Strike Zone: Notes: Snatching Up Snell
Especially after his slow start at the plate for Triple-A Charlotte, Tim Anderson seemed an unlikely candidate to supplant Jimmy Rollins at shortstop for the White Sox during the first half of the year. He had really heated up, though, hitting .361/.382/.517 with four homers in his final 32 games before getting the call Friday. The caveat there is, even during his hot streak, he had a 29/5 K/BB ratio. Overall, Anderson had just a .325 OBP in Triple-A. I think he’s probably an upgrade on Rollins anyway, and he’s certainly more intriguing for fantasy purposes with his speed (49 steals in Double-A last year, 11 in Triple-A this season). That said, I see him as a fringe guy in mixed leagues, at least unless the White Sox start batting him second (I don’t think they should, but they might if he plays well his first week or two). He doesn’t have much home run power yet, and my guess is that he’ll strike out too much to maintain a strong average. Plus, run and RBI opportunities are pretty limited at the bottom of the White Sox order.
AL Notes
– Wow, James Paxton. Always a tantalizing talent, the oft-injured left-hander has gone from throwing 92-96 mph to averaging 98 mph with his fastball and touching 100 mph. It seems like injuries often follow these kinds of velocity spikes, and Paxton’s history of arm problems doesn’t bode well for him lasting the rest of the season. Still, he’s a must-grab in any mixed leagues in which he’s available.
– Eduardo Rodriguez came out throwing harder Saturday, touching 95-96 mph in the first, but he couldn’t maintain the velocity as the outing went along. He doesn’t trust his slider, so right now, he’s a fastball-changeup guy with pretty average velocity and spotty control. If the first inning Saturday is a sign that his velocity is starting to come back some, there’s still hope for him in mixed leagues. However, I wouldn’t want to keep running him out there these next couple of weeks. He’s certainly droppable for someone like Paxton or Matt Shoemaker.
– Ike Davis will take over as the Yankees’ first baseman against righties after being signed to a major league deal on Sunday. He had just gone 7-for-7 with three walks in his final two games for the Rangers’ Triple-A Round Rock affiliate, so he’s hot. Still, his four homers in 142 at-bats there don’t provide a lot of hope that he’ll take advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. He should be an upgrade over Rob Refsnyder, but mixed-league value doesn’t seem likely. The Yankees are still holding out some hope of getting Mark Teixeira (knee) back in a few weeks, too.
– Daniel Mengden and his Rollie Fingers mustache debuted Saturday with 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball against the Reds. Mengden’s stuff is fringy, but his herky-jerky delivery suits him well and he does have a strong changeup to go along with his fastball and slider. He’s interesting as a bottom-of-the-rotation guy for the A’s, but since the team’s defense isn’t what it used to be and run support figures to be an issue, he isn’t a mixed-league option at the moment.
– The Rays are going to have Blake Snell replace Matt Andriese in their rotation this week, even though Andriese had a 2.82 ERA in his seven starts. Of course, the main reason the Rays didn’t choose Snell over Andriese last month was that they didn’t want him being super-two arbitration eligible come 2019. Snell makes for an excellent grab in mixed leagues (I’d take Paxton first, but it’s close). Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Erasmo Ramirez is going to get his rotation spot back anytime soon.
– If A.J. Reed can string a few more good games together in Triple-A, his callup could come this week. Both Marwin Gonzalez and Tyler White, currently splitting time at first base for the Astros, have OPSs right around .600 for the last month. Reed hasn’t been killing it overall at Fresno, but he has hit .273/.385/.591 over the last week. He’s worth having stashed.
– Brandon Kintzler got the Twins’ first save chance and converted it after the team finally bailed on Kevin Jepsen in the role. I thought Michael Tonkin should have been given the first look, what with Trevor May struggling and now hurt, but it’s also nice to see Kintzler reemerging as a useful reliever after shoulder problems seemed set to wreck his career. Tonkin remains the sleeper here. He hit 98 mph on the gun while striking out David Ortiz in extra innings Sunday.
– The reports were pretty glowing after Tim Lincecum’s gem Sunday for Triple-A Salt Lake, which was expected to be his final start before the Angels call him up, but I remain skeptical that he’ll have any mixed league value at all. It’d be a great story, for sure, but it’s been an awfully long time since he was a quality starter.
NL Notes
– The Diamondbacks had David Peralta, Yasmany Tomas and Brandon Drury to patrol the corners (not to mention Chris Herrmann and Rickie Weeks Jr. in spot duty), so I didn’t even include Peter O’Brien in the potential-callups column a few weeks ago. However, he was brought up Friday and started two of the three games this weekend in left field. I’m not fond of O’Brien’s bat, though I certainly recognize his fantasy potential should he become catcher eligible again at any point (he’s only outfield eligible in traditional leagues right now). O’Brien has legitimate 25- or 30-homer power, but I think it’ll be paired with poor averages, especially poor OBPs and lousy defense anywhere other than maybe first base (which is taken). I don’t see him as an upgrade on the Peralta-Tomas-Drury trio and while the Diamondbacks can play three of the four at the same time by starting Peralta in center, I wouldn’t recommend that, either. O’Brien is only worth picking up in mixed leagues in which he’s catcher eligible. Tomas would seem to be droppable in mixed leagues.
– Michael Bourn figures to get most of the playing time in center over Peralta in Arizona while Chris Owings recovers from a case of plantar fasciitis. Bourn has faded pretty rapidly after a fast start for the club, and he shouldn’t have any value at all in mixed leagues.
– The Pirates’ radio silence regarding Gerrit Cole’s injury doesn’t seem like good news. If he goes on the DL, Jameson Taillon presumably will be called up to replace him in the rotation this week, and Taillon would have the chance to stick around even if Cole’s injury is minor. I’d put Taillon behind Paxton and Snell, but he’s another guy worth owning in mixed leagues. I’m still even more optimistic about Tyler Glasnow, but we’ll have to see what happens there. It looked like Juan Nicasio might not be long for the Pirates rotation before Cole’s injury, and he could yet be bumped if the Pirates think Glasnow is ready (he’s allowed just one earned run in three starts in Triple-A this month, but he’s also walked 11 in 15 innings).
– Vincent Velasquez was going to need a midseason break anyway, so that he left his start Wednesday and was placed on the DL with a biceps strain wasn’t such bad news. After all, he totaled 77 innings in 2014 and 89 in 2015; he wasn’t a candidate to throw 160 this year. Plus, he hadn’t pitched all that well since his ridiculous 16-strikeout shutout on April 14; he had a 4.82 ERA in his last 10 starts. The Phillies can bring him back after the All-Star break and hope that he’ll be stronger then. In the meantime, they’ll take a look at Zach Eflin, who had a 2.90 ERA and a 55/11 K/BB ratio in 68 1/3 IP in Triple-A. They had a better prospect there in Jake Thompson, but Eflin had earned the first opportunity. Elfin has a solid four-pitch mix with a fastball that occasionally reaches 95 mph and a curveball he’s taken a big step forward with. He has a chance to be a pretty useful fourth or fifth starter for the Phillies, though I don’t see it translating into much fantasy value right now.
– I can understand the frustration with a closer who just 12 saves and four blown saves 40 percent of the way through the season. Santiago Casilla, though, also has a 2.84 ERA and a 32/7 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings this season. He’s allowed multiple runs only once, when he gave up two in his second inning of work against Boston last Tuesday. There’s no reason at all for the Giants to consider replacing him. Maybe Hunter Strickland would get the job done, but there’s little benefit to taking him out of the eighth and putting him in the ninth when Casilla would still be easily the best option in the eighth. I’m still more worried about injury than ineffectiveness when it comes to Casilla.
– Instead of turning to veteran Jason Motte with Jake McGee out, the Rockies tried Carlos Estevez in the closer’s role Saturday and he responded with a quick eight-pitch inning for a save. Since Estevez had pitched two straight days and four out of five, it was Boone Logan getting the save Sunday. Still, it looks like Estevez, who throws 95-98 mph with a quality slider, will be the primary closer until McGee returns from knee inflammation.
– Cody Reed could be coming up to join the Reds rotation, even though he isn’t pitching as well lately as he was last month; he’s given up 12 earned runs over 18 innings in his last three starts, taking his ERA from 2.21 to 3.38. As bad as of a situation that Cincinnati is for pitchers right now, I wouldn’t immediately pick up Reed in mixed leagues. He has the talent to be of limited use, even with the lack of help that he’ll get, but my guess is that it doesn’t happen until next year. In NL-only leagues, he’d be worth a try.
