The short season sprint is nearly over! If you’re in the hunt for a championship, or looking to lock down your hold on 1st place, these final FAAB runs are crucial. No one is safe on your roster at this point in redraft formats! Make the moves you need to make to win!
Potential pickups will be separated into three buckets using Fantrax ownership statistics
20-30% owned players should be available in 12-team mixed leagues
10-20% owned players should be available in 15-team mixed leagues
0-10% owned players should be available in deep dynasty formats and AL or NL-only leagues.
This next part is crucial. You should pick up players based on how they fit your roster, not based on a preference list. “Sunk cost fallacy” can be costly in fantasy baseball, so churn your roster of those underperforming players and take a shot at one that might be having a breakout season. Also, you need to monitor your standings in specific categories to see if those stats available in the free agent pool. Often times these are stolen bases and saves, but hitters moving up the batting order can help accumulate stats, pitchers that are moving into the rotation can help accumulate innings and drive down ratios if they are performing well.
Ok time to cut the crap!
12 team mixed (20-30% Owned)
Dean kremer - sp - BAL (30% Owned)
Dealin’ Dean Kremer came over to the Orioles organization in the trade that sent Manny Machado to the Dodgers. Kremer, lead all of the minor leagues in strikeouts in 2018 with 178 in 131.1 innings pitched for three different teams. He’s now made two turns of the rotation, with both starts coming against the Yankees, and he’s escaped with a 1.64 ERA. Statcast has him working with a 4-pitch mix so far (4S, Curve, Sinker, Cutter), and from my brief views he seems to be able to command all 4 pitch types. He’s in line to start @TB and @BOS to finish up the season, he’s worth the add if you’re chasing wins, Ks, IPs, or QS.
Willi Castro - sS/3B - DET (26% Owned)
Castro is locked into the 5th spot in the lineup and has been the Tigers’ everyday shortstop down the stretch. I’m not necessarily running out the door to grab him, but if you need to plug a hole at SS/3B, or need some bench versatility to get you down the home stretch, you could do worse than take a look at Castro.
Tejay antone - SP - CIN (25% Owned)
For followers of the site, Tejay Antone already popped up on your radar in Will Scharnagl’s piece on his improvements that came out earlier this week. He’s made 4 starts for the Reds this season, but only made it through 3 innings against the Cardinals last time out. Be careful; his .220 BABIP and 87% strand rate suggest the ERA should regress.
keegan Akin - SP - BAL (23% Owned)
I’ll always root for Keegan Akin because he looks like he could be my grown adult child. I prefer his Baltimore teammate Dean Kremer as a pickup this week, but the left-handed Akin has done fairly well in his MLB debut so far. He’s managed to keep his MLB K% near his historical MiLB levels (around 26%) so I think that will play if he can limit the free passes. Unfortunately, his BB% has crept up over 13% against MLB competition, which is probably to be expected. There’s a fine line between a useful start and a blow-up crash your ratios with that BB%, so be careful.
Richard Rodriguez - RP - PIT (23% Owned)
His K-BB% for the season is over 30%, and batters are hitting a measly .162 against him on the season. He also vultured 2 wins over his last 2 appearances, giving him 2 wins and 3 saves in 19 appearances on the year. Worth a shot if you’re chasing saves, holds, or wins down the stretch.
15 team mixed (10-20% owned)
Edward Olivares - OF - KCR (18% Owned)
Edward Olivares came over to Kansas City in the trade that sent reinvigorated reliever Trevor Rosenthal to San Diego. Olivares has flashed solid power/speed upside during his minor league career. We’ve seen more of the pop (3 HR) than the speed (0/2 on SB attempts) so far this season. That being said, he’s also flashed 95th percentile sprint speed, so don’t be surprised if he keeps running, sometimes even successfully.
Luis Garcia - SP - HOU (16% Owned)
23-year-old pitcher is vying for the title of “best Luis Garcia in baseball”. Competition is stiff, but he broke on the scene this week with 5 shutout innings against a good Oakland squad. The Houston pop-up arms have been real good so far this year (Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez, and Jose Urquidy have all looked good at times), so I’m willing to take a chance on Garcia. Also, his next two starts line up against Texas and Seattle, a couple tasty matchups.
Yohan Ramirez - RP - SEA (12% Owned)
3-for-3 in save opportunities since August 30. The stuff is nasty enough to play in a closer’s role. If you’re chasing saves down to the wire he might be worth an add.
Cedric Mullins - OF - BAL (11% Owned)
He was once an exciting breakout prospect. Now, Mullins is getting a chance for regular playing time with the rebuilding Orioles and is responding well. For your fantasy club, speed is his biggest asset. Mullins has racked up 5 SBs on the year. With 87th percentile sprint speed, expect Mullins to keep running over the next couple of weeks. Snag him if you are in need of SBs.
Deep Dynasty/only leagues (0-10% owned)
Jedd Gyorko - 1B/3B - MIL (10% Owned)
Jedd Gyorko has been locked into the Brewer’s cleanup spot this week. He’s been super productive for the team this year, logging a .400 wOBA in 77 PAs. A lot of his damage is being done on the back of an unsustainable 18% barrel rate. But still, the dude is hitting and in deep leagues you might need his bat over the next 2 weeks.
Austin Gomber - RP - STL (9% Owned)
Quad-A lefty has done well filling a swingman role for the Cardinals the last couple seasons. This year, he’s appeared in 11 games, making 2 spot starts, and posting a glimmering 0.53 ERA. On a “not so fast my friend” note, he’s also posted a .244 BABIP and 95% strand-rate, so look for that ERA to rise. Still, he might be worth a stash in deep leagues to see what his role might look like for STL in 2021.
Jared Walsh - 1b - LAa (9% Owned)
Jared Walsh, a 27-year-old journeyman in the Angels system, is currently hitting .273 despite a .212 BABIP on the season. Why? Well, this lefty masher hits the crap out of the ball with regular frequency. At Triple-A last season, he squashed 36 taters while slugging .686. In deep leagues give him a stash at the end of your bench and see how he looks next spring.
Carlos Hernandez - SP - KCR (7%)
In a surprising move, the Royals jumped Carlos Hernandez up into the rotation to take the place of Matt Harvey this weekend. Hernandez, 23, hadn’t pitched above A-Full Season in the minors before appearing with the big club in 2020. He came out pumping 99 mph on his sinker. That alone merits monitoring.