With the final month of the regular season rapidly approaching, and fantasy managers understandably becoming increasingly distracted by upcoming fantasy football drafts, it can be easy to overlook some of the critical developments occurring across the fantasy baseball landscape. The latest Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column takes a look at the long-overdue return of Junior Caminero and the arrival of intriguing pitching prospect Zebby Matthews in addition to the return of veteran starter Matthew Boyd and rise of Lucas Erceg as a potential stopper in Kansas City.
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Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays
Available in 64 percent of Yahoo! leagues
Universally-regarded as the top fantasy prospect left in the minor leagues by a vast margin, Caminero will make his long-awaited return to Tampa Bay for Tuesday’s showdown against the Astros. The 21-year-old slugging third baseman, who got into seven contests and a handful of playoff games late last year, missed time this season in the minors due to a lingering quad issue, but has come on strong of late to finish with a .274/.337/.521 triple-slash line with 16 homers across 258 plate appearances. As Rotoworld’s prospect guru Chris Crawford wrote earlier this week in his latest Top 10 Prospects list, Caminero projects as a solid fantasy contributor for the rest of the season. He won’t help much in the stolen base department, but he boasts legitimate 80-grade power, which should make him an instant power plus counting stats three-to-four category difference-maker for fantasy managers.
Zebby Matthews, SP, Twins
Available in 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues
With Minnesota co-ace Joe Ryan (shoulder) facing a lengthy absence, the Twins are poised to call up Matthews to make his major league debut on Tuesday against the division-rival Royals. The unheralded 24-year-old right-hander rocketed up prospect rankings this season by compiling a sublime 2.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 114/7 K/BB ratio across 97 innings (18 appearances, 17 starts) across three minor league levels. His control-oriented approach could wind up getting exploited by major league hitters, which was starting to happen a bit by Triple-A batters who connected for four round-trippers in just 19 innings over his four starts at the level. However, as evidenced by an astronomical 30.5 percent this year in the minors, he’s projects to miss enough bats to make an immediate impact for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues. We’re not going to forecast Matthews experiencing immediate success at the highest level, as he’s likely going to face a bit of an adjustment period, but the talent and strike zone-heavy approach portend eventaul success. It’s a decent matchup out of the gate and Matthews is intriguing enough that he should be rostered in all fantasy formats until further notice.
Matthew Boyd, SP, Guardians
Available in 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues
The biggest takeaway from Boyd’s recent minor league rehab assignment where he compiled a microscopic 0.83 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 27/2 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings (five starts) is that he’s still missing bats at near-elite rates with a 35.1 percent strikeout rate during that span. The 33-year-old veteran southpaw is slated to make his Cleveland debut on Tuesday evening against the Cubs in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery. His stuff appears to be back to pre-surgery levels and he’s always missed enough bats to make an impact for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues. He’s at least worthy of a speculative dice roll based on his lengthy track record at the highest level.
Lucas Erceg, RP, Royals
Available in 77 percent of Yahoo! leagues
With James McArthur struggling and newly-acquired Hunter Harvey on the injured list with a back injury, the Royals have begun turning to Erceg in the ninth inning of late. The 29-year-old right-hander was a solid setup specialist earlier this year for Oakland before being shipped to Kansas City at last month’s trade deadline where he’s reeled off six consecutive scoreless appearances. He notched his first save over the weekend and might be the club’s best option in the ninth inning moving forward, which makes him worthy of at least a speculative pickup in all fantasy formats.