As the baseball season carries on into the latter half, head-to-head fantasy leagues are inching closer and closer to playoffs. It is certainly time to iron out rosters and ensure you carry the best lineup you can into those influential matchups. As for roto leagues, each standing point matters, and decisions made down the stretch can still be vital in solidifying strong finishes.
Jordan Beck, OF, Colorado Rockies
Jordan Beck of the Colorado Rockies is one of the more exciting young players in the league. Bringing a combination of power and speed to the heart of the Rockies’ lineup, Beck’s 112 wRC+ has been a bright spot on the tumbling Colorado roster. With a .315/.397/.468 slash line since the start of July, it seems as though Beck is settling into his first long stint in the major leagues.
Beck still got a couple tasters with the MLB club last year, with a 23-game stretch early in the year and a 32-game stint to close out the season. In these abbreviated looks, Beck showed a need to refine his contact skills. Batting just .188, mostly due to a 35.3% strikeout rate, he wasn’t able to replicate the 25-HR/20-SB pacing he put together in the minors the year before.
But this year he’s shown some moderate improvements in this regard. Though his in-zone contact remains similar to his previous seasons, he is chasing less with marginal improvement when he does look outside the zone. This now league-average chase rate has led to an improvement to a 27.9% strikeout rate this year, which is still poor but isn’t as problematic as it was previously. This reduced chase rate has also helped prop up his walk rates to a more sustainable quantity.
When he does make contact, Beck can do some real damage. With a 35.8% fast swing rate, coupled with a 113.8 mph career max EV set this year, the power potential is not in question. He also puts the ball in the air at exceptional rates, carrying an 84th-percentile launch angle sweet-spot. The only thing holding him back from reaching this power more consistently is that contact rate, likely leaving him a very streaky hitter.
If he continues showing progression in that aspect, he has a chance to be a real difference maker. But for now, Coors Field is certainly helping prop up his batting average. Though there is some expected regression stemming from his .364 BABIP, inflated even for Coors standards, this profile fits an early-Trevor-Story-type mold and should remain productive even through it.
Verdict: Legit – Likely still less viable in shallower leagues, Jordan Beck offers a fairly rounded fantasy profile. Though Coors will help keep his batting average from falling off a cliff, don’t expect a continuation of the >.300 BA he has seen over the past month and a half. That said, his power/speed combo is a valuable commodity in categories-based leagues. With 13 steals so far this season, he still has room to grow if he can get closer to his minor-league stolen-base efficiency.
Jacob Lopez, SP, Athletics
Traded alongside Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics last offseason, the 27-year-old southpaw Jacob Lopez was given just a 35+ overall future value grade by the Fangraphs Prospect Graduates board headed into the 2025 season. He put together a gem in his most recent 114-pitch start, pitching 7.2 scoreless innings against the Nationals with 10 strikeouts and just 3 baserunners. With three straight scoreless outings and a 3.59 ERA on the season, has the change of scenery helped Lopez click as a starter?
Pitching from a very low 21-degree arm slot, Lopez interestingly features a four-seamer as his token fastball. The characteristics of this pitch don’t grade out well; the 92 stuff+ stems from a 90.7 mph average velocity and only 10.3” of IVB as influenced by his low arm slot. Even his elite 7.2’ extension doesn’t help the fastball feel “fast”. But throwing a rising fastball from his low arm slot leads to a 0.8-degree vertical approach angle, much more manageable than that low IVB would suggest, and might give hitters a unique look from that slot that isn’t quantifiable by the data. Even still, the 29% whiff rate and .179 xBA likely won’t sustain off uniqueness alone.
His other major pitch is a slider that he throws ~30% of the time. This slider alternatively grades out very well with a 5.44 PLV, influenced by decent pitch characteristics but more a reflection of his strong locatability of the pitch (111 plvLoc+). He throws this pitch in the bottom parts of the chase and shadow zones at above-average rates, leading to an 80th-percentile chase rate on the pitch. But even with his strong command the slider, his lack of command on his other feature pitch leads to a poor 9% walk rate.
Lopez gets interesting results when batters are making contact with his pitches. Though he holds batters to low average exit velocities, he only gets 28% of balls in play on the ground. This results in around league-average xwOBACON and doesn’t bode well as pitchers have a harder time controlling exit velocities. That said, he has seen similarly low exit velocities in his 195 AAA innings across the last three seasons.
Verdict: Not Legit – Jacob Lopez features a unique look for batters which likely helps his poor stuff play up. But even still, there isn’t enough juice in this tank to think a 28% strikeout rate and 3.59 ERA will sustain. He is more of a matchup-dependent option, where he can find his flyouts and strikeouts through the assistance of the batters.
Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins
Luke Keaschall may have only played 12 games at the big league level, but they have surely been electric. In his 5 games since returning from a fractured forearm, Keaschall has collected 10 hits, including this walk-off home run off of Carlos Estévez on Sunday. With 5 steals and a 1.207 OPS, Keaschall is deservedly one of the most-added players in fantasy leagues, living up to his high ranking among prospect boards.
To better understand his performance among this small sample size, it’s important to also look at his minor league track record. What originally gave him such a strong prospect pedigree was his plate discipline and contact ability. Keaschall has consistently walked at or above a 12% clip while striking out under 20% of the time in each substantial stop in his minor league career. He has also seen elite >80% overall contact percentages in each step of the way, corroborating his 60-grade hit tool. While he is not likely to sustain the career-best 87.7% overall mark he has seen in these 12 MLB games, it should remain a strong point for him moving forward.
When it comes to power, things get a bit more muddy. In the minor leagues, Keaschall had a career-high 15 home runs between his A+ and AA stops last year. This resulted in a league-average 45 grade to his power as a prospect. With a slow but short bat path, influential to his strong contact ability, he is more geared for gap-to-gap doubles than round-trippers. He is likely to make the most out of his low raw power thanks to his ability to air out the ball, seen in both the minors and his major league stint. But even still, having two home runs already in his 12 MLB games is more tiny-sample-size variance than 27-HR full-season pacing.
Verdict: Legit – Luke Keaschall’s profile compares similarly to that of a Geraldo Perdomo. With incredible plate discipline and contact skills yet below-average raw power, Keaschall should continue producing exquisite slash lines with low home run output but strong speed. Still better in points or OBP-based leagues, Keaschall should provide good value to the keystone across the board. Just don’t expect the absurd 1.207 OPS to continue.
