Here are this week’s pickups. In case you missed it, my rest-of-season rankings were posted Thursday.
Coby Mayo - 3B Orioles - Rostered in 25 percent of Yahoo leagues
Having just called up Jackson Holliday to replace Jorge Mateo, it was a little bit up in the air whether the Orioles would immediately promote another top prospect on the heels of Jordan Westburg’s unfortunate injury Wednesday. As it turned out, Mayo was kept in the minors... for one whole day. Mayo was mostly auditioning at first base in the two weeks prior to Westburg getting hurt, but he was back at third in both games afterwards. He hasn’t been particularly hot in Triple-A of late, but he’s hitting .308/.384/.619 for the season.
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Mayo, a fourth-round steal in the 2020 draft, is a patient hitter with 30-homer power. The issue there is that he’s a right-handed bat set to play in Camden Yards, but that hasn’t been as much of a problem this season as it was the first two years after the Orioles moved back the fence in left. He hasn’t always hit for average as a pro, and he probably won’t excel in that area in the majors. Still, even if he comes in at .230-.240 initially, he’ll have a solid enough OBP to be a productive player for the Orioles.
The Orioles were already thinking about carving out a role for Mayo before Westburg broke his hand, but they have a full-time spot available for him at third base now. He should immediately prove to be enough of a threat to be of use in mixed leagues.
Lucas Erceg - RP Royals - Rostered in 8 percent of Yahoo leagues
The Royals didn’t address their closing issues by acquiring a known quantity before the trade deadline, but in adding Erceg and Hunter Harvey, they did pick up two guys significantly more talented than incumbent closer James McArthur. The groundball-inducing McArthur hasn’t been a disaster in going 18-for-23 saving games, but he has a 5.31 ERA that jumps to 5.96 if one throws out his outings against the White Sox, which have also produced more than one-quarter of his saves. It seems pretty clear he’s not someone who should be working the ninth if the team advances to the postseason.
Whether Erceg or Harvey should be the one to replace him is less clear. Harvey has more experience and was the better pitcher for three months, but he’s given up 14 runs -- 12 earned -- in his last 11 2/3 innings. Erceg has had fewer blowups and currently beats Harvey in ERA 3.58 to 4.25. That’s why I’m saying Erceg here. There’s also Harvey’s history of injury; he’d probably benefit from a more structured, consistent workload than closing tends to provide*. Still, if Erceg works earlier in games than Harvey a couple of times in the next week, I’d quickly change my mind.
Erceg, who had three saves for Oakland while usually setting up for Mason Miller, has made big gains in the control department this year, issuing only 11 unintentional walks in 37 2/3 innings. He’s also a groundball pitcher -- he’s given up just four homers in 92 2/3 innings since debuting last year -- but he’s one with a 27% strikeout rate, compared to 17% for McArthur. There’s a chance that he’ll regress, but there’s also the chance he’ll be a top-20 reliever the rest of the way.
*McArthur, for instance, just this month has gone nine and seven days between appearances but also worked in both games of a doubleheader and pitched on back-to-back days twice.
Hayden Birdsong - SP Giants - Rostered in 29 percent of Yahoo leagues
Fortunately, it was just a paper move, but the Giants actually sent Birdsong down two weeks ago after a 12-strikeout performance in a win over the Rockies. He was brought back six days later to start in a doubleheader and beat the Rockies again. Now he’s set be officially recalled this weekend, and he has a chance to spend the rest of the year in the Giants’ rotation after the Alex Cobb traded took the rehabbing veteran out of the mix.
Birdsong has been an outstanding strikeout pitcher since being drafted out of Eastern Illinois in 2022, fanning 34% of the batters he faced in the minors. He’s at 30% so far through six major league starts. Both his slider and curve are big swing-and-miss pitches, and they’re backed up by a 96-mph fastball. Walks are an issue, and his lack of efficiency will prevent him from working very deep into games. The Giants also are trying to manage his workload some; he mostly relieved in 2022 and last year’s 100 2/3 innings were a career high for him. If the team falls out of contention, it’s quite possible he’ll be shut down a couple of weeks early next month. Still, there’s an awful lot to like here if Birdsong can remain healthy. He’s worth picking up now, and he should be an even better bet next season.
Quick hits
- Other new save possibilities include Calvin Faucher in Miami and Hunter Strickland with the Angels. Strickland, who was picked over youngster Ben Joyce after the trades of Carlos Estévez and Luis García, blew a chance against the Rockies on Thursday, which might put Joyce back into the mix. Still, it’s not like the Angels initially picked Strickland because they thought he was the better pitcher.
- Whit Merrifield isn’t likely to bounce all of the way back to previous form offensively, but he can’t be quite this bad, and he’s looking at regular playing time at second base for the Braves after they quickly abandoned the Nacho Alvarez Jr. experiment. He’s 13-for-15 stealing bases in limited action this season, so those in need of steals might want to give him a chance. He’s just seven-percent rostered in Yahoo right now.