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.
Lawrence Butler – 36%
Butler was mentioned in this column earlier in the season. And while plenty has happened since then, including the A’s optioning Butler to Triple-A for a time, the outfielder is (simply put) too good to qualify as a deep league waiver wire option. He should be on fantasy rosters in all league sizes and formats.
Once again, he’s just too good.
For the season, the 24-year-old is hitting .255 with a .313 on-base percentage and a .816 OPS in 342 plate appearances. In those 342 plate appearances, he’s added 19 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
The home run and stolen base production are great on their own, but it’s what the 24-year-old has done from a quality of contact standpoint that makes him a potential fantasy league winner.
Here’s a brief look at a couple of blind resumes.
Player A, as you might have guessed by the plate appearance total, is Lawrence Butler.
Player B is Bryce Harper.
Want more comparisons? This time without the blind resume aspect?
Butler has also been particularly impactful at the plate as of late, hitting .316 with a .359 on-base percentage, a 187 wRC+, six home runs, a .368 ISO, and just a 9.4% strikeout rate in his last 64 plate appearances, a stretch that also includes five home runs in his last three games (three of which came on Thursday).
Entrenched as the A’s leadoff hitter, Butler should continue to find even more success at the plate, and Oakland’s upcoming schedule certainly shouldn’t hurt in that regard. Of the A’s remaining 28 games, 15 come against teams who rank in the bottom half of the league in home runs allowed per nine innings, including three against the White Sox (who have the third-highest HR/9 rate at 1.32) and six against the Rangers, who have the fifth-highest HR/9 number in the league at 1.24)
Michael Toglia – 22%
Toglia, like Butler, was mentioned in this column earlier this year. Toglia, like Butler, also has all too low of a rostered rate.
And like Butler, there’s a slight gap in his plate appearance total compared to the league leaders due to being optioned to the minors earlier in the season.
Still, what Toglia is doing from a quality of contact also shouldn’t be overlooked.
Much in the same way with Butler, with the way he’s been hitting, the Rockies slugger could prove to be a key fantasy option for managers down the stretch.
Here’s some data you might be familiar with, this time with Toglia’s numbers added in:
The slugger ranks in the 86th percentile or better in xwOBA (93rd), xSLG (93rd), barrel rate (98th), hard-hit rate (91st), and walk rate (88th) and has at least a hit in 16 of his last 21 games.
Turn the calendar back further, to July 14 specifically, and Toglia is hitting .263 with a .380 on-base percentage, eight home runs, three stolen bases, a .385 wOBA, a 136 wRC+, and a 16.5% barrel rate. Among qualified hitters during that span, just nine have a higher barrel rate.
Elsewhere, of the Rockies’ remaining 27 games, 21 of them are either at home (15) or at a stadium that ranks in the top five, per Statcast, in park factor for home runs during the last three seasons (three each at Dodger Stadium and American Family Field).
That stretch also includes six straight at home against the Cardinals and Dodgers to finish the 2024 season.
Zach McKinstry – 2%
One of a number of Tigers hitters enjoying a productive month of August, McKinstry has been key in the team’s recent strong play, as Detroit has won 13 of 17 to put the team firmly back in the American League Wild Card chase.
The versatile 29-year-old might be hitting .223 with a .280 on-base percentage for the season with four home runs and 13 stolen bases. Don’t let the season-long production scare you off. In fact, it might scare away other fantasy managers in your league.
That might be a good thing because McKinstry has a chance to make a significant impact fantasy-wise down the stretch and in the playoffs.
The infielder and outfielder is batting .379 with a .429 on-base percentage, a .190 ISO, and a 183 wRC+ in 63 plate appearances since August 3, adding a home run, eight total extra-base hits, and five stolen bases.
Is the .488 BABIP unsustainable? Absolutely, but this time of year, smaller sample-size hot streaks can have an outsized impact on the end results of a season, and McKinstry has been extremely productive as of late. He’s currently sporting a nine-game hitting streak and has multi-hit games in five contests this month, including a three-hit outing in his last appearance against the Angels on Thursday.
Most crucially, however, is that he’s fantasy-eligible at every position except first base, pitcher, and catcher, making him a fit for virtually every fantasy team, regardless of need.
Manuel Rodríguez – 2%
Since Pete Fairbanks‘ last appearance (August 18) before landing on the injured list with a right lat strain, the Rays’ ninth-inning usage has resembled something of a committee.
Tampa Bay has four saves during that stretch. Rodriguez has collected two, Garrett Cleavinger and Edwin Uceta each have recorded one each.
However, it is worth noting that Rodriguez does lead the Rays in high-leverage, ninth-inning appearances during that span with three. Uceta has one. Colin Poche is the only other Tampa Bay reliever with a high-leverage, ninth-inning appearance since Fairbanks landed on the injured list.
Even if this continues to be something of a committee moving forward, Rodriguez is a must-add for fantasy managers in desperate need of saves given his standing as an established member of that committee.
Though with that being said, if this develops into a situation where Rodriguez sees the majority of the save chances, something that’s not out of the question given how the Rays have split up ninth-inning work so far, the 28-year-old could be a top 12 fantasy closer the rest of the way.
In 27.2 innings this year, the right-hander has pitched to a 2.28 ERA and a 3.78 FIP while holding opposing batters to a 1.4% barrel rate and a 32.4% hard-hit rate while also sporting an even 50.0% ground ball rate.
He’s struck out 27 batters compared to allowing just 10 walks and two home runs. Elsewhere, he’s recorded either a save (twice) or a win (once) in three of his last four appearances for the Rays.
Photo by Adobe Stock | Adapted by Carlos Leano.