The latest Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column examines an unexpected renaissance from veteran slugger Carlos Santana, another opportunity for Spencer Turnbull to start and a pair of top prospects in Heston Kjerstad and Joey Loperfido appearing to finally get an extended look in the majors.
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Carlos Santana, 1B, Twins
Available in 68 percent of Yahoo! leagues
Santana got off to an ice-cold start this season in his Twins debut, but has turned things around in a big way, hitting .333 (27-for-81) with five homers, 16 RBI and a pair of stolen bases over his last 30 games. His 1.012 OPS during that span is the eighth-best mark in baseball during that span, trailing only a handful of fantasy stars including Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Yordan Alvarez, just to name a few. The 38-year-old veteran on-base machine has been extremely streaky over the last few years, but it’s worth noting that he’s locked-in at the moment, and represents a viable option for fantasy managers in mixed leagues, especially with Minnesota facing the Diamondbacks, Mariners, Tigers, Astros, White Sox and Giants to close out the first half. Those are all phenomenal matchups, with the possible exceptions of Seattle and Detroit, against severely injury-depleted starting rotations.
Spencer Turnbull, SP, Phillies
Available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues
Turnbull will jump back into Philadelphia’s starting rotation on Tuesday night against his former organization in Detroit, taking the place of an injured Taijuan Walker, who landed on the shelf over the weekend with a blister on his right index finger. The 31-year-old righty was an unexpected revelation earlier this year in a brief six-start run in the Phillies’ rotation to open the season, posting a microscopic 1.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 36/10 K/BB ratio across 32 1/3 innings of work. There are zero guarantees he’ll get an extended run moving forward, but figures to make at least a handful of starts leading up to next month’s All-Star break before Walker is ready to return. He’s in line to face the Cubs, Braves and Athletics at the moment, which makes him a strong streaming option for fantasy managers, at least for the next few weeks.
Heston Kjerstad, OF, Orioles
Available in 81 percent of Yahoo! leagues
It’s time for Baltimore to figure out what they have with Kjerstad in an everyday role at this juncture since he literally has nothing left to prove at Triple-A Norfolk. The 25-year-old, who went 2-for-4 with a double on Monday in his return to the majors, figures to get an opportunity to play most days against right-handed pitching in a corner outfield or designated hitter role and his minor-league track record suggests he’s going to hit for some over-the-fence pop. There might be an adjustment period here as he acclimates to facing high-level pitching everyday, but he’s one of the more talented hitting prospects in the game. It feels like only a matter of time before he becomes an impact four-category fantasy contributor in the heart of Baltimore’s sublime young nucleus.
Joey Loperfido, OF, Astros
Available in 89 percent of Yahoo! leagues
Loperfido finds himself in a similar spot as Kjerstad from the standpoint that the Astros are at the point that they need to figure out what they have at the highest level in their top hitting prospect, especially with Kyle Tucker still shut down completely from baseball activities as he continues to recover from a shin contusion. The 25-year-old slugging prospect, who was recalled last week from Triple-A Sugar Land, boasts big-time over-the-fence pop, but still has some strikeout issues to address. There might be a clearer path to regular at-bats at first base moving forward with veteran José Abreu no longer in the picture, but he doesn’t have a ton of experience at the cold corner, which means he’ll probably stick to the outfield for now. There’s some mixed-league fantasy potential here if he becomes a mainstay in Houston’s offensive nucleus, but that probably won’t happen overnight. It’s an extremely small sample size, but he’s batted .347 (17-for-49) with one homer and two steals across 54 plate appearances through 18 games in the majors. The batting average might not end up anywhere close to that lofty mark, but he’s going to contribute some big-time pop and also chip in the occasional steal, if he gets a legitimate shot to play everyday. It’s time.