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 Dairon Blanco, Danny Jansen, Reynaldo López, and Jesús Sánchez 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.
Dairon Blanco – 3%
For those looking to significantly shore up their fantasy team’s stolen base production, look no further than Dairon Blanco.
Perhaps your team was constructed with just one or two significant stolen base threats. Maybe one or both of those players are injured. Maybe they haven’t been quite as productive as hoped. Either way, Blanco is the priority add here if your team is in desperate need of additional stolen bases.
Because if the 30-year-old’s production in the minors is any indication, he’s as good of a bet as any to steal bases in the Majors.
The outfielder has stolen 188 bases in 465 career minor leagues, which is obviously very good. So too was his stolen base tally at Triple-A in 2022 when Blanco stole 45 bases in 107 games and 414 plate appearances.
What was even better was the fact that the former A’s prospect stole 47 bases this year in Triple-A. And oh yeah, he did that in only 49 games (!) and 208 plate appearances. For reference, that’s the most in the entirety of the minor leagues and eight more than the next closest player.
And while Blanco hasn’t produced significant power numbers in the minors – his career-best for home runs in the minors is just 14 and he’s never topped a .200 ISO in a single minor league stop – he’s shown quality on-base skills so far.
Since the 2021 season in the upper minors, Blanco hasn’t struck out more than 24% of the time at a minor league stop while walking at a decent rate.
And while minor league stat lines aren’t everything in evaluating players, nor should they be the be-all-end-all in that regard, Blanco’s ability to get on base at a consistent rate should only help him in terms of stolen base opportunities.
Furthermore, it’s not as if Kansas City’s outfield is overflowing with long-term options, so there’s potential for Blanco to see regular playing time.
Of course, that’s all entirely speculative, but the Royals outfield ranks last in the league in collective fWAR (-1.8) and wRC+ (70). The group also has the league’s lowest on-base percentage with a .282 number. The opportunity is certainly there. And while it’s early, it is worth noting that Blanco has started each of Kansas City’s last four games.
Danny Jansen – 14%
Jansen got off to a bit of a slow start this year.
From Opening Day through May 6, the veteran catcher hit just .159 with a .256 on-base percentage, a 57 wRC+, and three home runs in 78 plate appearances, though he was also sporting a .179 BABIP at the time.
The veteran was still drawing walks at a decent rate, and collecting barrels as well. Jansen’s walk rate was 11.5% prior to May 6 while his barrel rate checked in at 12.2%. Still, it was all a far cry from the 2022 season in which the backstop thrived in a part-time role.
In 2022, Jansen hit .260 with a .339 on-base percentage, 15 home runs, and a stolen base in 248 plate appearances, splitting time behind the plate with Alejandro Kirk and at times Gabriel Moreno.
That being said, he’s started to turn things around as of late. Since May 7, the catcher’s production at the plate has improved significantly.
Since the calendar changed from April to May, Jansen is batting .274 with a .297 on-base percentage, a 12% barrel rate, and a .323 ISO in 64 plate appearances, with overall production that is much more in line with his 2022 production. He’s also added five home runs during that span, all of which have come in his last 11 games.
Jansen is still going to split time with Alejandro Kirk moving forward, but there’s plenty of fantasy potential here as a short-term streaming option for fantasy managers in search of production behind the plate.
Reynaldo López – 10%
Just like with Jansen, Reynaldo López’s early-season struggles have negatively impacted his season-long stat line. It’s a story we’ve seen plenty of times before with relievers who have a few bad outings early in the year.
Overall, Lopez has pitched to a 5.10 ERA and a 5.31 FIP in 32 appearances spanning 30 innings this season, striking out 36 batters while surrendering 14 walks and seven home runs. The reliever has converted four saves while also registering eight holds, though he does have five blown saves on the season.
Still, the 29-year-old has been markedly better as of late. Since May 14, he’s allowed just two earned runs in 12 appearances spanning 13.2 innings, while logging five holds in the process. Both of those runs came in a Thursday outing against the Dodgers, snapping a 13-inning scoreless streak that spanned a month from May 14 to June 14.
Perhaps most crucially, the recent run of form has kept Lopez in the late-inning mix in Chicago after his early-season struggles. He doesn’t have a save since May 14 but does have five holds in the spanning. Elsewhere, he’s tied for second on the team with six high-leverage appearances since May 14, with Joe Kelly leading the way with eight.
With Liam Hendriks recently being placed on the injured list, Lopez should continue to see high-leverage chances moving forward alongside Kelly and Kendall Graveman, which should do nothing but help his fantasy upside in saves+holds leagues. It’s entirely possible that someone in your league dropped Lopez after his slow start. If that’s the case, he makes for a quality addition in saves+holds leagues.
Jesús Sánchez – 8%
The breakout is finally here. We’ve waited a while for it since the outfielder was a top prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays, but the breakout is here, and it’s been equal parts very promising and very good.
Sanchez, 25, is batting .270 in his first 129 plate appearances of the year, adding six home runs and three stolen bases in the process while logging a .349 on-base percentage.
Since the start of the 2021 season (Sanchez made his Major League debut in 2020, but logged just 29 plate appearances) the outfielder has routinely logged solid hard-hit and barrel rates.
He’s doing more of the same this season
The key difference here is that Sanchez has increased his line drive rate significantly. Obviously, it’s still a reasonably small sample size, but it isn’t too minuscule, all things considered.
Considering all that, it should come as no surprise that Sanchez is posting career highs in xwOBA (.375) and xwOBAcon (.482). And given just the .008 gap between the Marlins slugger’s .367 wOBA and his .375 xwOBA, it seems reasonably sustainable too.
In fact, Sanchez’s batted ball data is reasonably similar to another outfielder you may have heard of. Ok, so that’s slightly spoiling the blind resume portion of the column, but here are two outfielders’ stat lines this season.
Outfielder A is Jesús Sánchez.
Outfielder B is Bryce Harper.
Go add Sanchez now before the rest of the fantasy baseball world catches on.
Graphic adapted by Aaron Polcare (@bearydoesgfx on Twitter)
In a 12 teamer needing OF help, how do you rank these FA OFs?
Raley, J.Sanchez, Vierling, Pham
In the same league, where Edman is eligible and playing at OF, do you move him to an MI slot and drop J.Baez or A. Rosario to grab one of the above mentioned OFs?