Each week, we’ll look at a handful of players who fantasy managers should consider picking up in deeper fantasy baseball leagues. Many of these players will have the most value in larger leagues where waiver wire options aren’t as plentiful. Still, they could also occasionally be useful additions in other, more standard-sized leagues, depending on your options at each position.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via FantasyPros as of Friday afternoon.
Miles Mikolas – 5%
Miles Mikolas was mentioned in this column earlier this season as a starter pitcher worth a look in the right matchups despite lower strikeout rates.
The veteran has so far pitched to a 16.3% strikeout rate this season, compared to a 5.0% walk rate. Overall, he’s sporting a 4.83 ERA and a 4.57 FIP in 21 starts spanning 108 innings for the St. Louis Cardinals this season, adding six pitcher wins and six quality starts in the process.
And while the run-prevention numbers are hardly ideal, Mikolas has been much more effective as of late. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts (a stretch in which he threw 16.2 innings) and in five of his last eight overall.
The key fantasy-wise might be not starting Mikolas against tough opposition. During that recent stretch, he allowed eight earned runs in six innings against the Chicago Cubs and five earned runs in four innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Assuming the Cardinals rotation continues as is without any interruptions, two of Mikolas’ next five starts will come against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, the New York Yankees at home and the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.
However, his other two projected starts during that stretch will come at home to both the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates. In fantasy leagues with 16 or more teams, he’s very much worth a look for the upcoming stretch, provided you go with other pitchers in your starting lineup when Mikolas is set to face the Dodgers, Yankees and (to a slightly lesser extent) the Rays.
Adrian Morejon – 15%
Adrian Morejon has enjoyed an excellent season so far, pitching to a 1.63 ERA, a 1.89 FIP and a 26.5% strikeout rate (not to mention just a 4.8% walk rate) in 52 appearances spanning 49.2 innings for the San Diego Padres.
He ranks in the 92nd percentile or better in ground-ball rate, hard-hit rate, xERA, xBA, average fastball velocity, average exit velocity, walk rate, barrel rate, and chase rate. Yes, literally all of those metrics.
The 26-year-old has also added a pair of saves and 16 holds.
In most other bullpens, he’d be a top option for saves or, at worst, an ancillary saves option with strong hold numbers. However, given that San Diego started the year with Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, and Jeremiah Estrada also in the bullpen, Morejon is nowhere near the team lead in high-leverage relief appearances.
That’d be Suarez with 33. Adam has 31, while Estrada has collected 28.
Morejon’s 24 high-leverage relief appearances aren’t a bad total at all, and he’s been an excellent fantasy option in leagues where saves and holds are part of the scoring.
Still, the addition of Mason Miller might result in fewer, at least comparatively speaking, high-leverage looks the rest of the way for Morejon.
That being said, though, he’s an excellent fantasy option in most leagues for those looking to keep their weekly ERA and WHIP numbers down while adding a few extra strikeouts.
Mitchell Parker – 7%
Parker, like Mikolas, is sporting some higher run-prevention numbers this season. The 25-year-old has logged a 4.91 ERA and a 4.47 FIP in 21 starts covering 113.2 innings for the Washington Nationals this year. He’s struck out 5.86 batters per nine frames while allowing 3.33 walks and 1.03 homers per nine frames.
Like Mikolas, he’s been more effective as of late. Entering play Friday, he’d allowed four earned runs in his last 11.2 innings and had given up three earned runs or fewer in five of his last seven outings.
Like Mikolas, Parker is also worth a look in deeper leagues as a streaming option in the right matchups.
Unlike Mikolas, he has two reasonably fantasy-friendly starts in his next two outings – assuming the Nationals rotation continues as is without any interruptions or changes – making Parker a quality streaming option in leagues with 14 or more teams.
Parker will face the Athletics at home before a road matchup in Kansas City against the Royals.
The Athletics rank just outside the top 13 in runs scored for the season league-wide, but finished July with the highest collective strikeout rate (26.1%) in the sport.
The Royals, meanwhile, have outscored just two other franchises as we enter play in August.
Graphic by Carlos Leano.
