Welcome back to the weekly piece that looks to shine a light on some names who appear to be under-owned and worth an add given their recent performances. August is nearly at a close, and while many of us have enjoyed the Giancarlo Stanton and Rhys Hoskins show, there’s more to making a championship run than simply leaning on one stud. With many eyes turning to the football field, this is when you savvy baseball minds take it home.
Ownership levels are taken from Yahoo leagues and, along with the stats, are accurate through August 27.
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Priority Pickups – <30% Owned
Blake Snell (TB – SP): 29% owned
Seriously, folks. Snell should be owned in more than 50 percent of leagues at this point. His latest effort saw him twirl seven solid innings of two-run ball against the Cardinals, and he has a 2.39 ERA (2.79 FIP) over his last four starts. While the .225 BABIP over that span is unlikely to hold up throughout September, we can’t ignore that he’s showing a lot more poise on the mound and loads more confidence in his entire arsenal. This leads to increased pitch mixing and the ability to fully sequence against batters, which should help the southpaw in his next scheduled start on Sept. 1 against the White Sox in Chicago. The corner appears to be turned.
Kolten Wong (STL – 2B/OF): 28% owned
With Nicky Delmonico on the disabled list, Wong stands up as the strongest hitter to add this week. Of course, if you’ve been reading closely then you’re already enjoying the spoils of his bat. I’ve been preaching that his HR/FB rate was due for some nice regression and now he’s gone and smacked two homers over his last three games. The 26-year-old also swiped two bags not too long ago against the Padres and now has three steals this month alongside a healthy .382 batting average, 19 runs scored, and 18 RBIs. I understand the hesitancy to trust him given his extended drop-off, but this is a legitimate spike.
Jake McGee (COL – RP): 23% owned
With Greg Holland scuffling, it’s been the lefty McGee who not only cleaned up Holland’s mess for the save on Saturday but also got the ninth inning all to himself on Sunday when Holland was unavailable. He was perfect in both instances, which should win some brownie points with manager Bud Black moving forward. No one else in that bullpen outside of Pat Neshek is making much noise, though the looming threat of being a lefty is worth mentioning even though Neshek has enjoyed his setup role. He’s the one you want to own in this bullpen right now. Fellow closers Juan Minaya (26% owned) and Matt Belisle (20% owned) are also available in this ownership range and are both worth adding even though they didn’t see save opportunities this week.
Blake Parker (LAA – RP): 14% owned
No longer just a pretty face with stellar numbers, Parker was handed the keys to a 7-6 lead on Saturday and readily converted the save in 1-2-3 fashion. While the committee feelings run deep in Mike Scioscia’s mind, things should lean Parker’s way moving forward given how Cam Bedrosian went and took the loss on Sunday by allowing three runs in the eighth inning. Keynan Middleton (2% owned) has also pitched well, but Parker should be the frontrunner at this point.
Kevin Kiermaier (TB – OF): 27% owned
Kiermaier, one of my favorite preseason bats before reality (and a rough hip injury) hit, has returned with a vengeance since being activated from the disabled list on Aug. 18. He’s notched six multi-hit efforts in those 10 games with four doubles, a triple, three homers, eight runs scored, nine RBIs, and a stolen base. The swipe is very important, as a hip injury can certainly affect one’s ability to get a good jump — though his fielding looks as strong as ever, too. He’s got the kind of power and speed that can help all fantasy owners with the final month approaching, and if he hits around .300 to boot then we’re all the happier.
Tyler Glasnow (PIT – SP): 24% owned
Even though Glasnow is 0-2 over his last three starts, he’s still given up just 10 combined hits over those 18 2/3 frames (no homers) and has struck out at least nine in each of them. The highly-touted arm now has 131 strikeouts to 31 walks in his 87 1/3 innings of work since being demoted to Triple-A, and now the reports are swirling that the Pirates could shift to a six-man rotation in September to shoehorn his arm in, even if Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams continue to shine. There’s no point in having him continue to mow down hitters on the farm when he needs to prove that he can handle big-league batters. He should help quite a few championships get claimed.
Amed Rosario (NYM – SS): 26% owned
While I did rag on the Mets’ current state of affairs, there’s no denying that Rosario has done his part over the last two weeks. With three homers and three steals, the rookie has helped offset his .241 average in that span with serious category juice. Of course, the aforementioned Mets lineup thing has meant that he’s scored only three runs — in other words, he’s only scored when he’s knocked himself in — but the homers and swipes will count for something. The dynamic youngster could be a bright spot for many down the stretch who need some stopping power in their middle-infield slot.
Miguel Gonzalez (CWS – SP): 13% owned
Don’t look now, but Gonzalez has recovered some of his 2016 mojo in earnest since coming off the disabled list in mid-July. We cannot ignore his torching at the hands of the Red Sox at the beginning of August (1 2/3 IP, 7 ER) but we can take a step back and recognize that he’s thrown quality starts in each of his seven other trips to the hill since the All-Star break. That’s right — he owns a 2.94 ERA since then even with the seven-run start in the mix, with only four earned allowed over his last four starts — including a season-high nine Ks in his most recent outing vs. Detroit. He’ll look to stay hot with a road date against Minnesota on Aug. 31.
Lucas Giolito (CWS – SP): 21% owned
Giolito is coming off a stellar effort in which he blanked the Tigers over seven innings on Sunday to capture his first Major League victory. Now, folks are going to see the 2.77 ERA over 13 innings and get a little more excited than they should, because his 6.05 FIP (4.81 SIERA) is signaling trouble given his .171 BABIP and perfect 100 percent strand rate. This is not to say that he can’t be useful, but at this point, it would behoove fantasy owners to get the full scope of Giolito before his next start on Sept. 2 against the Rays at home.
Deep League Targets – <10% owned
Chris Stratton (SF – SP/RP): 4% owned
The great news is that Stratton met the challenge of facing a tough D-backs lineup in full stride, striking out 10 for the second time in his last three outings. The bad news is that he didn’t seem to be quite sure of where each pitch was going, as illustrated by his five walks. The control may be an issue, but he’s only given up two homers in 37 2/3 innings and his ability carries enough upside where many of us should be willing to buy a ticket to the show. Do realize that he still hasn’t cracked a 10-percent swinging-strike rate even if we just look at his last three starts, but he’s also taken a significant step forward as a starter (2.67 ERA) versus being a reliever (8.59 ERA.) He draws the Cardinals next at home on Sept. 1 for those of you looking for a decent gamble.
Sal Romano (CIN – SP): 2% owned
While Romano has had his ups and downs as a rookie, the current trend is “up” and he’s headed right for a lovely matchup with the now Cespedes-less Mets — a team whose .302 wOBA over the last two weeks is the fourth-worst in the Majors. The 23-year-old has only given up three earned runs combined over his last two starts (@ATL, vs. CHC) and looks to be gaining some footing as the season starts to reach its fever pitch. He’s also walked just eight batters over his last five outings after yielding 17 walks in his first five, so the progression appears strong all around heading into today’s (Tuesday’s) home start vs. those Mets.
Brandon Nimmo (NYM – OF): 1% owned
With Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes out, Nimmo should be able to get everyday at-bats in this lineup and show what he’s got moving forward from 2017. He went 3-for-9 with a two-run homer during Sunday’s doubleheader and is 10-for-36 with nine runs scored, the homer, three RBIs and a stolen base over the last two weeks. He doesn’t possess huge pop — he only hit four homers in 47 Minor League games this season — but is only 24 years old and can offer a little bit of everything with this opportunity.
Nick Mariano is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nick, check out his archive and follow him @NMariano53.
