Rotoworld’s brand-new Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there’s value to be found on the waiver wire, we will find it and bring it your way. For today’s edition, we have a starting pitcher who might be putting things together as well as a potential replacement for the injured Oneil Cruz.
PICKUPS OF THE DAY
Kris Bubic SP, Royals
Available in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues
What’s fun about a new season is that we always find a handful of pitchers who make some little tweaks which can make a big difference in terms of results. Through his first two starts, Bubic is showing signs that he could be one of those guys.
Bubic tied a career-high with nine strikeouts over six scoreless frames against the Giants on Sunday — not allowing a hit until the fifth inning — and now owns a sparkling 1.64 ERA and 13/1 K/BB ratio in 11 innings through his first two starts. The southpaw amassed an eyebrow-raising 19 whiffs in his 76 pitches Sunday, including seven in 16 swings on his four-seamer, which is coming in a tick higher (93.2 mph average) than it did last year.
Bubic is actually throwing everything harder while using his four-seamer less than he did last year. It’s working. His retooled changeup has been his biggest whiff pitch thus far while the addition of a slider works as a complement to his curveball.
As Bubic explained it to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the new toy of the slider has allowed him to “get creative” with how he attacks hitters depending on their handedness.
“To lefties, I’m OK with the velo dipping, getting some more sweep,” Bubic said. “It’s not as consistent as I want so far. To righties… it’s a tighter, harder shape. If I can just keep the separation between that and the curveball, I think it’ll be fine with the way the fastball and changeup could play.”
Bubic also said after the game that he’s a fan of the pitch clock in that it “minimizes the thinking” and pacing around the mound between pitches. So we have mechanical and pitch mix changes as well as the new environment of the pitch clock all colliding at once. Whether you believe enough to start Bubic against the Braves this week is an open question, but he should certainly should be rostered in more leagues as we find out where this story is going.
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Ha-Seong Kim 2B/3B/SS, Padres
Available in 76 percent of Yahoo leagues
We learned on Monday that Pirates phenom Oneil Cruz will miss about four months after undergoing surgery for a fractured left ankle following an awkward slide into home plate on Sunday against the White Sox. It’s a terrible blow for a Pirates fanbase which hasn’t had a lot to cheer about in recent seasons. Many fantasy managers were also counting on his upside as a foundation of their rosters this season. There’s no replacing that StatCast-breaking “upside,” but Kim is the sort of “floor” play which can keep your fantasy hopes alive.
You have probably heard of the concept of wanting to get a piece of a particularly strong lineup. Maybe you don’t have one of the studs, but there’s a trickle-down impact in terms of counting stats. I see the Padres being one of those teams, especially when Fernando Tatis Jr. returns from his PED suspension on April 20.
After a disappointing first season in the states, Kim bounced back last year by slashing .251/.325/.383 with 11 homers, 59 RBI, 12 steals, and 58 runs scored across 150 games. Did he stand out in any one area? No, he didn’t, but that’s solid across-the-board production. With Tatis moving to right field, the sure-handed Kim will have a regular spot at second base with $280 million man Xander Bogaerts at shortstop and Jake Cronenworth (also a rich man with his recent $80 million extension) as the primary first baseman.
Kim has already popped a couple of homers through his first 10 games while showing an elite contact rate. He’s yet to steal a base, but his sprint speed (82nd percentile) hints at his potential there. In this environment, he’ll get his chances to run. The multi-position eligibility might be the most appealing part of his case in mixed leagues.
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