitchers to evaluate. He’s put up some of the strangest stat lines we’ve seen and, in general, some of the absolute best outings and some of the worst we’ve seen in years. I think he’s more likely to be helpful than harmful at this rate, though. He has 21 strikeouts in his last two outings, getting whiffs galore on his funky trio of pitches. He gets Minnesota up next, a must-stream outing before he faces a couple of tougher squads in Washington and Miami. It just feels like Imai’s toughest opponent is going to be himself, and so while he’s currently really in rhythm, I’m not too afraid of the opponents on the schedule.
Alan Rangel (SP, RP – $): 7% rostered on Yahoo
Rangel has taken over as the replacement for Andrew Painter in the Phillies’ rotation, and so far, so good. With that said, he does have some tough opponents coming up, and his stuff isn’t amazing (it’s fun to watch, though; that curveball is something). In some leagues, you’ll probably have people interested in picking him up due to the great (small sample size) results and the win chance playing with a hot Phillies team. He’s not worth much (if any) FAAB money, but he’s also not the worst deep league option to pick up and see if he can solidify his spot.
Grayson Rodriguez (SP – $): 6% rostered on Yahoo
I think we all agree that Grayson Rodriguez isn’t what he once was, especially right now as he’s on the injured list. However, he’s projected to rejoin the rotation soon and be in line for a few decent matchups, including one in Texas and one in Detroit. This is, of course, if everything goes as planned, but he can be had for cheap and he gets a few good streams. The fastball velocity and extension at least still is there, and the secondaries do sometimes get whiffs.
Relief Pitchers
Eduard Bazardo (RP – $): 10% rostered on Yahoo
Bazardo has been one of the more added relief pitchers in fantasy lately, and while I don’t think his stuff is that impressive, he’s been getting good results. He’s not going to be the closer for the Mariners, but he’s getting plenty of hold opportunities and has kept the ERA really low, despite not having the best WHIP or strikeout marks. Don’t expect him to sneak into the closing role despite the promising ratios, as the stuff just isn’t good enough.
