The last few weeks have been exciting for fantasy managers, with several young hitters emerging as viable options in mixed leagues. We witnessed Jose Miranda achieve an unexpected post-hype breakthrough, plus the arrival of top prospects James Wood and Brooks Lee, who have made an instant impact since arriving in the majors earlier this month. We would be remiss if we didn’t include the unexpected emergence of unheralded slugging prospect Ben Rice as the Yankees’ potential first baseman of the future with his recent performance.
We would have started this edition of the Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column with another young slugger in Parker Meadows, who was hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a home run and a steal in three games since returning from a two-month stint in the minors, where he made a swing adjustment to keep his hands higher in an effort to be more direct on the ball. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury at the weekend and will be out for at least a few weeks. He’ll be worthy of a fantasy roster spot when he’s ready to return, but he can safely be ignored for now unless you have room to hide him. Instead, this edition focuses on a few pitchers who could be ready to make an impact for fantasy managers after next week’s All-Star break, including Spencer Schwellenbach, Jeffrey Springs and Robbie Ray.
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Spencer Schwellenbach, SP, Braves
Available on 85% of Yahoo! leagues
It’s important to note that Schwellenbach was facing an injury-depleted Phillies lineup that was missing its best left-handed hitters, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, but he had arguably his strongest outing in the big leagues over the weekend, striking out six and allowing one run in six work shifts. The biggest difference in this outing was that he started to lean more on his divider, which has been his best offering for generating scents so far. The 24-year-old right-hander, who spent most of his college career as a position player, is relatively new to pitching and didn’t generate much buzz as a prospect before reaching the big leagues last month when injuries decimated Atlanta’s starter. rotation depth. The raw surface stats, most notably an inflated 5.02 ERA, aren’t appealing after seven starts, but a quick look under the hood at his 3.57 FIP seems to indicate he’s been a bit unlucky so far and that there is some imminent regression. The positive news for fantasy managers is that his six-pitch mix is keeping opposing lineups off balance thus far and has resulted in an impressive 38/9 K/BB ratio in 37 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He’s in line for a tough Friday night matchup against the Padres at Petco Park, but there’s definitely some appeal here for fantasy managers in mixed leagues going forward.
Jeffrey Springs, SP, Raios
Available on 74% of Yahoo! leagues
Springs was on the verge of cementing his status as a top-tier fantasy starter when he landed on the injured list last April with a flexor strain and ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery a few weeks later. The 31-year-old lefty is in the final stages of his lengthy rehab process and looks like the pitcher we saw before last year’s elbow procedure. He struck out six in four shutout innings last Wednesday in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Durham and appears likely to return to Tampa Bay’s starting rotation mix after next week’s Midsummer Classic.
It may not be realistic to expect him to return to ace status right away, but we’re confident he’ll give up enough at-bats to make a second-half impact for fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues. There’s no reason for him to be on the ropes in about three-quarters of fantasy leagues, especially considering how close he is to returning to the majors.
Robbie Ray, SP, Gigantes
Available on 75% of Yahoo! leagues
Ray has been an afterthought for fantasy managers after missing nearly all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 32-year-old former AL Cy Young Award winner appears ready to join San Francisco’s starting lineup after next week’s All-Star break, as he has made seven minor league rehab appearances thus far. He struck out three and allowed three runs in three innings last Thursday in his final rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento. There will probably be some variation from a run prevention standpoint, but the one thing that has been consistent for Ray throughout his career is his ability to consistently rack up strikeouts. We’re confident he’ll miss hitting when he gets to San Francisco and that skill alone is enough to give him some appeal to fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues.
