With the fantasy baseball season rapidly approaching the finish line, a fresh batch of September call-ups are ready to leave their mark on the fantasy landscape over the final few weeks of the year. After flopping in their first stints with the Angels and Guardians, respectively, both Reid Detmers and Kyle Manzardo have real opportunities to emerge as impact contributors for fantasy purposes down the home stretch. Meanwhile, the Marlins appear to have handed their closing role over to Calvin Faucher, who has converted six of seven save chances over the past month.
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Reid Detmers, SP, Angels
Available in 91 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues
It’s a daunting assignment right out of gate, facing a star-studded Dodgers lineup on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, but Detmers’ stratospheric strikeout potential should keep him on fantasy managers’ radar screens heading into the home stretch. The 25-year-old former top pitching prospect put together a dominant three-start stretch recently at Triple-A Salt Lake, compiling a microscopic 1.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 29/7 K/BB ratio across 21 innings of work, to earn another shot in the big leagues.
“He had some things to work on,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters over the weekend. “He’s pitched well over the last three starts. The big thing with him is just consistency. You see what he’s done over the last three starts. We felt like he’s in a great place mentally and ready to come back to pitch.”
At this point, you’re probably wondering what dramatic changes Detmers made to his arsenal or approach during his nearly three-month stint in the minors. The answer is rather surprising. “Nothing really changed,” Detmers told the Orange County Register on Sunday. “Things just started going my way again, which was nice to see, and I took advantage of it the last couple starts.” He elaborated that he didn’t really change anything besides going back to the way he used to throw his slider, an offering he’s tinkered with over the past few years.
Simply put, we’re not expecting a dramatic metamorphosis fueled by changes to his pitch mix. However, Detmers offers some appeal for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues, given his astronomical strikeout rates. He’s been a windmill factory at every stop in his career, including the big leagues, and will at least miss enough bats to make an impact, even if he continues to struggle from a run-prevention standpoint. The other interesting wrinkle here is the upcoming schedule as he’s tentatively slated for a favorable matchup against the Twins before getting the free-falling White Sox twice over the final handful of weeks as Los Angeles likely shifts to a six-man rotation. Given his proven ability to miss bats and favorable upcoming schedule, fantasy managers should strongly consider rolling the dice at least one more time on Detmers.
Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Guardians
Available in 95 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues
There’s no way to sugarcoat Manzardo’s initial struggles at the highest level earlier this season, which aren’t that uncommon for top prospects adjusting to everyday life against big league caliber pitching. The 24-year-old top prospect, who homered twice on Sunday afternoon against the Pirates in his return to the majors, posted an astronomical .946 OPS with 20 homers across 364 plate appearances in 83 games this season at the Triple-A level. He’s shown an ability to hit for power and control the strike zone at every level in the minors and figures to be an integral component of Cleveland’s lineup moving forward at designated hitter. Perhaps the biggest adjustment he’s made over the past few months at the Triple-A level was from a purely mental standpoint as he told MLB.com’s Mandy Bell over the weekend that he spent his time learning the process of being a designated hitter after spending most of his development time at first base. “I was DHing back-to-back games in Columbus,” Manzardo said. “I think that helped me iron out a routine, what I need to be doing in between at-bats.” It’s not unheard of for a top prospect to excel in their next opportunity after flopping in their first shot in the majors. If you’re speculating purely on talent and opportunity, Manzardo is one of the strongest gambles out there for the home stretch.
Calvin Faucher, RP, Marlins
Available in 87 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues
We’re a little bit late to the party on Faucher as a mixed-league pickup for fantasy purposes in this space, but he appears to have taken over the closing role for the Marlins, converting six of his seven save opportunities dating back to August 2. The 28-year-old right-hander, who was one of the first trade acquisitions for Miami general manager Peter Bendix last offseason after taking over the front office, doesn’t really have any competition for saves in Miami’s bullpen after they jettisoned both Tanner Scott and A.J. Puk at the trade deadline, and should be in line for at least a handful of saves over the final few weeks of the year. He doesn’t quite fit the bill of an elite fantasy reliever moving forward, but every save matters at this critical juncture of the fantasy season.