Rolling In The Deep: Max-ing Out Your Roster

Well, we’re at the point in the season that seems like it’s never going to get here in January. For what seemed like forever, the weeks were just dragging and dragging, and then finally baseball starts, but it seems to be in slow motion as the first stats trickle in, and then before you know it, the season is more than a third of the way over. Baseball, fantasy or otherwise, may suddenly seem a little less interesting in mid-June than it did in early April, especially if your teams are struggling a bit and/or you have exciting real-life activities like graduations and vacations, and summery activities to enjoy. I know I’m having some trouble keeping focused on managing some of my teams, but it’s definitely worth staying engaged, even if it doesn’t seem like there is much you can do when it comes to roster improvement. You just never know when you’re going to find a hidden waiver wire gem who helps you out with some stats now that make a difference come September, so let’s keep scouring for those guys that may be of interest to those of us in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues. This week, we’ll include the player’s current standard league positional eligibility and current ownership percentage, staying deep at 12%-and-under ownership.

AL

Max Muncy (2B/SS; 6%). Don’t look now, but the other Max Muncy is not only back up with the Athletics, he’s been on an impressive little hitting run. He has three homers and a steal in his last week’s worth of games, which plays in any league. In addition to qualifying at second and short in most leagues, he’s played 8 games at third this year, for what that’s worth. He’s also still only 22, so worth monitoring not only for his current mini hot schmotato run, but also perhaps for the future.

Wenceel Perez (OF, 8%). Perez has rightfully seen an ownership boost since he returned from the IL a couple weeks ago, as he’s been playing a lot for the Tigers and has hit the ground running. He’s currently hitting a bit above his head with a .317 average and .356 OBP, but he also has 3 homers already, and there’s no reason to think the occasional display of power won’t continue. He hasn’t stolen a base yet, but it also seems likely that he’ll have at least a handful of steals by the end of the summer.

David Fry (C/1B/OF; 11% owned). Obviously, the catcher eligibility is the only one that is likely to be relevant, even though Fry is currently only DHing in real life. Remember that little stretch where Fry was one of the most valuable fantasy catchers around last year? It was a long time ago, and he’s a 29-year old coming off an elbow injury, so let’s not hold our breath that he’ll be at the top of the catcher rankings any time soon. He may, however, be just productive enough to help the right deep league fantasy team at the right time.

Mike Tauchman (OF, 9%). Honestly, I’m surprised Tauchman is owned in this many leagues; he feels like one of those guys who never puts up any counting stats, no matter how much he plays or how many hits he gets, and obviously, playing for the White Sox doesn’t help his cause on that front. If you’re in a deep league that uses OBP, though, he should definitely be rostered, as the guy is just constantly drawing walks. Boring, but useful in the right format while he’s getting regular playing time.

NL

Ryan Ritter (SS, 9%). This is confusing to type, but it appears that the Rockies have decided to deal with Ezequiel Tovar’s injury not by signing another 30-something, light-hitting player that other teams have given up on, but by promoting a player under the age of 25 from their farm system. Ritter was putting up some fairly eye-popping numbers at triple A (.305 average/.413 OBP and 16 homers), so while the MLB learning curve will no doubt be a sharp one, Ritter should be on the deep league radar for now. 

Henry Davis (C, 8%). Today’s second catcher blurb is also this week’s post-hype prospect mention, as we check in on Henry Davis. The Pirates had one of the muddiest catching situations coming into the season, but with Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez currently hurt, Davis has made his way to the top of the depth chart and will do everything he can to try to stay there. His season average is still below the Mendoza line, but he had back-to-back games where he homered last week, and it might be time to give him a look-see in deeper/NL-only/keeper leagues.

Calvin Faucher (RP, 12%). Faucher’s numbers are not pretty on the year with a WHIP still hovering around 1.4, but I’m a little surprised his recent run of good pitching hasn’t boosted his ownership numbers higher for the saves-needy among us. It may have something to do with the fact that he had one of the worst real-life or fantasy pitching performances ever, less than a month ago, giving up 6 earned without getting an out. He’s reeled off 6 scoreless outings as I write this, though, 3 of which resulted in saves for the Marlins.

Andrew McCutchen (OF/U, 6%). We’ll close with a “what’s old is new again” vibe, as I felt that the recent run Cutch has been on deserved a shout out. Not only did he start five games in a row this past week, but he went 8 for 20 with a homer and 6 RBI. The fact that he only qualifies at U in many leagues (he played 5 games at OF last year and has 7 this year) isn’t exactly a point in his favor, but the guy still can put together a professional at bat, as the old people say.

That’s it for this week; happy fantasy baseballing to all, and here’s to hoping your teams are doing well enough to keep you locked in as we creep closer to the dog days and distractions of summer!