Greetings once again, deep league friends! I don’t mean to hate on our buddies over at CBS Sports, but I have to say that I actually giggled out loud upon seeing their headline Wednesday suggesting one might want to consider picking up Colt Keith. How can I get myself in a league where owners are still contemplating whether or not to pick up Keith, who is now owned in 80% of fantrax leagues (in addition to every league of mine)? He may not be able to keep up the run he’s been on for much longer, but it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t have helped in leagues of every conceivable size and format over the last few weeks. Anyhow, it’s all a reminder of just how different the deep league game is compared to ‘normal’ fantasy baseball, and how much more work we often need to do when it comes to managing our teams. Here’s hoping your teams are treating you well as we check in with this week’s list of names that might be worth a look for those of us in AL-only, NL-only, and other deeper leagues.
AL
Matt Wallner. I thought Wallner might be a substantial part of the Twins offense early this year and rostered him in a couple deep draft and hold leagues this spring, but instead, he was demoted in mid-April, when he was batting .080 after a horrific first couple weeks. He’s back in Minnesota now, though, and already has three hits including a homer. He’s not likely to be an everyday player, but that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker for many of us deep leaguers. There’s never been much question about his ability to hit home runs (let’s not forget he hit 14 in just 231 at bats last year, which would play even in some not-so-deep leagues), so those searching for power might want to look his way to see if he can make a better impression in the heat of summer than he did this spring.
Angel Martinez. Hit his first major league homer for the Guardians the other day… granted, it was off Kenta Maeda, whose been so bad that I’m not sure I couldn’t go deep off him these days, but still. Martinez is proving to be a true utility man, having already appeared at second, third, and outfield in just 8 total games played, and he’s also a switch hitter, which may boost his real life – and therefore current and/or future — fantasy value. The thing that I find most intriguing is that he’s struck out only twice while walking eight times. We haven’t seen a ton of power or speed from him in the minors, and we’ll see how Will Brennan’s return from the IL shakes up playing time… but Martinez is only 22 and belongs in the AL-only conversation at the very least.
Keider Montero. I’m not sure what to make of Montero, but then I’m not sure what to make of just about every single starting pitcher in Major League Baseball this year, so I guess sometimes you just have to take a chance and hope for the best. Then again, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing in a few leagues and it’s led to ERAs upwards of 4, which isn’t exactly proving to be a winning strategy so far this year. Anyhow, Montero has now made three starts for the Tigers, one of which was really good, one of which was really bad, and the latest of which was excellent. Oh, and he also has a 4-inning, 5 earned run relief appearance in there. His overall MLB numbers so far look a lot like my pitching stats in the leagues I just mentioned; he has a solid 1.17 WHIP but an ugly 4.64 ERA (he also has 19 Ks in his 21.1 innings, and, for what it’s worth his MiLB stats for both this year and overall are horrible, with the exception of a decent but not great K rate). I’ve seen Montero described as having good stuff from multiple sources, he’s ranked as Detroit’s #7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and he throws four pitches. So what does this all add up to in terms of future results? Going back to sentence one of this blurb, could probably be just about anything. But since we deep leaguers often have to assess opportunities first and foremost, it should be noted that Montero has one for now — he’s scheduled to pitch against the Dodgers this weekend and could in theory stick in the rotation post All Star Break given the demotion-to-the-bullpen of the above-mentioned Kenta Maeda.
Anthony Rendon. What would a season of fantasy baseball be without our annual deep league Rondon check in? Playing time will certainly be there as long as he’s healthy, so if this is finally the time he comes off the IL and actually doesn’t get hurt and/or completely suck, don’t say I didn’t warn you that he was back on the Angels’ active roster.
NL
Dane Myers. Hard to say if the rumors that the Marlins won’t trade Bryan De La Cruz or Jesus Sanchez are true, but even with both of them in the fold Myers has gotten some playing time in the outfield of late. He’s been quite solid across the board in his limited at bats (75 total as of Thursday), with 15 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBI, and 3 steals. He’s 28 now, and I think it was about this time last year I picked him up in an NL-only league only to be quite disappointed… but that won’t stop me from giving him another try in my deepest leagues where I’m looking to fill roster spots.
Yilber Diaz. Diaz had made only four triple A starts when he was called up by the Diamondbacks, but nonetheless managed to impress in his debut last week. His six innings of one-run ball against the Braves would have been enough for a win if Paul Sewald hadn’t blown his third save in a row, but should still be enough for another chance or several in the Arizona rotation. He’s 23 and profiles as a legitimate prospect so worth a look if he’s still available in your league.
Trey Lipscomb. Called back up by the Nats after they hit Nick Senzel with a good old fashioned DFA. I have Lipscomb in an NL-only league and have to play him because half my team is hurt, but not feeling very warm and fuzzy about it so far. I’d say he looks even more overmatched than he did in his earlier stint in the majors this year, but if nothing else it appears he’ll get an extended chance at third base. I have a feeling both the Nationals and I will end up giving up on him in our respective leagues, but since the opportunity is there I suppose it’s possible he surprises and puts an extended decent string of at bats together. He may provide some very cheap speed if nothing else, if he can manage to get on base that is.
Finally, I was going to talk about Rece Hinds this week, but his ownership numbers have quickly climbed to the point where he is out of what I consider the deep or even semi-deep league conversation. So I guess I am still talking about him, but will now repeat to you what Grey said about him on Tuesday: “He has a Tuffy Rhodes feel to me with some Maas Appeal, but who am I argue with a call-up schmotato?” And as an added bonus, I’ll link you to what Itch said about him on Wednesday just in case you missed it.
Thanks for reading and Happy All Star Break!
