First and foremost, I wish all of you a fun and safe Memorial Day. Hard to believe that we are almost done with two months of the season and moving officially into summer. We have an insane week of games coming up. The Cubs play 9 times (insert Ed Rooney.gif), while Detriot, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and St. Louis each play 8 games. If you’re hard up for saves, streaming the set up man for one of these teams may score you a cheap one.
10/12 Team Adds
Roansy Contreras (PIT/SP) – Pittsburg called Contreras back up on Tuesday. He rewarded the team with 5 scoreless innings, collecting 5 Ks, allowing 2 BBs, and 3 Hs. Now that he is fully stretched out, and the service time games have been played, he should be up with the big club for the foreseeable future. Contreras primarily leans on his big four-seamer (96.9 mph average), along with a devastating slider (56.5% Whiff %). He also mixes in a curve and a rare change-up. (7-8% FAAB)
Aaron Ashby (MIL/SP) – Ashby was the preseason darling by many touts. It’s not hard to see why, just look at his K% through the years, along with a strong 2021 performance. Unfortunately, he was the odd man out of the rotation to begin the season. Freddy Peralta finds himself on the IL, and speculation has August as a likely return date. It’s Ashby’s job to lose at this point as a result. Ashby’s biggest red flag is his BB%, a career mark of 11.4% over his 65.2 MLB IP. However, it’s not that he doesn’t throw strikes. He throws a strike on 64.9% of first pitches (would be T20 for qualified starters) and he throws 40.9% of his pitches in the zone, which would put him just behind Joe Musgrove. (8-12% FAAB)
Jeffrey Springs (TB/SP) – It appears the Rays have done it again. Springs has spent time with Rangers and Red Sox with less than stellar results. He exclusively worked out the pen since he started 2 games for the Rangers in 2018. His control has improved, currently sitting at a 5.7% BB-rate, down from his career number of 9.3%. If he can keep that number in check, his career 30.5% CSW should play nicely with a 32.5% HH rate. (5-7% FAAB)
Kole Calhoun (TEX/OF) – Calhoun checks in at number 28 on the player rater over the last 30 days. Bolstered by a strong last three weeks, Calhoun sits 8th in MLB in barrel rate (19.6%), over that stretch. After a terrible start to the year, he now sits at a respectable .264/.314/.473 with 7 homers. (5-6%)
Garrett Cooper (MIA/1B,OF) – Since May 7th, Cooper is 11th in MLB in hard hit (55.8%). Over that stretch he’s hit .304/.344/.500, along with a solid 11.8% barrel. Miami will start the week at Coors Field, as well. (4-5%)
15 Team Adds
Frank Schwindel (CHC/1B) – 4 home runs in the last 7 days has jump-started his season back into life. His K-rate is trending down towards his career numbers and his hard hit is on the rise. He’s fully entrenched into the middle of the Cubs lineup and should be rostered in deeper formats. (3-4%)
Tyrone Taylor (MIL/OF) – I was all aboard his hype train in the offseason. That is, until they signed Andrew McCutchen and traded for Hunter Renfroe. The Brewers have Taylor rotating through all three outfield positions and with Renfroe on the IL, he shouldn’t have playing time concerns in the near future. Taylor hit 12 homers along with 6 steals in 271 PAs in 2021. His Barrel and HH rates are both up over last year. (5-8% FAAB)
Adley Rutschman (BAL/C) – Keibert Ruiz is probably a fair comparison for 2022. Great plate skills, but ultimately, I wonder where he’ll end up with power and counting stats. He hit 5 homers in Triple-A last year, over 185 PAs (that’s 16 over 600 PA) at age 23. However, he should be a boost in BA and that’s few and far between for catchers. Buy the plate skills, and hope the rest works itself out. (7-10% FAAB)
Glenn Otto (TEX/SP) – Currently slated for two starts this week against the Rays and Mariners. I’m not buying him long-term but it’s two decent match-ups. His weekly projection puts him at 37 on the player rater among pitchers next week. (1-2% FAAB)
Johnny Cueto (CHW/SP) – Father Time remains undefeated, but no one seems to have to Cueto that. Johnny has a respectable 3.49 SIERA through two starts and could settle in as their 5th starter for the long haul. (1-2% FAAB)
AL/NL Adds
Matt Carpenter (NYY/2B) – The Yankees signed Carpenter on Thursday and has served as the DH Thursday and Friday. It’s important to note, that both starts were against LHP. Therefore, it doesn’t appear to be a platoon situation. Signing him was likely the result of Stanton and Donaldson being on the IL, so it’s unclear about the longevity of his stay. (1-2% FAAB)
