Each week we’ll look at a handful of different players whom 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 their position.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via FantasyPros as of Friday afternoon.
All 2024 stats are as of the beginning of play on Friday.
Adrian Del Castillo – 10%
Similar to Jake McCarthy in yesterday’s Fantasy Baseball Category Power Rankings, adding members of the league-leading Arizona Diamondbacks‘ lineup to your fantasy lineup can only be a net positive. McCarthy has certainly been excellent as of late, but Del Castillo has quietly (or maybe not so quietly) established himself as a key part of what the Diamondbacks are doing at the plate.
The catcher is hitting .361 with a .425 on-base percentage, a 201 wRC+, and a .306 ISO for the Diamondbacks so far. Many of those numbers, especially with a .526 BABIP and the fact that they’ve come in a 40-plate appearance sample size, are on the unsustainable side of things, that much is true.
But Castillo has already connected on three home runs and stolen a base so far. For reference, Gabriel Moreno, who has seen more plate appearances at catcher than any other Diamondbacks player this year, has just five home runs in nearly eight times as many plate appearances (314).
The key thing here, though, that makes 24-year-old very much worth adding in fantasy leagues – I suppose in conjunction with the early-season, surface-level production – is the fact that he’s already amassed five barrels on 22 batted ball events.
Admittedly, a rather high 35% strikeout rate is probably impacting that barrel rate a bit due to fewer balls in play, but Del Castillo’s ability to consistently hit for power in a strong Diamondbacks lineup should make him a fixture in fantasy lineups.
Furthermore, we’re also at the point in the year where there isn’t too much left in terms of schedule. In other words, unsustainably high BABIP numbers might not have the time to even out completely.
That’s not to say that Del Castillo is going to maintain a BABIP over the .500 mark in a larger sample size for the rest of the season, but as long as it doesn’t come crashing back to earth in an extreme way, there’s plenty of fantasy upside to be had here.
David Peralta – 9%
Switching to a now former member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, David Peralta still finds himself in the National League West.
The longtime former Diamondback appeared in 133 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year and now finds himself in San Diego with the Padres.
Peralta still isn’t playing against left-handed pitching, but he’s continued to be particularly effective against right-handers.
And while he’s mostly only hitting seventh or eighth in San Diego, like Del Castillo, his place in one of the league’s better lineups boosts his fantasy ceiling considerably. Furthermore, Peralta hitting seventh or eighth consistently also might have less to do with him and more to do with the fact that San Diego’s lineup is considerably deep with Jurickson Profar, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Ha-Seong Kim, Luis Arraez, Xander Bogaerts, a resurgent Donovan Solano and (when healthy) Fernando Tatis Jr. all on hand as options.
Still, Peralta has been productive when he’s been in the lineup. He didn’t make his San Diego debut until late May, the 22nd to be exact, but he’s been particularly impactful as of late.
He’s hitting .304 with a .350 on-base percentage, a 146 wRC+, and six home runs in 123 plate appearances since the start of July and owns a 192 wRC+ in August, a stretch that has included multi-hit games in six of his last 14 outings.
Ramón Laureano – 3%
Atlanta hasn’t had the best time of it with injuries this year. Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., Sean Murphy earlier in the year, Ozzie Albies, A.J. Minter, and now Austin Riley.
Because of that, it’s resulted in a number of players stepping into larger roles. Whit Merrifield, the recently signed Gio Urshela. Jarred Kelenic. Spencer Schwellenbach.
In some of those cases, as with Schwellenbach, it’s resulted in plenty of fantasy success and production.
It’s also resulted in Atlanta making a number of additions from outside the organization. Merrifield, Urshela, Jorge Soler, and Ramón Laureano.
Laureano probably fits into the previous list as well as he’s become a regular in Atlanta’s lineup, largely due to some excellent production at the plate as of late.
The veteran is hitting .299 with a .347 on-base percentage in 72 plate appearances since July 21, adding five home runs, a stolen base, and a 148 wRC+ in the process. Elsewhere, he’s added eight barrels and a 17.8% barrel rate. And while he is striking out 30.6% of the time, the power production is extremely encouraging.
The outfielder’s place in the lineup has varied over that time span, with Laureno hitting anywhere from leadoff or second to fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth.
With all the injuries, if he can hit further up the lineup for the National League East club, it’d raise his fantasy ceiling even more so after such a strong run of form at the plate.
Because while Atlanta’s lineup has struggled to score runs lately (at least compared to what we’re used to seeing), ranking behind 18 teams in terms of runs scored and behind 15 teams in terms of wRC+, Atlanta’s lineup still features Soler, Murphy, Matt Olson, and Marcell Ozuna, not to mention Travis d’Arnaud who has a 149 wRC+since the start of July.
Laureano is worth adding for fantasy purposes based on the recent power production alone, but if he can hit further up the lineup on a regular basis near some combination of those aforementioned hitters, his rostered rate would (and should) jump exponentially.
Add him now before that happens.
Cody Bradford – 28%
Bradford has provided the Rangers with some solid production as of late. Since returning from the injured list he’s sporting a 3.97 FIP in 23.2 innings spanning five appearances (four starts) since returning from a stint on the injured list.
Over that span, he’s struck out 24 batters compared to surrendering just four walks and four home runs. So that’s all mainly good in terms of Bradford as a potential streaming option in deeper leagues.
But it’s the upcoming schedule that really puts Bradford in a position to shine fantasy-wise.
Here are the 10 lowest-scoring teams in the second half.
And here are the Rangers’ remaining opponents by games played.
Put in a more succinct manner sans all the tables, the Rangers play all but eight of their remaining games against teams who rank in the bottom third of the league in runs scored in the second half. Bradford obviously isn’t going to start all of those games, but you’ll want him in your fantasy lineup more often than not down the stretch given the fantasy-friendly nature of his team’s upcoming schedule.
Photo by Adobe Stock | Adapted by Carlos Leano.