Welcome back! It’s you’re favorite fantasy columnist here. Top 10? Top 25? Alright forget I brought it up, let’s get into it: The dreaded Innings-Cap for young pitchers debate is heating up around the league. Below I’ll quickly cover some of the names that have surfaced and my thoughts on them. Let’s hope Avisail Garcia (4%) is okay after colliding into the outfield wall yesterday. We thought he might be shut down for the year, but Mike Zunino (2%) began taking batting practice and will be back in early September. You’re probably saying, who cares? And you’re basically right, but in the two weeks before his injury Zunino looked like he had turned a big corner at the plate. Even with that momentum gone he could still be helpful for those of you trying to make it work with: Nick Hundley (2%), Dioner Navarro (2%), or Tyler Flowers (2%). Speaking of catchers, Jose Lobaton (1%) has been playing his way into more playing time for the Rays. I don’t believe it will lead to a full-time gig but stranger things have happened this year. Here’s what else you need to know in Fantasy Baseball right now. Players in each category appear in the order I care about them. All ownership percentages are from Yahoo!
New Faces:
Carlos Martinez (3%): His minor league numbers look way better than his major league ones but he’s considered a top pitching prospect on a quality team. That works for now. He’s likely to start either today or tomorrow.
Mike Kickham (0%): He was called up on Friday but it appears the Giants will only give him bullpen work for now. Keep an eye on how he performs.
Shallow leaguers:
Wilson Ramos (18%): I put him here every week. Those of you that refuse to add him over your terrible catchers don’t know what you’re doing. But hey, more championships for me.
Robbie Grossman (31%): After only one week, Grossman rocketed up to my Shallow League recommendations. High batting average, power, speed, what’s not to like? Also keep an eye out for George Springer (3%) who may or may not be a better version of Grossman. His call-up date is uncertain but hard to see why the Astros wouldn’t make a move in September.
Jedd Gyorko (37%): ESPN’s Eric Karabell has been pushing Gyorko for awhile but its only been recently that he’s returned to form. I like his upside the rest of the year.
Evan Gattis (37%): He hasn’t been playing well recently, but with Jason Heyward out for at least six weeks, Gattis should get regular at-bats. And really, that’s the only thing holding him back.
Deep leaguers:
Khris Davis (30%): I hope you grabbed him when I told you to two weeks ago. He’s ranked 7th overall in that time with 5 HRs. Cha-Ching!
Donnie Murphy (23%): He has 8 HRs in 16 games. There’s no way he keeps this up but this is a good example why I like to always have one fluid bench spot for players on hot streaks and Murphy is on quite a streak.
Gerardo Parra (30%): I almost went with Adam Eaton (24%) here but Parra has a better track record. He always seems to do a great job filling in but is never looked at as a full-time starter. Parra will have plenty of at-bats the rest of the way and has 2 HR and 2 SB in the last two weeks with a .293 average.
Brandon Moss (29%): I’ve said this before on here but if you could be in a position to only bat Moss against righties, he would make for a very good add. You’d have to check your lineup enough on game day to make this work, as well as forecast the pitching match-ups, and have the open bench spot. Not terribly difficult things to accomplish but it can get time consuming, especially if you’re like me and have 10 teams to manage. Incidentally, for those wondering, I’m currently in the playoff picture for 7 of my 10 teams. Wilson Ramos catches for 3 of those playoff teams. (Victor Martinez on the others)
Elite Leaguers:
Brian Roberts (6%): Guess whose back in uniform and looking really good? He’s 14 for his last 43 (.326) 7 R, HR, 14 RBI, SB during that time. Roberts is definitely worth a flier. It’s hard to find talent this low on the waiver-board.
Travis d’Arnaud (9%): You already know his name. It’s not clear if he’s JP Arencibia 2.0 or something more but let’s find out together.
JB Shuck (4%): You have to appreciate his consistency, even if the production isn’t quite elite.
L.J. Hoes (4%): Has the future in Houston arrived? Between Grossman and Hoes, the Astros boast some pretty good-looking outfielders. 3 SBs with a HR to go along with a .383 average in his last 47 at-bats. As terrible as the Astros are, these guys could be nice draft choices next year.
Pitchers:
Alex “The Wood” Wood (44%): You’re my boy, Wood – keep it up! 2-starts agains the Indians and Marlins should keep the train rollin’.
Tyson Ross (35%): Am I worried about his last start against the Pirates? Not in the least. Does his schedule get better this week? Not at all, 2-starts against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers… ugh. I’m very interested to see how he handles it.
Marco Estrada (33%): No matter what your opinion is of Estrada, you have to admit that his numbers in the beginning of the year were uncharacteristically bad. Since coming back from the DL he’s been really good, recently allowing only 1-hit to the Reds in 7-innings yesterday. I don’t think he’s that good but a fresh, veteran pitcher with something to prove could be a nice addition to your team.
Ross Ohlendorf (1%): Not a sexy name, but he gets 2-starts against the Marlins and the Mets.
Andre Rienzo (4%): Full confession, I don’t know much about him. His numbers suggest he could be a 3rd-rotation starter at some point and he gets two starts against the Astros and Red Sox this week… Maybe drop him after the Houston game, we’ll see.
Innings- Cap Limits:
Gerrit Cole (49%): Since he was a mid-season call-up and the Pirates are in the playoff race I think he’s safe to finish the year. We did see the Pirates push back one of his starts last week to avoid a 2-start week, so it’s not all roses, but they can’t get to the playoffs without him.
Zack Wheeler (46%): There’s no real reason to let him finish the year. The Mets have something going with Matt Harvey (97%) and Wheeler. Why risk it?
Jose Fernandez (87%): It’s too bad for owners that he’s a lock to be shut down in a few weeks.
Shelby Miller (91%): The incredibly-deep rotation in St. Louis suddenly looks a bit more vulnerable these days. The performances of Carlos Martinez (3%) and Michael Wacha (6%) over the coming weeks will go a long way in determining how hard St. Louis rides Miller. They were deliberate with his innings last year so they may decide its okay to turn him loose.
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