It’s starting to get late early out there. Yogi Berra’s wisdom should always be humored in the dog days of August.
With the dust settled on the trade deadline, the haves and have-nots in MLB are set for the rest of the season. Lineups and platoon splits are being solidified for the contenders. For non-contenders? Look for them to run out a collection of kids to see if there might be some 2024 potential while some remaining veterans could unexpectedly sit. One extreme example was Terry Pendleton in 1990, who played just eight September games for the Cardinals to close out that season. The next year Pendleton won the NL batting title and NL MVP for the Braves.
Some major leaguers playing out the string could be the difference in winning fantasy leagues. Same for players on contenders competing until the very last out of the season if there are playoff implications. Maybe some of those players are mentioned below. Time for some Deep Sleepers, which are determined by players rostered in under 30 percent of leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleepers and Waiver Wire Pickups
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B, 3B, DH – CIN) Rostered: 28%
Yet another top prospect finding his footing for the Reds, Encarnacion-Strand has played daily throughout the month of August. In nine games on the month, the corner infielder is hitting .303 with a .858 OPS. He has two home runs and six RBI, hitting anywhere from cleanup to seventh in the Reds’ potent lineup this month.
Mike Tauchman (OF – CHI) Rostered: 27%
What a find seemingly off the scrap heap in Tauchman, who didn’t make his debut with the Cubs until May 19. Since the All-Star break, Tauchman has been especially hot, compiling a .364 batting average and 1.062 OPS while mostly playing against righties and often sending Seiya Suzuki to the bench. The Cubs are in the wild card hunt, so expect Tauchman to get plenty of important at-bats the rest of the way.
Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B – PIT) Rostered: 23%
Hayes qualifies as a former top prospect turned post-hype sleeper. The young third baseman returned on Aug. 2 after almost a month on the IL and has really heated up this week. In his last three games, Hayes is 7-for-13 with nine RBI. He also has nine steals in 81 games this season, so we could see some all-around production if Hayes can stay on the field for the Pirates to determine if he’s Pittsburgh’s future at the hot corner.
Jose Urquidy (SP – HOU) Rostered 23%
This is purely a projection pick of a depressed asset. Urquidy has not been good in 2023, and he sat for more than three months with shoulder trouble. He did not pitch well at Yankee Stadium in his return start, going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs. However, last year he did win 13 games in 28 starts for the world champs. He’ll be pitching in games that matter down the stretch for a Houston team that should be getting its lineup healthy and whole. He does see the Angels in a home start on Aug. 13, so fantasy managers would not be blamed for sitting Urquidy instead of seeing him face Shohei Ohtani and friends.
Zack Littell (SP, RP – TB) Rostered 7%
Littell has pitched mostly in relief this season, but injuries to the Tampa Bay staff have necessitated the righty being stretched out for the latter part of the season. In his longest outing thus far, Littell threw six shutout innings on Aug. 4, allowing three hits and a walk. It earned him another start that was about to begin as of this writing. If Littell pitches well against the scuffling Cardinals, Littell’s rostership will climb.
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