Add all Mariners and Orioles! What an unbelievable run both clubs have been on. Unfortunately, as good as they’ve been in real life, I still can’t bring myself to bid on most of their fringe-type fantasy players. Orioles pitchers Jordan Lyles, Dean Kremer, and Spencer Watkins have all been great these last few weeks, but the K’s remain low, and the likelihood of a blow-up outweighs the reward.
The same goes for Chris Flexen and even Marco Gonzales on the Mariners. They just don’t strike out enough hitters to risk disaster. It’s still very impressive what these two organizations are doing, but it hasn’t moved the needle much in fantasy leagues, at least not in Roto ones.
If I was desperate enough, I’d probably roll the dice on Kremer as he seems to have the most upside, but as we saw on the Fourth, disaster can strike at any moment. For now, they are better left for DFS leagues.
Instead, focus your attention on these next 10 guys. All rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, these 10 studs can help boost at least one major statistical category. Most of these guys will help you in more ways than one, but their primary contributions will come in the category under which they are listed.
Batting Average
Yandy Diaz (1B/3B – TB): 36%
This dude looks nearly impossible to keep off the base paths. Batting .302 on the year with a .412 OBP, Yandy has placed himself among the league’s elite for getting on base. He’s the type of hitter pitchers hate to face. Even though he’s built like a linebacker, he can still grind out at-bats with the best of them.
Diaz doesn’t lift the ball much, but his exit velo is high, and has been hitting well with runners on base lately – eight RBI over the last five contests. He also leads his team in runs scored (40). Add the corner infielder now in all leagues where you’re struggling with batting average.
RBI
Harold Ramirez (1B/OF -TB): 45%
Ramirez is another Tampa Bay player flying a bit under the radar. His rostership is closing in on 50 percent, but if he were on the Yankees or Dodgers, he’d likely be closer to 80.
On the season, Ramirez is hitting .326 with 35 RBI in 233 at-bats. That’s a pace of about 90 RBI over a full season. Like Yandy, he won’t hit more than a handful of home runs or steal more than a few bases but batting consistently in the middle of the order, Ramirez is a sure bet to boost your RBI total. His K-rate remains low, and he rarely pops the ball up. The stocky 27-year-old won’t hurt you in any category and is on a hot streak right now. He should be added in most leagues where your RBIs or average are low.
Stolen Bases
Leody Taveras (OF – TEX): 22%
Taveras was a popular sleeper pick going into last year’s drafts after flashing 20/20 potential in 2020. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the hype and spent the better half of 2021 in the Minor Leagues. This season, however, after an excellent start in Triple-A, Taveras has earned a spot among the starting nine in Arlington.
His average is .338 (thanks in large part to a .426 BABIP), and he has two homers and four steals in just 78 plate appearances. He has scored 12 runs and knocked in 13 as well, making him an excellent five-category contributor so far.
Taveras likely won’t maintain the high average, but he did hit .294 this year in the minors, so a .280 average isn’t out of the question. The main reason you’re adding Taveras is for speed, and six swipe attempts over 78 plate appearances will do. His sneaky power will play too. Add Taveras where lacking speed and be grateful for anything else he gets you.
Home Runs
Danny Jansen (C – TOR): 12%
Toronto activated Jansen from the IL on Tuesday and immediately placed him in the starting lineup. Dating back to this time last year, Jansen has launched 15 long balls over just 130 at-bats. The Blue Jays’ catcher has been extremely limited by injuries, but when playing, he’s been a solid source for homers.
Forgotten among his All-Star teammates, Jansen is available in the majority of leagues despite qualifying at the thinnest position. He’s averaging a home run every 9.7 plate appearances this season and already has 13 RBI over just 62 at-bats. Jansen’s current wRC+ is 152, and he’s cut his K-rate, albeit a small sample size, to just 14.7%. His average is also decent at .258 despite a .196 BABIP. And he’s barreled a ludicrous 18.9% of baseballs he’s hit while absolutely destroying fastballs (.968 SLG).
He won’t play every day but should be good for four starts a week. If he can finally stay healthy, you could be looking at a top-eight catcher in the second half.
Runs
Luis Rengifo (2B/3B/SS/OF – LAA): 3%
Rengifo is better left for those in deeper leagues, but the Angels’ new everyday shortstop has been quite valuable of late. After hitting .313 to open the season in Triple-A, Rengifo is finally producing at the big league level. Following a sluggish start, Rengifo has slowly worked his way up the lineup and is currently batting fourth against lefties and fifth versus righties. The 25-year-old switch-hitter has hit .298 this month while reaching base in 13 straight. The Angels’ offense has been anemic, but the return of a healthy Mike Trout (back spasms) before or even after the All-Star break should do wonders for those around him.
Rengifo qualifies at nearly every position, plus he swiped two bags this month and hit a couple of homers. He’s not the sexiest name out there but has looked great at the plate and does a bit of everything.
With a .360 OBP over the last two weeks, hitting in the middle of the order, and displaying good speed on the base paths, you have to like Rengifo’s chances of scoring runs. He has touched home in three of the last four contests, and since he qualifies all over the diamond, he has good value. Add the player ownership refused to part with to obtain Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling (in 2020) now if you need help scoring or at middle infield.
ERA
Max Meyer (SP – MIA): 31%
Meyer is scheduled to make his long-awaited MLB debut today. After getting off to a blistering start in Triple-A, the Marlins’ top pitching prospect (some have Eury Perez higher) was slowed by an elbow issue in mid-May. Fully healthy once again, Mayer has shown he’s ready for the big leagues after facing 19 hitters in back-to-back outings. The 23-year-old uber-prospect has given up just five runs over five starts since his return.
Meyer’s capable of double-digit strikeouts anytime he toes the rubber, thanks to a devastating late-breaking slider and high 90’s fastball. He’s ranked as the 21st prospect in all of baseball by MLB’s Prospect Rankings, and FanGraphs had him pegged at 45th to start the season. He may not go deep into games (at least to start), but he should rack up the K’s with ease and limit scoring. His rostership will increase rapidly, so don’t wait to add the young flame thrower.
Wins
Cal Quantrill (SP/RP – CLE): 46%
Quantrill hasn’t looked sharp lately, but Detroit at home is a great matchup. If he can avoid giving up a long ball to Javy Baez, the rest of the team seems to be sleeping its way to the All-Star break. Quantrill has pitched late into games all year, and if he lasts over five, he’ll have already past 100 innings. Pitching deep has only led to five wins, unfortunately, but when pitching against teams with losing records this year, Quantrill has delivered a 3.07 ERA. If the offense can score a couple of runs off of the Tigers’ staff, you have to like his chances at earning victory number six. Plus, he qualifies at RP, furthering his value in Head-to-Head leagues.
Strikeouts
Steven Matz (SP – STL): 21%
Matz has been out nearly all season with an oblique injury but is finally scheduled to return this Sunday against the lowly Reds. The Cardinals’ leftie is coming off of an 81-pitch effort in Triple-A Memphis where he struck out seven and gave up no runs.
He was terrible to begin the season, surrendering far too many home runs, but did limit walks and struck out well over a batter per inning (44 over 37.1). If Matz can settle into his mediocre comfort zone, he can be a valuable source of K’s while delivering a passable ERA and WHIP. With very slim pickings on the waiver wire these days, a player like Matz returning to a playoff-caliber team is a welcome sight. He’ll need to pitch better than his opening month and a half, however.
WHIP
Cole Irvin (SP – OAK): 16%
Although Irvin doesn’t strike out a lot of hitters, he rarely has a bad game and often lasts into the sixth or seventh inning. He also rarely walks anyone and limits the home run ball. Perhaps even more impressive has been his recent streak against some of the top teams in baseball. In five games against Houston, Toronto, and Atlanta, Irvin has allowed just seven runs over 31 innings (2.03 ERA). His WHIP in those contests was 0.935, which is beyond impressive for a player who’s still only rostered in just one-sixth of leagues.
Obviously, his numbers for the season aren’t that low, but a 3.32 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP is still valuable in nearly all league types. The A’s generate very little offense, and their bullpen stinks, so he won’t reach 10 wins again like he did last year, but the WHIP (and ERA) should continue to be helpful. Add Irvin if your team’s WHIP is out of control.
Saves
Kyle Finnegan (RP – WAS): 17%
Finnegan was labeled the closer by Nats’ manager Davey Martinez after Tanner Rainey hit the 60-day IL. He’s been homer prone throughout his short career, but he did earn 11 saves late last year and was actually pretty consistent in the job. The Nationals don’t win a ton of games, so I wouldn’t blame you for taking a pass. But if you’re desperate for saves, Finnegan isn’t a terrible option, especially with a 10.64 K/9 rate.
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Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.
