It feels like just yesterday that everyone was waking up early to watch the Dodgers vs the Padres in Korea. You blink and here we are in July with the season half over. Hopefully, all your teams are contending, but if not, now is the time to make moves to turn around your season. One move you should always make is to read all the insightful articles every day at FantasyPros. A good one to start with is the 10 Burning Questions for Fantasy Baseball including questions on callups James Wood and Davis Daniel.
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10 Burning Questions
How can the Phillies make do without Bryce Harper (1B – PHI) and Kyle Schwarber (OF – PHI)?
Last Thursday was a tough day to be a Phillies fan. The Phillies lost to the Marlins 7-4 and also lost not one but two All-Stars to muscle injuries. The next day, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper were placed on the 10-day injured list. While the team is optimistic of their returns before the All-Star break, they still need to replace them for now.
Schwarber has only played the outfield three games this season. If you’re in a dynasty league, recognize he will likely lose outfield eligibility for next season. The good news for the Phillies is that replacing him is easier as you can rotate players through the designated hitter role with Nick Castellanos likely getting most starts there. Replacing Harper will be a combination of Alec Bohm shifting from third and Kody Clemens. Nobody gains enough value from this injury to make a substantial fantasy move.
What fantasy impact can Noelvi Marte (3B – CIN) make this season?
For all the people who drafted and held Noelvi Marte this whole time, the time has come. He has served his 80-game suspension and is back playing third base for the Cincinnati Reds.
One of the concerns during fantasy draft season was how would all the Cincinnati Reds infielders find playing time. Injuries to Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have eliminated that concern. Marte should play every day a third base. He has an alluring power and speed blend. We only saw him for 35 games at the Major League level last season and he provided three home runs and six stolen bases. It’s only been four games since he has returned. He has yet to hit a home run but has chipped in two stolen bases. While he has only started 3-for-17, he should be back in fantasy lineups everywhere.
What has happened to Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)?
Just over two weeks ago, on June 14th, Carlos Rodon had a 2.93 ERA. At that point, he had won seven consecutive starts. Fantasy managers had begun to think they had found a potential ace. Since then, everything has gone backward.
Since June 14th, Rodon has made three starts. Those starts have only covered 13.2 innings. He struggled massively, allowing 20 earned runs. It should be noted that even when he was succeeding earlier in the season, his FIP was 4.11. Now his FIP is 4.54 which is nearly identical to his 4.42 ERA. Regression has hit hard, but a 92 strikeout to 26 walk ratio is still encouraging.
Who is Davis Daniel?
Davis Daniel is a 27-year-old rookie starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. He made his big league debut last September pitching to a 2.19 ERA over 12.1 major league innings. However, the 5.04 FIP kept him off fantasy radars.
With the injuries to Patrick Sandoval and Jose Soriano, the team needed an additional starting pitcher. Considering Daniel had an ERA over 5.00 at Triple-A when he was recalled, there was little to no excitement. Then, he pitched eight innings without allowing an earned run and struck out eight batters in his start against the Tigers. It’s not enough to add him beyond AL-only leagues yet, but it’s enough to add him to a watchlist in deeper leagues.
Who replaces Javier Assad (SP/RP – CHC) in the Cubs’ rotation?
One of the bigger starting pitcher surprises this season has been the Chicago Cubs Javier Assad. He had pitched to a 3.04 ERA but was placed on the injured list last week with a forearm strain. The Cubs will need to replace him in their rotation.
The logical solution would have been to move Kyle Hendricks back from the bullpen. However, he was already moved back into the rotation over a week ago with the injuries to Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown. In Assad’s place, the team has moved Hayden Wesneski to the rotation from the bullpen. While the 3.60 ERA and nearly a strikeout-per-inning look appealing, he has gotten by because of a high strand rate. He is also just a watchlist candidate at this time.
Should we be adding James Wood?
Outfielder James Wood has been called up to the Washington Nationals. Wood is now universally viewed as a top-five prospect in all of baseball with many analysts considering the top prospect at this point for fantasy baseball with his intriguing power and speed skillset.
In his 52 minor games at Triple-A this season, Wood already has 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases with an incredible .353 average. The upside alone is enough that he should be added in all leagues, but don’t be surprised if he starts slowly. Observe the initial starts of top prospects Jackson Holliday, Jackson Chourio and Wyatt Langford for evidence of the difficulty of moving up to the major league level.
What has changed with Taj Bradley (SP – TB)?
Taj Bradley has made 10 starts this season. One of them, his first start in June, was disastrous. It was a tough matchup against Baltimore, but anytime you give up nine earned runs, your numbers are going to be skewed for a while. Otherwise, he has been good all season.
Bradley has only thrown 55 innings this season as he missed the entire first month with a pectoral injury. On a per-inning basis, he has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. If you drop the qualification down to 50 innings thrown, Bradley is currently fourth in strikeouts per nine innings behind star pitchers Garrett Crochet, Paul Skenes and Tyler Glasnow. He could be an interesting buy-high candidate for trades. His current fantasy manager may be only aware of the surface stats and think he is on an unsustainable hot streak. In reality, there is an underlying greatness to what Bradley is doing.
Is Garrett Mitchell (CF – MIL) a must-add player now that he is back?
Garrett Mitchell has been injured all season with a fractured finger. Unfortunately, injuries have been an issue for him throughout his short career. When he has played though, he has shown a profile that draws the interest of fantasy managers.
Over two seasons, Mitchell has only made 141 plate appearances. He still has hit five home runs and stolen nine bases with a .278 average. The issue that he, and fantasy managers, will now deal with is finding playing time. The Brewers’ outfield is crowded with Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio and even Blake Perkins performing. One could play designated hitter, but that’s not necessarily an option with the way the team likes to rotate Rhys Hoskins and Jake Bauers. There are enough questions to wait and see before adding Mitchell to your fantasy rosters.
Should Triston McKenzie (SP – CLE) be stashed?
The Cleveland Guardians chose to option Triston McKenzie to the minor leagues to create a roster spot for the return of Gavin Williams. Considering we are only two seasons removed from him having an ERA under three over nearly 200 innings, fantasy managers have to determine whether or not to stash him with a roster spot.
The short answer is no. McKenzie has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball this season and there is no reason to think that will change. He has issued the most walks and allowed the most home runs. That’s a recipe for an ERA even higher than the 5.11 he is sporting. When he was most effective, he was landing his three pitches for strikes, which he simply isn’t anymore. Hopefully, he can get some help in the minor leagues and be a contributor again for our fantasy teams.
When is the Julio Rodriguez (CF – SEA) turnaround?
Fantasy managers are getting impatient with Julio Rodriguez. He was typically selected in the top five of fantasy drafts and has not returned nearly that value to this point with 37 runs, seven home runs, 29 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a .247 average. He is currently mired in a 2-for-24 slump.
We may just need to accept that Julio Rodriguez is a slow starter. At the end of June last season, he had 47 runs, 13 home runs, 42 RBI, 18 stolen bases and a .238 average. Other than RBI, nothing is drastically worse than last season. This is a good opportunity to remind you that he ended last season with over 30 home runs and steals, over 100 runs and RBI, and a .285 average. It’s unlikely he will reach those heights again, but with a player of his caliber, it can change in an instant.
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