Rolling In The Deep: Are We Dunn Yet?

Okay, I’m sick of talking about all of the pitcher injuries, but how can we not be constantly talking about it at this point? I’m not sure exactly where I fall on the cause of all of it, but my instinct is that it has a lot less to do with the pitch clock, and more to do with literal children trying to throw 95-plus as soon as they possibly can if they want to have a prayer of getting drafted. What I’m really trying to figure out is which is worse: watching Luis Castillo get basically torched three starts in a row, or having the likes of Framber Valdez and Nick Pivetta in active lineups this week as we wait to hear when they’ll pitch again, or if they will pitch at all again in 2024. No matter how you look at it, it’s going to be a brutal minefield all year I’m afraid, so let’s turn the conversation around to guys that hopefully will be playing for the time being. Yep, it’s time for our weekly check-in of under-the-radar players who may not be in the standard mixed league conversation (and all of whom may have gained value recently but are still around 15% owned or less in CBS leagues) but could be of interest to those of us in NL-only, AL-only, and other deeper leagues.

NL

Oliver Dunn (from 1% to 15% owned this past week). It’s always kind of annoying to me, as the resident deep league “expert,” when a guy like Dunn evades my radar completely to put up even a week or two’s worth of decent numbers. I was so dreamy-eyed over the still-in-the-minors Tyler Black, and worried about how the Joey Ortiz deal would affect playing time, that I didn’t even consider Dunn as a legit option at third for the Brewers. He’d already appeared in 6 games there already through Tuesday, though, with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 steals. He’ll have to maintain the good hitting to keep even a part-time gig, I think, but on the radar he now is. We should also mention fellow Brewer (and 0% owned) Blake Perkins at this juncture, who is off to as nice a start as a backup outfielder can be (6 for his first 15 with a homer and 2 steals). There likely won’t be room for him on the roster when Garrett Mitchell returns, but if he can continue being anywhere near this productive with his precious at bats, he may force the issue.

Michael A. Taylor (from 6 to 16% owned this past week). Taylor isn’t playing every day and has already cooled a bit after a rather blistering start, but if nothing else he appears firmly entrenched in at least a part-time role when it comes to the Pirates outfield plans. I’m actually playing him in a couple 15-team mixed leagues where I’m already down a few outfielders and just hoping that he can send enough runs and RBI by way, hopefully with the occasional steal or homer, to keep me afloat. It’s been 7 years since Taylor had a plus average, but he did go a sneaky 21 HR/13 SB last year in 129 games for the Twins.

Jurickson Profar (10% owned). Profar has been the epitome of a “not great, but better than nothing” deep league option as a member of the Padres outfield: .286 average, 1 homer, 7 RBI, 4 runs scored. I guess that’s more of a “not very good, but better than nothing” option, but we deep-leaguers occasionally need those. We’ll see how playing time in San Diego shakes out as the season progresses, and if Profar can continue to provide some counting stats without hurting average. (Well look at that; Profar went and had a monster game Wednesday after I wrote this, so the good news is he’s hot right now. The bad news is that his best game of the season is likely in the rear-view mirror).

Ryan Feltner (4 % owned). Feltner’s slowly but surely been getting snapped up in my deeper leagues after getting off to a surprisingly good start for the Rockies. He doesn’t yet have a win after two starts, a trend that could continue given how lackluster that Rockies have looked across the board, but he’s pitched extremely well: 11 innings with 14 Ks and a nice tidy WHIP of 1.00. And he had actual legit competition, facing the D-Backs in Arizona and the Rays in Coors. Regression is no doubt in store, but even a tiny sample size this impressive from a Rockies pitcher is worth noting, especially given how many of us are staring at fantasy rosters with decimated starting rotations.

AL

Dominic Canzone (2 to 4% owned in CBS leagues this past week). I kept almost drafting Canzone late in my 50-round draft and hold leagues this offseason as it appeared he’d be in line for at least a part-time gig in the Mariners outfield. I never pulled the trigger, but kind of wish I had at least once, now that he’s gotten off to a solid start in the power department (3 homers in just 29 at bats). He’s also already in mid-season form in terms of strikeouts, unfortunately (11 already!), a trend that is likely to continue based on past performance, but early on he’s still making sense as a deep league backup OF or even a really deep league regular.

Reese McGuire (from 1 to 10% owned). If you drafted McGuire as your 2nd catcher in a deep AL-only type league, he’s been a dream in that role so far, with a .320 average, 2 homers, and even a steal early on for the Red Sox. That pace won’t continue, of course, but he could still prove a not-horrible option in the 2nd deep league catcher role as the year continues.

David Hamilton (from 0 to 10% owned). No one’s holding their breath for him to be a hitting stud, I don’t think, but he should at least have the opportunity to play in Boston with Trevor Story down for the count, and pending the health/future effectiveness of Vaughn Grissom (and whether the note that Grissom will be taking rehab reps at short in addition to second ends up meaning anything). Hamilton already has a homer and could be a factor in the stolen base department, so it may be worth monitoring over the next week or two to see if he carves out continued playing time.

Josh H. Smith (6% owned). Smith only has 23 at bats for the Rangers as I write this, but he is filling a legit utility role for them, which can translate to being mildly useful in the deepest fantasy leagues. He doesn’t have a homer or a steal, but he does have 6 RBI and I guess the H. stands for Hits because he’s at .348 to start the year. He also qualifies at 3B, SS, and OF in many leagues, which isn’t nothing.

That’s it for this week — hope your teams are staying afloat early on as the injury news continues to bombard us, and thanks for reading!