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MIXED LEAGUES
(Players rostered in under 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Note: Percentages are from the morning of Thursday, August 25
Lars Nootbaar, OF, Cardinals (Yahoo: 38 percent rostered)
The Cardinals seemed to show some faith in Nootbaar when they traded away Harrison Bader, knowing that the deal likely meant he would continue to see regular at-bats. Noooooot has earned them, putting up a sparkling .306/.439/.593 batting line with six home runs, 21 RBI, 26 runs, two stolen bases and an impressive 22/27 K/BB ratio in 40 games since the beginning of July. He’s become the team’s regular leadoff man against righties and is playing versus lefties, too, moving down to the nine spot on those days. Nootbaar’s excellent eye and favorable lineup spot most days gives him sneaky value especially for those in points leagues.
Jake Fraley, OF, Reds (Yahoo: 25 percent rostered)
Fraley was acquired from the Mariners in the Jesse Winker/Eugenio Suárez trade during spring training. It immediately looked like a good landing spot for the outfielder, trading in T-Mobile Park for Great American Ball Park. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for him to show that he’s, well, frail. Fraley suffered a knee injury in late April which, when combined with the toe malady he had while on a rehab assignment, wound up costing him three months of action. The 27-year-old is back now, though, and is sporting a ridiculous .339/.425/.677 batting line with six homers, 14 RBI, 16 runs and one stolen base in 20 games since being activated. He’s also seized the leadoff spot in Cincy’s lineup. Fraley even has the potential to offer more in the speed department than he’s provided thus far.
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, Tigers (Yahoo: 44 percent rostered)
Rodriguez’s first season in Detroit has been a strange one, to say the least. He was hit-or-miss for the first six weeks of the season before landing on the injured list with a ribcage issue. E-Rod was nearing the end of a rehab assignment in mid-June when he was placed on the restricted list for undisclosed personal reasons, even reportedly cutting off contact with the team at one point. Rodriguez finally made it back into the Tigers’ rotation this past weekend and twirled five shutout innings against the Angels. He’ll get a gettable Rangers offense this weekend.
David Peterson, SP, Mets (Yahoo: 17 percent rostered)
Peterson’s return to his team’s rotation didn’t go as well as Rodriguez’s as he gave up three runs over 4 2/3 innings on Saturday in the Mets’ loss to the Phillies. The left-hander was actually returned to Triple-A Syracuse after serving as his team’s 27th man during a doubleheader, but he’s fully expected to rejoin the rotation later this week with a juicy home start versus the Rockies. Peterson has been very good for the Mets this season with a 3.44 ERA and 97/40 K/BB ratio over 83 2/3 innings, as he’s gone away from his sinker and leaned more on a four-seamer and slider, the latter of which has produced a 47.1 percent whiff rate.
Harold Ramirez, 1B/OF, Rays (Yahoo: 35 percent rostered)
Ramirez had a blistering .400/.446/.567 batting line with one home run in his first 16 games in July before suffering an ill-timed fractured left thumb. Fortunately, the 27-year-old has picked up where he left off since returning last week, going 12-for-35 with a home run. The Rays acquired Ramirez late in spring training presumably with the intention of using him to mash lefties. He’s obliged with a .929 OPS versus southpaws. Ramirez has been just fine against righties, too, though, with a .313/.348/.432 line, which has meant basically an everyday role and also a spot in the middle of Tampa Bay’s lineup.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks (Yahoo: 15 percent rostered)
Have you stashed Carroll in your league yet? Arguably the top prospect in baseball is likely to debut at some point before the end of the season, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen recently hinted. A first-round pick in the 2019 Draft, Carroll’s 2020 season was wiped out by the pandemic and his 2021 campaign lasted just seven games due to a shoulder injury. He’s already moved up to Triple-A Reno, though, even though he just turned 22 and has very little pro experience. That can happen when you bat .310/.424/.611 with 23 home runs and 31 steals over 90 games and play plus defense in center field. Carroll looks like a superstar, and it sounds like he’ll get a test run in the majors before long.
Deeper Dandies:
(Players rostered in under 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Nick Madrigal, 2B, Cubs (Yahoo: 4 percent rostered)
Back and groin maladies have threatened to sabotage Madrigal’s first season with the Cubs. That’s after he missed a large chunk of his last season with the White Sox following hamstring surgery. Since returning earlier this month, though, Madrigal has posted a nice .300/.382/.333 batting line with one stolen base and 10 runs scored over 17 games. He’s occupied the leadoff spot for the Cubbies in each of his last 11 contests. The lack of steals from Madrigal has been disappointing after he had 35 in his last full season in the minors, and his mediocre sprint speed suggests there might not be much room for improvement there. However, his elite contact ability makes him a good bet for average and he should score some runs atop the lineup.
Drew Waters, OF, Royals (Yahoo: 2 percent rostered)
Waters was a consensus top-50 prospect for a few years before his development stalled and the Braves eventually traded him to the Royals for a draft pick prior to this year’s Draft. The speedy outfielder was excellent after arriving with Triple-A Omaha, posting a .940 OPS with seven homers while going 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts over 31 tilts to earn his first promotion to the majors. Waters strikes out a bunch and figures to be a poor bet for average, but he’ll steal bases when he gets on and can run into the occasional homer.
Stone Garrett, OF, Diamondbacks (Yahoo: 2 percent rostered)
Garrett never did much in the Marlins organization, but the Diamondbacks scooped him up as a minor league free agent prior to the 2021 season and he had a .825 OPS with 25 homers and 17 steals between Double- and Triple-A that year. He followed that up in 2022 with a .900 OPS, 28 long balls and 15 steals at Triple-A. That earned him a call-up to the big leagues, where Garrett has gone 6-for-15 with three doubles and a stolen base in his first four contests. The plate discipline with Garrett is lacking, so he could very well get swallowed up big major league pitching. He’s got some tools, though, making him worthy of a roster spot in deep formats.
Weekend Warriors:
Glenn Otto vs. DET (Yahoo: 5 percent rostered)
I’m honestly not sure how Otto has had his success this month in putting up a 1.99 ERA in four August starts. He has a hideous 14/14 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 frames over that span and he has only a slightly above-average groundball rate. The 26-year-old has been considered a decent prospect, though, and has at least earned streaming consideration in favorable matchups. He has one of those this weekend against a horrid Tigers lineup.
Mitch White vs. LAA (Yahoo: 6 percent rostered)
The Blue Jays picked up White from the Dodgers at the trade deadline and immediately inserted him into their rotation earlier this month. White has pitched well since arriving in Toronto with a 3.38 ERA and 10/4 K/BB ratio over 13 1/3 innings covering three starts. It would be nice to see him pitching deeper into games, and he should have a good opportunity to do that this weekend versus a bad Angels lineup. White is a former second-round pick who has performed well in the minors and so far in his big league chances.
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AL ONLY
Seby Zavala, C, White Sox (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Yasmani Grandal has had a dreadful season both from a performance and health standpoint and earlier this week went back on the injured list with a knee injury. He’s not expected to be out long, but the White Sox will need others to pick up the slack at catcher for a couple weeks. Most of those duties will fall to Zavala, who has put up a solid .287/.357/.404 batting line with two dingers in 44 games this season. Zavala posted a couple 20-homer seasons in the minors and this year at Triple-A had a .932 OPS.
Matthew Boyd, SP, Mariners (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Boyd hasn’t pitched in the majors since September of last season, having undergone flexor tendon surgery that month. He signed on with the Giants over the winter before getting traded to the Mariners at the deadline. Boyd has made three rehab appearances with Triple-A Tacoma and should be ready to join the Mariners soon. The left-hander could be looked at in a multi-inning relief role, which isn’t ideal for potential fantasy production. However, Boyd has been a big strikeout guy in the past and could certainly carve out some AL-only value.
NL ONLY
P.J. Higgins, C/1B, Cubs (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Catcher is Higgins’ primary position, but he’s seen plenty of action all over the infield in the minors and of late has drawn regular starts at first base for the Cubs. I’m not sure his bat profiles well at that position, but at catcher? He’s eligible behind the plate in fantasy leagues and gets the benefit of not being beat up behind the plate. Higgins has struggled this month but has popped six home runs in 50 games for Chicago this season and boasts a .964 OPS during his time at Triple-A.
Ken Giles, RP, Giants (Yahoo: 1 percent rostered)
Giles completed the long road back from Tommy John surgery only to go down with finger and shoulder ailments which limited him to just five appearances for the Mariners. Seattle cut him loose earlier this month and the Giants picked him up on a minor league pact. Camilo Doval has pretty well locked down the closer role for the Giants, but Giles certainly has the ability to work his way into high-leverage spots once he’s up with the big club, which should be soon.
