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Any guesses on who has the lowest ERA among starters dating back to the beginning of July? The answer is Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon, who has reeled off a fantastic 1.45 ERA over six starts during that time. He was especially impressive Wednesday against the Orioles, allowing three runs (two earned) over 6 1/3 innings while racking up season-highs in strikeouts (10) and whiffs (18) in his 90 pitches. It was his first double-digit strikeout game since September 18, 2018 with the Pirates.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Taillon as he navigates his first season back from Tommy John surgery. And it’s important to remember that. Some bumps along the way should be expected for any pitcher under this circumstance, especially one who makes half of his starts in Yankee Stadium. However, Taillon has adapted as the season has moved along, moving back to his old windup while showing more flexibility with his arsenal. It’s working for him right now, which is why he has soared over the 50-percent rostered mark in Yahoo leagues in recent weeks.
The big question is how sustainable it might be. The truth is that Taillon walks the tightrope as a fly ball pitcher in the American League East. Only five pitchers (min. 70 IP) have a higher fly ball rate this season. His fly ball rate has been at 51 percent during this impressive run. It’s not always going to be this good, but the saving grace here is that opposing batters have had a very difficult time making hard contact. It will be interesting to watch if there’s any fatigue down the stretch, but Taillon is a must-start every time out right now. He’s actually a two-start pitcher next week, with a juicy matchup against the Mariners to start the week before a big test against the White Sox over the weekend.
Have specific questions about your roster? Ask @djshort on Twitter.
MIXED LEAGUES
(Players rostered in under 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Note: Percentages are from the morning of Thursday, August 5th
Jo Adell OF, Angels (Yahoo: 31 percent rostered)
Welcome back, Jo. The Angels have showed remarkable restraint in bringing Adell back to the majors, but he returned in grand style Tuesday against the Rangers, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, three RBI, and a stolen base. The 22-year-old still struck out in 29.2 percent of his plate appearances in Triple-A this season, so it’s not like his contact issues are solved, but he slugged 23 homers over 73 games while also stealing eight bases. His sort of power potential doesn’t exactly grow on trees, so take the upside even if there’s likely to be some bumps along the way.
Jarred Kelenic OF, Mariners (Yahoo: 39 percent rostered)
You might notice a theme with this week’s column. You have to be patient with young hitters. Kelenic might be the epitome of that at the moment. The hype was through the roof going into the year, so expectations were probably unfair in the first place, but nobody could have expected him to struggle as badly as he has. While it might be hard to tell by his overall numbers, he’s at least shown signs of progress of late. The 22-year-old made an in-game adjustments with his stance — moving from a crouched position to more upright — and he’s hit a couple of homers since then while making more consistent contact. It appears that he might have tinkered again on Wednesday, but the point is that he’s working through it. While those in shallow mixed leagues might have safer options, Kelenic is much too talented to give up on.
Logan Webb SP, Giants (Yahoo: 38 percent rostered)
This one is confusing and might also be indicative of the number of fantasy managers who stopped paying attention. Still, Webb is good enough to be rostered in most leagues. The 24-year-old holds a 3.33 ERA and 73/23 K/BB ratio over 73 innings this season, including a 2.25 ERA over five starts since a six-week stint on the injured list with a shoulder strain. He’s held some pretty good offenses in check recently, so don’t hesitate starting him against the Brewers on the road this weekend. He gets the Rockies on the road and consecutive starts against the light-hitting Mets after that.
Amed Rosario SS/OF, Indians (Yahoo: 26 percent rostered)
Rosario had a pretty crummy April, but he’s been useful in most competitive leagues since then. The 25-year-old is hitting .292 over his last 77 games while showing improved plate discipline. Long known for his aggressiveness, he’s swinging at fewer pitches than ever before, most notably on pitches outside of the strike zone. As a result, he’s sporting the best hard-hit percentage of his career. He’s also become a much better base stealer, going 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts this year after having a 66-percent success rate for his career coming into 2021. He’s not hitting for a lot of power, but with the multi-position eligibility and the volume as the No. 2 hitter for the Indians, there’s value here in most formats.
Andrew Vaughn 1B/OF, White Sox (Yahoo: 37 percent rostered)
Following up on Adell and Kelenic, Vaughn didn’t hit the ground running, either. After making the Opening Day roster for the White Sox, the 23-year-old top prospect was hitting just .222 with six home runs and a .688 OPS through his first 63 games. Something has clicked for him over the past month, though, as he’s slashing .343/.389/.588 with six home runs and seven doubles over his last 30 games. Hitting the ball hard wasn’t a problem for him even when things weren’t going great, but now he’s making contact an an elite clip. His strikeout rate was at 27.2 percent through 63 games, but he’s nearly cut that in half (14.2 percent) during this recent stretch. It sure looks like he’s arrived.
Evan Longoria 3B, Giants (Yahoo: 19 percent rostered)
Longoria was showing near vintage skills before going down with a left shoulder strain two months ago, but he did some hitting on the field Monday and could begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week. A return in mid-August is within reach, so it’s smart to think ahead and stash now. The 35-year-old was batting .280/.376/.516 with nine homers and 30 RBI over 50 games prior to the injury, with the batted ball metrics to back it up. He could be sneaky useful the rest of the way.
Luis Gil SP, Yankees (Yahoo: 5 percent rostered)
Luis Severino SP, Yankees (Yahoo: 44 percent rostered)
Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole was forced to the injured list this week after testing positive for COVID-19, but his replacement had no problem filling in for the staff ace. Making his major league debut, Gil tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and just one walk in a win over the Orioles on Tuesday. Pumping a mid-to-high 90s fastball and a low-90s changeup (!), he allowed just four hits while racking up 11 whiffs in his 88 pitches. It was hard to know what to expect from Gil, who had a 4.13 ERA and 88/36 K/BB ratio over 61 innings between Double- and Triple-A this year. There’s no doubt he can miss bats, but control has been an issue throughout the minors. Still, this was one of those performances where you have to take notice. The Yankees optioned Gil to Triple-A following Tuesday’s game, but he’s slated to return in an appealing matchup against the Mariners on Sunday. Take a chance in deeper leagues.
As for Severino, he resumed a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday after suffering a groin injury in June while making his way back from Tommy John surgery. He’ll likely need at least another couple of starts, but a return around the end of the month is possible. No harm in stashing if you have an IL spot available.
Tyler Clippard RP, Diamondbacks (Yahoo: 12 percent rostered)
It’s official: Clippard will outlive us all. With Joakim Soria now in Toronto, the 36-year-old Clippard is now at the top of the depth chart for the closer role with Arizona. After missing almost four months to begin the season with a capsule strain in his right shoulder, he’s fired six scoreless frames while notching a couple of saves along the way. Maybe in the past, a pitcher like Clippard would be relevant for a possible waiver trade in August, but that’s no longer a factor. The Diamondbacks could very well lean on him as they play out the string.
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Deeper Dandies
(Players rostered in under 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Edward Olivares OF, Royals (Yahoo: 4 percent rostered)
Stop messing with Olivares, will you please, Royals? To be fair, it really does look like he’ll stick around this time with Jorge Soler now in Atlanta. He’s been in the lineup each of the last three days and the status of Andrew Benintendi’s shoulder could only solidify his playing time. Olivares hit .322/.395/.572 with 13 homers and 12 steals over 52 games in Triple-A this season, so really, he’s exactly the sort of player the Royals should be taking a long look at down the stretch. The same goes for those in deeper mixed leagues.
Codi Heuer RP, Cubs (Yahoo: 8 percent rostered)
Not only did the Cubs trade closer Craig Kimbrel, but they also dealt every reasonable alternative for the ninth inning, as Ryan Tepera was dealt to the crosstown White Sox and Andrew Chafin was flipped to the Athletics. Kyle Ryan actually notched the first save post-trade deadline for the Cubs, but it would be smart to keep an eye on Heuer, who was acquired from the White Sox along with Nick Madrigal in the Kimbrel trade. Command has been an issue for him at times this year, hence the 4.75 ERA, but he has everything you want in a potential closer with a mid-to-high 90s fastball, a nasty slider, and even a changeup which picks up plenty of swings and misses. David Ross has already used him in the eighth inning three times.
Chas McCormick OF, Astros (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
It was very surprising to not only see the Astros trade Myles Straw to the Indians, but not acquire a center field elsewhere prior to the deadline. Either way, this indicates the team’s level of faith in McCormick, who has hit 10 homers in 188 plate appearances while putting up a .236/.298/.461 batting line. He’s struck out in 31.4 percent of his plate appearances, but he was known for his plate discipline in the minors, posting a 148/125 K/BB ratio. Perhaps we’ll see improvement in that area as he gets more experience, but McCormick has interesting pop and speed as it stands and you have to love the situation.
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Weekend Warriors
Kyle Muller SP, Braves (Yahoo: 30 percent rostered)
Easy call here, as Muller lines up to face the diminished Nationals on Friday. The young southpaw is making a case to be trusted regardless of matchup, as he holds a 2.43 ERA and 33/15 K/BB ratio through his first 29 2/3 innings in the majors. While he’s yet to complete six innings, he’s allowed one run or fewer in five out of his six starts thus far.
Cole Irvin SP, Athletics (Yahoo: 47 percent rostered)
Irvin gets the Rangers on Friday, so there’s really not much else to say here. The Rangers have the lowest OPS in the majors (.667) this season, but they have been especially bad recently. Going into play on Thursday, they hold .592 OPS over the last 30 days, far and away the worst. The next-closest is the Royals with a .671 mark. And now there’s no more Joey Gallo. As for Irvin, he’s one of the best control pitchers in the majors and holds a 2.41 ERA over his last six starts. Make sure he’s active here.
AL ONLY
Spencer Howard SP/RP, Rangers (Yahoo: 3 percent rostered)
It says a lot about how far Howard has fallen if the Phillies were willing to give him up in the recent trade for Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy, and Hans Crouse, but perhaps he’ll find more success with a different organization. After all, he was one of the most anticipated pitching prospects going into last year. Things haven’t worked out so far, as Howard holds a 5.81 ERA through 52 2/3 innings in the majors, but the Phillies didn’t really seem to know what to do with him. Getting in a more consistent routine — hopefully in a traditional starter’s role — should at least give us a better indication of what he can be. He’s slated to make his first start for Texas on Thursday against the Angels.
Jake Meyers OF, Astros (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
I mentioned Chas McCormick taking over the starting center field job, but the other part of the recent Myles Straw trade with the Indians is that Meyers will take over a fourth outfielder role for Houston. The 25-year-old wasn’t even protected in the Rule 5 Draft last year, but he’s enjoyed a monster season in Triple-A this season, batting .343/.408/.598 with 16 home runs and 10 stolen bases over 68 games. He’s an outstanding defender in center field, but the Astros might really have something here if the power progression is legitimate.
NL ONLY
Alex Jackson C, Marlins (Yahoo: 0 percent rostered)
The Marlins picked up Jackson from the Braves in the Adam Duvall trade last week and it certainly looks like they plan to give him plenty of chances down the stretch. If you need any further evidence of that, just notice that the club has been giving Jorge Alfaro time in left field this week. Jackson is just 5-for-54 (.093) with 28 strikeouts so far in the majors, but he’s posted big power numbers in the minors. He launched his first career homer this week against the Mets, so hopefully this is the start of something.
Bryse Wilson SP, Pirates (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Acquired from the Braves in the recent Richard Rodriguez trade, Wilson allowed two hits over five innings of one-run ball in his Pirates debut Tuesday against the Brewers. The 23-year-old has bounced up and down from the majors to the minors dating back to 2018, but he certainly has the stuff to be a back-end starter with the potential for more if he can make progress with his secondary pitches. The Pirates were a good landing spot for him in that he should get the chance to sink or swim.
