This time of the year, a streaming option for fantasy managers ceases to become a streaming option.
With the schedule winding down and fantasy playoff matchups heating up, a short-term addition for a start (or a handful if it’s a position player) can end up being a player who sticks on your roster for the rest of the season.
Furthermore, those players can potentially have an outsized impact (or at least more potentially than they would for a similar stretch in say June or May, with the fantasy playoffs in full swing.
With that in mind, a player added via the waiver wire can end up being a winner, even if only for a few days or weeks – it could even be one outing from a new player that helps push your fantasy team over the top in the coming days.
These three players certainly fit the bill in terms of having impact potential in the fantasy season’s final days.
(All rostered rate numbers via FantasyPros data as of the beginning of play on Wednesday.)
Brant Hurter – 10%
Often working behind an opener, as a bulk pitcher Brant Hurter has made eight appearances for the surging Detroit Tigers since making his major league debut on August 4th.
In that span, the rookie has pitched to a 2.56 ERA and a 2.65 FIP in 38.2 innings.
Just two of his eight haven’t lasted five or more innings and in just one of them has he given up more than three runs (for reference, that one outing involved him allowing three earned runs in five innings in San Francisco in his second major league start.
And while the numbers in a smaller sample size are certainly encouraging, and positive, it’s the 26-year-old’s ability to limit (and erase) mistakes that has him poised for plenty of fantasy success to finish the year.
In his 38.2 innings of work this year, Hurter is holding batters to just a 5.7% barrel rate while chipping in with a walk rate of 3.4%. His ground ball rate for the season sits at 57.5% in the majors.
In part thanks to a quality sinker and strong production from his sweeper, the left-hander has also limited opposing batters to just a .232 xwOBA and a .292 xwOBAcon.
Pitching after an opener has positioned Hurter well to soak up plenty of pitcher wins, with five in his last eight outings.
Pitching for a Tigers team that’s 27-15 since August 1st and with the remaining series against the Orioles (a team Hurter no-hit for 5.2 innings in his last outing) Rays (a team with the second-fewest runs scored entering play Wednesday) and White Sox (a team with the fewest runs scored), Hurter should have plenty of pitcher win chances remaining. Obviously, he’s unlikely to start in all three series, especially with Reese Olson and Casey Mize back in the rotation, but there’s plenty of pitcher-win potential here for fantasy managers, not to mention the chance for quality WHIP and ERA contributions to keep those weekly numbers down.
Widening the scope from head-to-head leagues to Roto leagues, the left-hander makes for a quality addition in the season’s final games for those looking to improve their season-long tallies in terms of the aforementioned three statistical categories.
Andrew Benintendi – 9%
Sticking in the American League Central, the White Sox, as noted above, have struggled mightily to score runs.
The Rays and Marlins are tied for the second-lowest runs scored tally in the league at 578.
The White Sox are next (and last) more than 100 runs below them at 470.
So yeah, that’s not great. It’s not great (or even good) for the bulk of the fantasy hitters on their teams. Or rather, proceed with caution expecting solid RBI tallies.
Still, with all that being said, Andrew Benintendi is very much worth a look for fantasy managers, particularly those in Roto leagues looking for a last-minute boost in home runs.
Since August 1st, Benintendi has been walking 11.3% of the time with just an 18.3% strikeout rate. During that span, he’s also hitting .277 with a .356 on-base percentage, a .391 wOBA, and a 157 wRC+.
Perhaps most crucial among his stats since August 1st is the 11 home runs he’s tallied in just 160 plate appearances – three more than the eight he had in his previous 331 plate appearances prior to the calendar turning to August.
Hitting third in Chicago’s lineup on a regular basis doesn’t hold the same appeal as it would in a higher-scoring lineup, but Benintendi’s place in the top third of the White Sox’s order ensures he’ll continue to get more plate appearances and chances to connect on more home runs as the season progresses.
Circling back to his August 1st and onward splits, here are the only players with more home runs in that stretch: Shohei Ohtani is one of them. So too are Willy Adames, Aaron Judge, and Yordan Alvarez. The list also features Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr., Eugenio Suárez, Brent Rooker, and… no one else.
That’s it.
Elsewhere just 10 players have a higher ISO than Benintendi (.291) since August 1st.
Michael Kopech – 38%
Kopech started the year with Benintendi in Chicago, but since a mid-season trade to the Dodgers, he’s become an elite saves+holds league option, as well as an ideal Roto league option for those looking to piece together saves while adding strikeouts and helping with ERA and WHIP totals.
Since making his debut for the Dodgers on July 31st, Kopech is sporting a 0.7 fWAR in 19 innings with a 0.95 ERA, a 1.91 FIP, four pitcher wins, four saves, seven holds, a 34.8% strikeout rate and an 11.6% walk rate.
Among pitchers with at least 15 innings during that span, only 16 have a higher strikeout rate than the former White Sox closer. Just 16 have a lower WHIP (0.74) than Kopech.
Most crucially for fantasy managers, Kopech leads all Dodgers relievers in saves during that span.
And while it’s worth noting the small gap between Kopech’s save total and those of Hudson and Phillips, it’s also worth mentioning that Kopech has the only Dodgers save this month.
*As a reliever.
Even if this continues to be something of a timeshare based on matchups, Kopech looks like a late-season league winner with his bat-missing ability and part-time ninth-inning role in Los Angeles.