Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire’s latest column examines Henry Davis’ return to the majors for Pittsburgh, the emergence of Mark Vientos in New York, a recent turnaround for Spencer Arrighetti with Houston, and the potential imminent arrival of the Braves’ best pitcher, Hurston Waldrep .
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Henry Davis, C/OF, Pirates
Available on 92 percent of Yahoo! leagues
The post-hype sleeper label is quite apt for Davis, who generated a lot of offseason buzz among fantasy managers as a trendy late-round sleeper prospect but struggled to hit a .486 OPS with zero homers in 83 appearances in 23 competitions to earn a ticket back to the minors. The 24-year-old former first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft appears to have turned things around in recent weeks at Triple-A Indianapolis, slashing .296/.436/.642 with seven home runs and a steal in 101 plate appearances in 23 competitions. These numbers should be taken with caution given the level of competition, but they clearly demonstrate that Henry has regained his confidence at the plate. There has been an influx of exciting young defenders at the receiver position in recent years and it may finally be time for Davis to join that group. His contact issues will likely prevent him from achieving full fantasy stardom, but he is available in the overwhelming majority of fantasy formats and appears to at least achieve consistent power at the highest level. Given his potential pedigree and everyday hitting track record in Pittsburgh, he is at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, Mets
Available on 86% of Yahoo! leagues
Former top prospect Brett Baty’s demotion to Triple-A Syracuse last week paved the way for Vientos to receive daily at-bats at the Mets’ hot corner until further notice. The 24-year-old rising slugger continued his recent offensive surge on Monday night, leading the Mets to a narrow victory over the division rival Nationals, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run and also drawing two walks. He put the Mets ahead with a mammoth 420-foot home run off Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore — his fifth roundtripper of the season — and ended up reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. While he won’t sustain an impossibly high .366 BABIP for much longer, he’s certainly making the most of his opportunity as New York’s primary third baseman, batting .327 (17-for-52) with four home runs in his last 15 games since ’15. of May. He’s clearly stuck at the plate right now and his ability to make strong, consistent contact makes him worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues until further notice.
Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros
Available on 86% of Yahoo! leagues
Arrighetti got off to a pretty brutal start following an early April promotion to the big leagues, but he has quietly turned things around recently, allowing three earned runs or less in four of his last six starts since May 2. at least six strikeouts on four occasions during that period. The 24-year-old top pitcher turned in the strongest performance of his rookie campaign last Thursday, striking out eight batters and limiting the Mariners to just a pair of hits and three walks in six shutout innings. The 24-year-old top pitcher generated 14 hits and finished with a solid 33 percent CSW, outperforming Seattle co-ace Logan Gilbert in the process. The surface stats, which include an inflated 5.98 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and a 51/23 K/BB ratio in 43 2/3 innings (nine starts), don’t inspire much confidence in the future. However, some of his underlying metrics, most notably a 3.72 FIP and 4.67 earned run average from Baseball Prospectus, suggest he’s probably had some bad luck from a run prevention standpoint until now. It’s not exactly an easy matchup, but Arrighetti is a decent streaming option against a Cardinals lineup that has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball this season and also has the second-fewest runs of any team in home games thus far. at Busch Stadium.
Hurston Waldrep, SP, Braves
Available on 97 percent of Yahoo! leagues
This one is for fantasy managers in extremely deep leagues with a speculative look to the future. Waldrep had a stellar performance Sunday in his debut for Triple-A Gwinnett, recording a season-high 11 strikeouts in six innings of three-run ball. He generated an impressive 22 swing hits, including 16 on his splitter alone, and finished with a near-elite 37 percent CSW. The 22-year-old right-hander has an impressive arsenal, headlined by that double-plus splitter, which translates into big strikeout totals when he reaches the majors. Persistent control issues are the only bugbear on his profile at the moment, but he has managed to keep free passes to a minimum lately, walking three batters or fewer in each of his last six starts. The former first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft finds himself on the doorstep of the majors after a dominant run at Double-A Mississippi to open the season, where he compiled a stellar 2.92 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 48/17 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 innings (nine starts). Given his strikeout upside and proximity to the big leagues, it’s time for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues to put him on their radar screens.
