First things first– does Matthew Berry always have to refer to himself as: ‘Matthew Berry – The Talented Mr. Roto’? What is the deal here? Did he marry a chick with the last name ‘The Talented Mr. Roto’ of which he and said wife agreed to combine their last names via the hyphen? Somehow I doubt that, based on a recent conclusive poll I saw the other day. In that poll, given the choice to go down on Matthew Berry or death via water boarding, 1% of female respondents immediately slit their wrists. The other 99% didn’t know who Berry was, but when shown a picture, 100% immediately began searching for a sharp object to enact the slitting of said wrists. If no object could be found, a heavy case of self-induced stigmata immediately developed. The power of Christ indeed! Why am I bringing this up? I have no idea. So there.
If you don’t remember the set-up last week, here’s the lowdown. Based on feedback from all of my readers, all two of you… okay, you’re right, mothers don’t count; all one of you, we have a newly designed format. You could say that I am not only bringing you what you want, but also, what you need. It’ll be like BAM!!-sex, but, you know, not. So here’s how it’s going to go down and around. Remember my Waiver Man Cometh (1, 2) series? Don’t worry, that’s still here. But we’re going to add two thingamajigs to it. First, an injury update, focusing on news that pertains to dynasty leagues. Second, we’re going to add a segment that offers up an overview of two minor league players, usually a batter and pitcher. These won’t be guys that Razzball protagonist and prospect maven Scott Evans covers. As you would have guessed, we’re doing this deeper and more, um, impacting? Kinda like when I went FYPD all over the place. So let us partake in this mystical adventure of rough and tumble deep fantasy baseball love.
Waiver Man Cometh
Did you know that Kevin Frandsen has a 351/402/426 triple slash thing going on? A true testament to small sample sizing, if size matters to you. If there is a corner infielder neediness going on your team, there might not really be much else out there. Frandsen hasn’t done anything particularly well in his career, except for reappearing with a different ball club every couple years. In his longest stay in the majors, back in 2010 with the Angels, he hit 250/294/319 in 54 games. While his 5.8 K% was thoughtful and warming, the low 5.2 BB% has neutralized that effect, and made it appear as if I were actually describing R. Kelly’s mist of love. Combined with the zilch power and career 258/316/347, we can assume he’s playing over his head. But if his BABIP continues without regression, I could see a 300/350/390 before the burnout.
Claimed off waivers earlier this month by the D’Backs, Wil Nieves has done a few things to warrant a look if you are decimated at the catcher’s position. So far for Arizona he’s hit 5 for 18 with a HR and 2 RBI’s. Yeah, he is playing in limited action and that’s all he produced over a month, but he’s not hurting you, at least, in a profuse manner. Go there if you dare, and this is a great time to rhyme, because don’t expect much, other than a light helpful touch. Something like 270/320/370 is feasible. Yeah, I didn’t really want to try and rhyme a word with feasible, so deal.
Staying on the theme of needing catching depth desperately, Jason Castro makes a nice follow-up choice. I like Castro a little more here because of the slight uptick in playing time. He’s currently hitting 258/330/366 and really can only give you something around that for the rest of the year. BABIP seems stable, and while the K% is a bit high at 19.8, his 9.9 BB% will ease the blow to his OBP.
Traded at the 2009 deadline from Los Angeles to Baltimore, Steve Johnson has made his major league debut after toiling in the minors for 6 years. He’s struggled with his control for most of his professional career, and looks to be more of a bullpen guy. He can hit up to 93 MPH as a starter, but has to focus on developing his secondary pitches a bit more. While his ceiling could be a #4 starter if everything goes well, I would feel more comfortable labeling him as a bullpen arm. That being said, his first 5 games pitched and 2 total starts have gone well, with a K/9 of 12.18 and a FIP of 3.74. Maybe ride the fire ala Brad Bergesen a couple years back, but be wary for the coming of the true talent level reckoning. It’s documented in the bible. Trust me.
A pleasent surprise for the Mets so far, Collin McHugh made his first major league start last Thursday, tossing seven scoreless innings while striking out nine Rockies. Though he was sent back down to the farm soon there after, he will most likely be returning when September rolls around in a few days. The 2008 18th rounder has a four-pitch mix, with a 91-93 MPH fastball and an above average slider. Projected to be a reliever, he continued to put up strong numbers going up the ladder. He doesn’t blow anyone away, but has good command. McHugh does have a propensity to give up the long ball, but is now projected to be a consistent contributor in the back of the rotation, much like Dillon Gee. Keep an eye out when he gets called back up.
Fauquier County Hospital
Activated from the DL on Sunday, Felix Doubront did what he does best, and that is be meh. While still a good source for wins, the middling ratios still make him a low-end option in most formats.
Huston Street has already started baseball activiti es since injuring himself doing football activities. While an exact time table hasn’t been set, bullpen sessions should be occurring at any moment and if everything goes well, he should be ready for the tail end of the season. But the bright side is, he should be healthy for the first week of the football season, for what good that does us.
On a Triple-A rehab assignment after a very toight shoulder… toight like a tiger, A.J. Griffin should be ready to be called up when rosters expand in September.
Minority Report
Known mainly for his athletic tools, Jace Peterson has already started combining them with baseball skills. So far in Single-A ball, he’s supported a triple slash of 292/384/398 with 50 SB’s and a healthy BB% of 11.9 and K% of 12.1, all improvements from last year (243/360/333) in low-A ball. A receiver in college, Peterson stands at 6’0″ and is projected to be able to stick at SS. While power is a non-factor right now, he is expected to develop gap and doubles ability. If everything goes right, even in the offensive depressed PetCo park, he could be an Elvis Andrus clone. Something like 280/340/370 with 40 SB’s could be sustainable.
Signed at the age of 16 out of Venezuala by the Blue Jays, Adonys Cardona is a big fastball righty with a projectable body. While he’s still working on a change-up and curveball, the fastball is there and has already developed into a constant 93 MPH pitch, with room to grow a few more ticks. Some believe that he has some hiccups in the mechanics department which may lead to concern, and so far pitching in the rookie league, he has looked underwhelming. But, he still is only 18 years old. Expect the raw, and if everything develops, he could be a #2 or #3 starter with K potential.
