Happy Friday, Deepies! Hope things are going as well as possible for you and your teams in the world of fantasy baseball. I for one have gotten a brutal reminder of how quickly things can get ugly for a deep league offense that was humming right along, losing Seiya Suzuki and Ozzie Albies in the blink of an eye in an NL-only league. To say there isn’t much to choose from on the waiver wire is an understatement; there’s barely a player available that I’d trust to help my team more than hurt it, let alone one that can provide a fraction of the offense that my two now-injured players were providing. Mid-April is no time to check out no matter how dire the situation, though, so carry on I shall. That brings us right to this week’s roundup of players that will likely remain completely off the radar for those in standard leagues but may be of interest to those living in NL-only, AL-only, similar deep league worlds.
NL
Landon Knack. Knack rocketed all the way up from 2% to 4% owned in CBS leagues this week as he was handed a Wednesday matinee start against the Nationals. He acquitted himself quite nicely, allowing 2 earned in 5 innings, with 4 Ks against a single walk. It was also nice to see him settle in rather than unravel after he gave up a C.J. Abrams homer at the beginning of the game. Sadly for him, this was not enough to earn him a win, though, as the Dodgers inexplicably were unable to score a single run (actually I suppose it is understandable, as it was so lovely here in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon that I didn’t want to do any work either). Anyhow, even if Knack heads back to the minors, he should likely be on our deep-league radars, since we now know that the Dodgers trust him with a spot start or two when needed. Also, given how much early season focus they are already placing on keeping their top arms fresh for late in the season and the post-season, pitchers a little lower on the depth chart may end up playing a substantial role this year, whether it’s now, mid-summer, or late in the season.
Jacob Young. I honestly couldn’t remember if I mentioned Young last week or not, but decided that it didn’t matter and that I’d mention him again anyway for anyone desperate for speed in the deepest leagues. (Turns out I did not; sometimes I just write the blurbs in my head… sigh). Young isn’t playing a ton for the Nationals and isn’t likely to hit very well when he does play, but it should be mentioned that he has 5 stolen bases… in just 32 at bats over 10 games. Deep league SAGNOF is a whole different animal, but it’s still SAGNOF. Or at least a relative of SAGNOF!
Luis Guillorme. Should get some extra PT with the aforementioned Ozzie Albies out for what I worry will be way longer than it should be. He’s probably the strong side of a platoon with David Fletcher, so it seems like there should be some ultra deep league fantasy value here, doesn’t it? Both are still technically 0% owned in CBS leagues, but I’ll probably spend a few fake FAB dollars on Guillorme this weekend in that league where I need to replace Albies. I’ll take any counting stat I can possibly get, but something tells me this is going to be the ultimate example of a guy being more valuable as a real-life fill in than a fantasy one.
Luis Garcia. The 10%-owned Garcia likely isn’t available in deep NL-only leagues, but after watching him go yard off my imaginary boyfriend Tyler Glasnow the other day, he’s earned a shout out here. That’s his only homer of the year, and he’s only got one walk to go along with 10 strikeouts, so I’m not really sure how or why that 3-run bomb happened, but it certainly did happen. He’s also got a steal, is hitting .318, and has a regular gig playing second base for the Nationals. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race, so we’ll check in on Garcia down the line a ways and see if he’s finally delivering on the promise he showed a few years ago and working his way closer to the mixed-league conversation.
AL
Jose Soriano. Soriano sort of terrifies me, but if there’s anything deep leaguers are familiar with, it’s being scared to death of the starting pitchers we’re rolling out in our active lineups. Soriano simply throws too many balls out of the strike zone for my taste, which tends to be a recipe for disaster, but his stuff may be good enough to keep him afloat as he continues to adjust to being a major league pitcher. The 25-year old Angel’s swing and miss is there when he’s on, and he’s now up to 71 Ks over 57 innings for his career. If he can take a step (or three) forward in terms of command things could get legitimately interesting, though he’ll have some tough tests ahead including facing the Reds in Cincinnati next week.
Jonathan Cannon. Cannon is sort of the opposite of Soriano on paper; not much K potential, but has shown solid command throughout his career. He recently made his MLB/White Sox debut against the Royals and was solid if not spectacular, allowing just a run over five innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He may be back in the minors before he has a chance for start number two, but like Knack above, it may be of some deep-league value going forward to know that he’s been trusted for at least one big league start and rewarded that trust with a nice performance. Unlike Knack, Cannon is not on a particularly good team, so we’re probably reaching the deepest of deep leagues in terms of fantasy value at this point.
Gabriel Arias. Arias has gotten chance after chance with the Guardians, but as of late their confidence is beginning to pay off, for the moment at least. Through Wednesday he’d started five straight games, and he’s already appeared at every infield position as well as the outfield. He’s got a homer, a steal, he’s hitting .308, and if he’s somehow sitting around unowned in an AL-only league (he’s at 4% at CBS right now), well, he shouldn’t be until we see what the coming weeks/months bring.
Jose Miranda. I was intrigued and then some by Miranda last year, but had to give up on him even in my deepest AL-only league this year. It might be time to at least give him a quick check in, though, as it looks like he’ll be at least part of the answer as the Twins try to replace Royce Lewis while he’s out. Miranda is finally fully healthy after being plagued by injuries last year and has started hot out of the gate, going 5 for 17 with a homer, so we’ll see if he can come closer to his impressive 2022 instead of his disastrous 2023.
As always, thanks for reading, and best of pretend-baseball luck to your teams!
Hi Laura. Any chance you’re buying into Taillon after his activation? Looking impressive v the Fish at home. Throwing a lot of first pitch strikes. Looking economical in the pitch count department as well. I get it, it’s just the Marlins, but….
Hey Chucky! I’d proceed with caution, but yeah, given the current starting pitching landscape there’s definitely something to be said for a veteran who can command the strike zone (and isn’t going to make his elbow explode by trying to throw 105 MPH)!