MIXED LEAGUES
(Players rostered in under 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Note: Percentages are from the morning of Thursday, June 9
Santiago Espinal, 2B/3B, Blue Jays (Yahoo: 42 percent rostered)
Acquired from the Red Sox back in 2018 in the Steve Pearce trade, Espinal turned some heads last season in his first extended look in the majors with a .311/.376/.405 batting line, two homers and six steals over 246 plate appearances. He’s been even better this year after quickly taking hold of the Blue Jays’ second base job early on, putting up a .290/.346/.451 line with five long balls and three stolen bases. The 27-year-old has a .303 xBA, suggesting he’s even been a little unlucky from an average perspective. Espinal is really on a heater since the calendar flipped to June, batting .424 with three homers and nine RBI in eight contests. He hit cleanup for the Jays on Wednesday. While he doesn’t have a ton of power, Espinal looks like a good average bet who can also steal some bags. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s eligible at probably the two weakest non-catcher positions.
Jonah Heim, C, Rangers (Yahoo: 39 percent rostered)
Speaking of catchers, Heim’s fantasy outlook seemed to take a blow when the Rangers traded for Mitch Garver during spring training. However, between Garver getting hurt and also seeing more playing time in the designated hitter spot than at catcher, Heim has been in the lineup plenty. He’s made the most of his opportunity, posting a .804 OPS with seven home runs and a couple stolen bases. The switch-hitting Heim has been otherworldly against left-handed pitching with a 1.100 OPS and three bombs across 42 plate appearances. Heim is probably already rostered if you’re in a two-catcher league, but he’s playing his way into one-catcher league consideration, as well.
Dakota Hudson, SP, Cardinals (Yahoo: 21 percent rostered)
Hudson missed nearly all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but the Cardinals have eased up on the reins this year and the righty has posted a 2.76 ERA over his first 11 starts. The sinkerballer really seems to be hitting his stride this month, tossing seven innings of one-run ball in both of his outings while allowing a total of just eight baserunners over those 14 innings. Hudson has never been much of a bat-misser and that’s been the case even more so this season with a lowly 14.2 percent strikeout rate. He’s always been elite at inducing grounders, though, ranking fourth in baseball this year with a 55.9 percent mark. Hudson’s ceiling will always be capped because of his lack of punchouts, but an excellent defense behind him and a schedule full of NL Central offenses gives him a good shot to continue outperforming his peripherals.
Ezequiel Duran, 2B/SS, Rangers (Yahoo: 14 percent rostered)
Acquired last season from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade, Duran finished with a .827 OPS, 19 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 2021 at the High-A level. He moved up to Double-A in 2022 and took another step forward, posting a .317/.365/.574 batting line with seven long balls and seven steals. The Rangers elected to have Duran skip over Triple-A and join them over the weekend, and he’s gone 6-for-16 with a homer in his first five games. Also, while he has not yet attempted a stolen base, he’s ranked in the 93rd percentile in sprint speed. Nothing is blocking Duran from running away with the Rangers’ third base job if he performs. Strikeouts have been a problem at times for the 23-year-old in the minors, although they weren’t at all this year at Double-A as he fanned at just an 18 percent rate. Duran looks like a guy with 20-20 potential over a full season if things break right.
Gabriel Moreno, C, Blue Jays (Yahoo: 14 percent rostered)
As if the Blue Jays don’t already have an embarrassment of riches at the catcher position, word came out late Wednesday night that they were promoting top prospect Moreno from Triple-A Buffalo. The 22-year-old had a fabulous showing at Double-A in 2021, sporting a .373/.441/.651 batting line with eight homers in 32 games in a season which was interrupted by a fractured thumb. He’s followed that up with a .323/.377/.406 line and one long ball in 35 Triple-A contests in 2022. You would figure that Moreno would see most of the catching duties while Danny Jansen (finger) is out, with Alejandro Kirk focusing mostly on designated hitter. It’s questionable how much power he’ll hit for right now, but Moreno is one of the elite prospects in the game and is worth rostering in two-catcher redrafts.
Colin Poche, RP, Rays (Yahoo: 18 percent rostered)
Poche didn’t pitch at all from 2020-21 while working his way back from Tommy John surgery and he began this season in the minors as he tried to regain his form. He did just that in tossing six scoreless frames with 11 strikeouts at Triple-A Durham to earn a recall back to the big leagues. Poche has gone on to put up a 1.47 ERA and 15/5 K/BB ratio over 18 1/3 innings for the Rays, collecting three saves across 20 appearances. The left-hander hasn’t been missing bats like we’re used to seeing, but his velocity is up and so is the spin rate on his curveball, so I’d be surprised if we don’t start seeing more strikeouts given his excellent track record in that regard. He could also be in line for more save chances with Andrew Kittredge headed for elbow surgery.
Garrett Cooper, 1B/OF, Marlins (Yahoo: 35 percent rostered)
The book on Cooper is that he’s going to hit as long as he’s healthy. He came into this season with a career .282/.354/.453 batting line, but he’s never had more than 421 plate appearances in a season in large part due to injuries. In 2021 Cooper accumulated just 250 plate appearances before eventually having Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow. He’s stayed off the injured list in 2022, though, and has been on fire over his last 16 games, batting .459 with two dingers and 13 RBI. Cooper has never been able to hit the ball in the air as much as you’d like, which along with his spacious home park limits his home run upside. There’s no doubt he can hit, though, and he’s in the midst of a particularly hot streak.
Diego Castillo, RP, Mariners (Yahoo: 15 percent rostered)
Castillo had back-to-back appearances in early May when he was blasted for a total of eight runs while recording just two outs. Those two blowups mean his ERA (5.57) and WHIP (1.43) still look pretty ugly, but he’s pitched quite well this year more times than not. The big right-hander is unscored upon in nine of his last 10 outings and boasts a 1.74 ERA and 16/3 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 frames during that span. He’s also got four saves, including during his last two appearances. Paul Sewald – who pitched the eighth inning ahead of Castillo on Wednesday – has pitched well this season but is not getting strikeouts at nearly the same rate as last year. Castillo also has plenty of closing experience in his career.
Deeper Dandies:
(Players rostered in under 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Bryson Stott, 2B/SS, Phillies (Yahoo: 6 percent rostered)
Stott made the Phillies’ Opening Day roster but wound up being sent back to the minors before the end of April following an ugly 4-for-30 start. He went down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and posted a .986 OPS with two home runs and two stolen bases over nine games to earn a trip back to the majors. Stott struggled again initially upon his return, but since Jean Segura (finger) went down he’s hit .285 with three homers and a stolen base across seven contests. That includes a 4-for-4 effort with a long ball on Wednesday. The 24-year-old is a top prospect who boasts a .300/.389/.495 line in the minors, and he should have an everyday role now with Segura possibly out until September.
John Schreiber, RP, Red Sox (Yahoo: 7 percent rostered)
Schreiber is a 28-year-old who began this season in the minors, but he’s been the Red Sox’ best reliever when on the roster. Granted, he doesn’t have a ton of competition for that title, but Schreiber has undoubtedly been excellent with a 1.08 ERA and 18/3 K/BB ratio over 16 2/3 innings. Schreiber mostly throws three pitches in a four-seamer, a sinker and a slider, and so far he boats a whiff rate above 30 percent with all three offerings. That’s impressive and has earned him more and more high-leverage assignments. Boston’s closer role is there for the taking.
Seranthony Domínguez, RP, Phillies (Yahoo: 5 percent rostered)
Speaking of closer roles there for the taking, Corey Knebel’s grip on the ninth-inning job with the Phillies is tenuous, at best, at this point. He’s blown three of his last nine save opportunities and has walked 11 over 13 2/3 innings during that time. Knebel converted his last save chance on Tuesday but not before walking the bases loaded. The Phillies have already made a managerial change, so you’ve got to imagine they won’t hesitate to swap closers if Knebel doesn’t get straightened out. They have two other guys with plenty of closing experience on the roster in Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia. Dominguez has been by far the team’s best reliever, though, with a 1.74 ERA and 26/7 K/BB ratio over 20 2/3 frames. The 27-year-old has some closing experience of his own from his rookie year back in 2018 before injuries sidetracked him. He’s healthy now, though, and looks terrific.
Weekend Warriors:
Zach Plesac vs. OAK (Yahoo: 39 percent rostered)
In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t really trust Plesac. He’s been good lately when facing bad lineups, though, going six innings and allowing two or fewer runs to the Reds, Royals and Orioles. This weekend he goes up against an Athletics team which ranks 29th in runs per game ahead of only the Tigers. Plesac is at risk of a blowup outing at any time, but as far as streaming options go, you could do worse.
Ross Stripling at DET (Yahoo: 9 percent rostered)
Those Tigers that I just mentioned? Yeah, you want to be streaming pitchers against them, too. Heading into action Wednesday, they had scored 30 fewer runs than the next-closest team, the A’s. Stripling has shifted back-and-forth between the bullpen and the rotation this season but could be starting for a while now with Hyun Jin Ryu (elbow) out indefinitely. He went five shutout innings on Monday against the Royals, limiting them to just one hit and no walks while notching a pair of strikeouts.
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AL ONLY
Brayan Bello, SP, Red Sox (Yahoo: 4 percent rostered)
One of the biggest risers on prospects lists has been Bello, who has posted a 2.41 ERA and 76/21 K/BB ratio over 56 innings covering 10 starts between Double- and Triple-A. He’s fanned 34 in 22 1/3 frames since his promotion to Triple-A Worcester last month. The Red Sox’ rotation has pitched very well lately and wouldn’t seem to have an immediate need for Bello. The 23-year-old is firmly on the big league radar at this point, though, and working in his favor is that he’s already on the 40-man roster.
Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Sean Murphy has been pretty dreadful at the plate outside of a nice week-long stretch back in April and now has just a .687 OPS since the beginning of last season. I doubt the A’s would push him aside, but Langeliers certainly looks ready for an opportunity at the major league level. Acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade, Langeliers has put up a .272/.362/.506 batting line with 11 home runs and 30 RBI over 49 games at Triple-A Las Vegas. Yes, it’s an extremely favorable hitting environment, but the former first-round pick had a .833 OPS with 22 dingers between Double- and Triple-A last year, too.
NL ONLY
Albert Almora Jr., OF, Reds (Yahoo: 2 percent rostered)
The Reds inked Almora Jr. to a minor league contract during spring training and called him up in early May after he got off to a nice start in the minors. He’s been playing regularly of late with Tyler Naquin (quad) on the shelf and has produced a .309/.325/.420 batting line over his first 84 plate appearances, hitting two homers, driving in 14 runs and stealing a couple bases in 23 contests. Almora’s bat never progressed after he showed some early promise with the Cubs, but he did make an approach change in ditching a leg kick in favor of a more subtle timing mechanism. It’s worked out for the 28-year-old so far, so perhaps he can provide a little deep league value.
Nomar Mazara, OF, Padres (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Remember him? Mazara signed on with the Padres on a minor league pact over the winter and was called up to replace Robinson Canó last week. The outfielder had been demolishing the ball at Triple-A El Paso with a 1.095 OPS and seven home runs. He’s getting regular starts in the outfield against righties with Wil Myers (knee) out and is off to a 5-for-15 start. Mazara didn’t match his former top prospect hype with the Rangers and has been awful the last two seasons for the White Sox and Tigers. He’s somehow still just 27, though, so perhaps we shouldn’t totally write him off.
