The latest Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column takes a look at a pair of under-the-radar NL East standouts -- Reed Garrett and Luis García Jr. -- in the early portion of the season while also making the case for rostering Zack Littell moving forward.
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Zack Littell, SP/RP, Rays
It’s pretty remarkable that Littell is making a significant impact for fantasy managers considering the starter-turned-reliever was toiling away in a relatively obscure middle relief role for three different organizations before landing last summer in Tampa Bay. The unheralded 28-year-old righty was charged with a season-high six runs (five earned) on Monday in a home outing against the Tigers, but still managed to record seven strikeouts for the second straight outing. He had allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his previous four starts to open the regular season and holds a strong 3.33 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 29/5 K/BB ratio across 27 innings (five starts). The combination of Tampa Bay’s pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field and his immense strikeout upside is enough to keep him on fantasy manager’s rosters until further notice, especially since he finds himself in line for an extremely tasty matchup on Sunday against a floundering White Sox lineup that ranks dead-last in OPS (.548) and runs scored (45) by a considerable margin through the opening month of the year.
Luis García Jr., 2B, Nationals
It’s easy to forget that García ascended to the majors at just 20 years old during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and has yet to completely carve out a permanent role for the Nationals over the last few years. The 23-year-old infielder has shown some extremely positive signs this season that hint at a potential breakthrough, most notably significant increases in hard hit percentage, barrel percentage and max exit velocity. He’s been on a tear over the last few weeks to open the season, boasting a robust .317/.348/.476 triple-slash line with one homer, 10 RBI and five stolen bases. The uptick in hard contact and stolen base attempts are the most intriguing developments from a fantasy standpoint as they give him a shot at making a tangible impact across five categories, especially in deeper mixed leagues. We’re not completely buying a full-season breakthrough yet, but Garcia has undoubtedly made some strides at the plate and could finally put it all together this season. There’s still time to get on board in shallow mixed leagues.
Reed Garrett, RP, Mets
Has there been a more impressive relief pitcher in baseball this season? Garrett has allowed a pair of unearned runs on five hits with an eye-popping 21/3 K/BB ratio across 10 2/3 innings (six appearances). The 31-year-old journeyman righty collected his first save last weekend filling in for Edwin Díaz and appears poised to thrive as a high-leverage option for the Mets moving forward. He’s ostensibly ditched his fastball almost entirely in favor of a slider, sweeper and splitter mix, which has led to a strikeout surge. It’s a pretty dramatic development considering he opened the year a couple weeks ago back at Triple-A Syracuse as extra organizational relief depth. It’s too early to boldly proclaim he’ll sustain this level of dominance, especially from a strikeout standpoint, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that Garrett is going to miss enough bats to make an impact for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues.
