Each week we’ll look at a handful of different players who fantasy managers in deeper leagues should consider picking up. 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. This week it’s Jaime Barría, Nick Martinez, Phil Maton, and Tanner Scott who are worth your time as potential additions in deep leagues.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via Yahoo fantasy leagues as of Friday afternoon.
Jaime Barría – 14%
Barria started the year in the Angels bullpen, often throwing multiple innings. In fact, the right-hander logged just two single-inning appearances in 10 relief outings before he switched to the rotation.
The 26-year-old was markedly effective for the Halos, logging a 1.96 ERA and a 3.50 FIP in 23 innings while adding 21 strikeouts compared to just six walks. Unfortunately, for most fantasy managers, he only had one win and one hold during that span, providing little fantasy value outside of helping with metrics like ERA and WHIP on a weekly basis.
Now, in more fortunate news for fantasy managers, he’s recently stepped into the rotation and arguably been even more effective as a starter.
We’re still dealing with a small sample size with Barria’s rotation work but is notable that his strikeout numbers have actually gone up as a starter. Generally speaking, that’s not always (or usually) how it works. For the most part, most starters who switch to the bullpen see their strikeout rates climb, while most relievers who begin to start games see their strikeout rates decrease.
In addition to the strong run prevention stats, the 26-year-old’s CSW rates in each of his first three starts have generally been good as well. Despite it just being from three starts, the CSW rate numbers are highly encouraging in terms of moving forward.
The right-hander doesn’t have the best upcoming schedule, for fantasy purposes, with an upcoming matchup against the Rangers in Texas as his next scheduled start. So while he shouldn’t necessarily be started in that one, there is significant season-long upside here if Barria continues to maintain his form in the rotation on a consistent basis.
Nick Martinez – 16%
The story of Nick Martinez’s season so far is a bit of a reversal of Barria’s. He began the year in San Diego’s rotation, logging a 4.01 ERA, a 5.47 FIP, 6.20 strikeouts per nine frames, and 4.38 walks per nine frames in 24.2 innings of work.
Since switching to the bullpen, somewhere Martinez thrived in 2022 when he logged a 2.67 ERA in 54 innings, the reliever has been excellent.
In nearly as many innings, the difference in results is noticeable, especially in the walks department.
The right-hander has quickly become one of San Diego’s most trusted relievers. He ranks second in the Padres bullpen in fWAR (his fWAR as a reliever that is) after Josh Hader and is also second (in a tie with Steven Wilson) to Hader in terms of high-leverage appearances with nine.
And while that’s only translated to five holds so far, it’s clear that Martinez is going to play a critical role in this bullpen moving forward.
Furthermore, Martinez’s ability to throw multiple innings gives him plenty of potential to nab some wins moving forward, in addition to the holds.
Since his first relief appearance on April 26, Martinez has accumulated five holds, two pitcher wins, and a save in 17 bullpen outings. Along with Domingo Tapia, who also has one save, Martinez is one of just two relievers in Bob Melvin’s bullpen to notch a save who doesn’t have “Hader” on the back of their jersey.
The 32-year-old makes for an ideal addition in saves+holds given not only his ability to chip in with holds and help with ratios due to his ability to get more than three outs but also as a potential source of ancillary saves after Hader.
Phil Maton – 6%
Phil Maton hasn’t quite operated in the late-inning mix in Houston for the Astros. All but three of his innings have come after the seventh and he’s actually logged as many appearances in the fourth through sixth innings (16) as he has in the seventh inning or later. The 30-year-old also has just four holds and one high-leverage appearance this season.
However, that may have more to do with the Astros’ quality bullpen depth and wealth of late-inning options than Maton’s performance.
Houston’s relievers currently sport the seventh-highest fWAR in the sport, and their collective 3.58 FIP is the third-lowest number among all Major League bullpens.
Maton, for his part, has been excellent, logging a 1.17 ERA and a 2.44 FIP in 27 appearances spanning 30.2 innings of work. He’s struck out 9.68 batters per nine frames while surrendering just 1.76 walks and 0.29 home runs per nine innings.
Elsewhere, he’s been similarly effective against both left-handers and right-handers, which certainly doesn’t hurt his chances in terms of regular appearances.
The veteran makes for a strong candidate, both in deeper save+holds leagues and in more standard-scoring deeper leagues, to add a few strikeouts while helping lower weekly ERA and WHIP metrics, while helping offset a poor start or two from a starting pitcher.
Maton is one of just four qualified relievers this season to strikeout out more than nine batters per nine innings while surrendering fewer than two walks and 0.50 home runs per nine frames.
The other four? David Bednar, Yennier Cano and Tim Mayza.
Tanner Scott – 10%
Scott enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, logging a 3.67 FIP in 62.2 innings for the Miami Marlins and missing plenty of bats.
To be specific, he struck out 12.93 batters per nine frames, logged a 15.4% swinging strike percentage and a 35.7% whiff rate, while finishing with a 31.1% strikeout rate.
The whiff rate (96th percentile) and strikeout rate (91st percentile) were very much elite.
What wasn’t quite so stellar was Scott’s penchant for allowing walks. With a 15.9% walk rate that finished in the first percentile league-wide and 6.61 walks surrendered per nine innings, batters got on often via the free pass against the left-hander.
Fast forward to 2023 and while higher walk numbers remain a constant in Scott’s stat line, he’s cut down on them considerably.
The fewer walks, combined with similar elite, bat-missing ability, have helped Scott build on his 2022 campaign with arguably an even better 2023 season so far.
The former Oriole reliever has logged a 3.00 ERA and a 2.95 FIP in 30 innings for the Marlins, logging a pair of saves to go along with four pitcher wins in the process. The walks are likely still going to be there to a degree, but with fewer of them this season, Scott makes for a useful fantasy addition with his ability to add strikeouts at a high rate and chip in with ancillary saves, as well as some quality production where holds are concerned.
So far, he’s already logged 10 holds. Among qualified relievers, Danny Coulombe and James Karinchak are the only other two pitchers with at least 10 holds and a strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate north of the 12.00 mark. Expand those parameters to also include a FIP south of the 3.00 mark and it only applies to Scott and Coulombe.
Graphic adapted by Aaron Polcare (@bearydoesgfx on Twitter)