It might surprise you to learn that a catcher was the most added player in ESPN leagues last week. That’s right. A catcher. You’re probably thinking that it’s some hot prospect who looks like the next coming of Mike Piazza. In that case, you’d be wrong. Very, very wrong. It’s actually 30-year-old journeyman catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty’s smacked 6 homers in just 48 plate appearances this season, which has some fantasy owners dreaming of a cheap 20 homers from their recent waiver wire find. He has hit 25 homers in a season before (2012), and power has never been an issue for Salty. What has been an issue is making consistent contact. He’s one of 11 players in MLB history (min 2000 PA) with a 30+% K% in his career, and his 32.4% K% since the beginning of the 2014 season is the 3rd highest in MLB over that span (min 600 PA) behind only Mike Zunino and Tyler Flowers. This season, he has a 37.5% K% and his early power outburst is largely due to a 33.3% HR/FB (career 13.8%). Same old Salty. Enjoy the hot streak but don’t get too attached. Too much Salty will give you high blood pressure.
Here are a couple of other interesting adds/drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:
Josh Tomlin: 10.2% owned; +5.7%
Nothing gets you excited like a pitcher who averages 87.2 mph on his fastball, eh? How about when that same pitcher sports a career 1.44 HR/9, especially when considering the fact that just 6 out of 77 qualified SPs allowed homers at that rate or higher in 2015? I’ve got just the guy for you! No, not Jered Weaver. Not Jamie Moyer either. Josh Tomlin is the not so mysterious soft thrower that allows home runs, but he’s also exceptional at something else – throwing strikes. His 1.05 BB/9 since the beginning of 2015 is the 2nd lowest among 197 MLB starting pitchers who have thrown a minimum of 50 innings in that span. His 7.44 K/BB ratio over that same period is the best in MLB just ahead of Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. Next up on the schedule for Tomlin is the Minnesota Twins, who are tied for 18th in MLB with 17 HRs and have struck out 183 times (3rd highest in MLB) entering Monday. Stream on. TREASURE.
Scott Kazmir: 73.5% owned; -12.1%
I usually don’t cover players who are as widely owned as Kazmir is, but I thought I’d make an exception here. As of Monday, he’s more widely owned in ESPN leagues than Ian Kennedy, Taijuan Walker, and Jason Hammel, among many other starting pitchers. Many of these leagues are clearly not RCLs, but we’ll roll with these ownership numbers. Over his last nine starts of 2015, Kazmir produced a 5.89 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and an .899 OPS against across 47.1 innings. This season, Kazmir has a 6.63 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and an .827 OPS against through 19 innings (4 GS). His velocity is down, he’s allowing more homers, and he’s also currently dealing with a thumb injury on his pitching hand. No thanks. TRASH.
