It’s the halfway point of the season. All the teams will hit 81 games this weekend unless they’ve already done so. That makes it easy to project, and maybe dream a little, what players could do if they just replicate what they did in the first half of the season.
Shohei Ohtani could be pushing 60 home runs and more than 250 strikeouts in what’s shaping up as the most insane MLB season EVER. Ronald Acuna is on pace for 38 home runs and 72 stolen bases. Again, insane. Corbin Carroll, if he ups the pace in home runs, could join the elite 40-40 club at the tender age of 22. Even Spencer Strider could sniff 300 strikeouts while not even pacing 200 innings. All fans can ask for is more of the same. Yet, we all know not to expect the same, which makes this game so amazing.
In baseball, things can change quickly. For instance, our first Deep Sleeper below threw a perfect game on June 28 after getting lit up in his previous two starts.
Officially, Domingo German is the first Dominican pitcher to throw a perfect game. Though on June 3, 1995, Montreal’s Pedro Martinez retired the first 27 Padres to bat in a game that was a scoreless tie after nine innings. Bip Roberts led off the 10th inning with a double on the future Hall of Famer’s 96th pitch. Roberts was stranded by Mel Rojas for a 1-0 Expos victory. Nice company for German to be in with his countryman.
So, expect plenty of fireworks in the second half, which is pretty apropos with July 4th coming up. Time to get to some Deep Sleepers.
Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleepers & Waiver Wire Pickups
All players below were rostered on less than 30% of fantasy teams at time of writing.
Domingo German (SP – NYY): 27% Rostered
It’s time to come clean. I dropped German on June 24 in my dynasty league. After he gave up 15 runs in just 5.1 innings, I needed a change. I didn’t look ahead to see that he was pitching in Oakland four days later. Mia culpa. It’s always interesting when a home crowd shows excitement for a visiting player, though a good chunk of the 12,479 in attendance in the East Bay were there to see the Yankees.
German is not as bad as his previous two starts, nor as perfect as he was on June 28. He did have a good stretch from May 1 to June 10 in which he allowed more than two earned runs just once over seven starts. There are worse things than having an SP from the Yankees.
TJ Friedl (OF – CIN): 25% Rostered
How is Friedl available in 75% of leagues? All he’s done is hit .320 with six home runs and 14 steals while primarily hitting first for the Reds in their hitters’ haven. Projected over 162 games, Friedl would have 17 home runs and 39 stolen bases. His BB:K rate is a respectable 21:41, and he’s been great since returning from the IL on June 10.
In 16 games since, Friedl has scored 14 runs, driven in 11, has three home runs and eight stolen bases. The Reds are home this weekend, so expect some early fireworks from the offense, with Friedl lighting the fuse.
Jordan Westburg (SS – BAL): 26% Rostered
Prospect hounds may have already snapped up Westburg, and it’s because they’ve been following his tremendous production at Triple-A. The shortstop hit .278 with an .877 OPS, banging out 18 round-trippers, scoring 57 runs and driving in 54 more. He swiped six bags.
Westburg arrived in the big leagues going 5-for-12 in his first three games, with two runs and two RBI. He hit seventh or eighth in the lineup, so he’ll have to keep producing to move up for an Orioles team that is very much in the playoff hunt. He has shortstop eligibility, but is also seeing time at third base and second base.
Griffin Canning (SP – LAA): 23% Rostered
Canning is that pitcher who just oozes No. 3 starter status. Never an ace, but regularly a candidate to throw six innings and keep his team in the game. The right-hander threw six shutout innings at Coors Field, striking out seven and got the win.
Canning has been very good of late, pitching 36 innings with 37 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA, winning four of those games. He gets the first-place Diamondbacks tonight, but it’s in Anaheim, so he could be worth a streaming option.
Kyle Hendricks (SP – CHC): 20% Rostered
Hendricks has always been a reliable starter in ERA and WHIP, and even been good for some wins when the Cubs have been good. He missed almost the first two months of the season, so fantasy managers may have overlooked him thus far.
Hendricks’ last three starts should have several people taking notice, as he’s won all three games, allowing just five runs in 19.1 innings. He has just six strikeouts in those starts, so he won’t be a factor in that category.
Jose Siri (OF – TB): 12% Rostered
Siri is a bench stash who is a good play when in daily leagues he can be swapped into a fantasy lineup. The Rays outfielder did just that in the last week, hitting three home runs. Siri is up to 15 home runs in just 50 games, and has even stolen seven bases to help fantasy managers all around.
Siri usually hits in the lower third of the lineup, but on a team that is second in the league in runs scored, third in home runs and tops in stolen bases, the production comes throughout the batting order.
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