Hello deep leaguers, and happy Memorial Day weekend! It’s an odd time in the baseball year; in a way it still feels like it just started, but most teams have played more than 50 games at this point, so in actuality we’re almost one-third of the way through the season. SO much can happen from now until October… but will it? Players still have time to get promoted or return from injury, slow starters have time to turn things around, and there could be many guys who aren’t even rostered on fantasy teams right now who ultimately contribute weeks if not months of production. That’s what I’m telling myself, at least, in my leagues that are off to a less than ideal April and May, as I grind on. Sure, in some deeper leagues I realize that we’re far enough into the year where a rise from the bottom to the top of the standings may already be near impossible, but as always that won’t stop us from looking for improvements anywhere we can find them. Speaking of which, time to check in on this week’s list of players who may be available and of interest to those of us in deep or extra deep leagues.
AL
Johnathan Rodriguez. When it comes to return on your fantasy investment, O.G. J-Rod has been so disappointing so far this year that it won’t take much for this deep league J-Rod to raise the bar in comparison. The Guardians outfield has had a bit of a patchwork quilt feel to it since Steven Kwan got hurt, and as he continues to heal they’ve sewn in at least one new square in the form of Rodriguez, who made his major league debut this week. The 24 year old has started in right field the first two games since his call up, which is of at least momentary interest to those of us searching for AL-only outfield at bats. He was hitting .276 (.389 OBP) with 7 homers and 4 steals on the farm, and his promotion prompted Cleveland to DFA Ramon Laureano, so we’ll see how he does with the opportunity.
Seth Brown. I’m sitting here remembering how high I was on Brown as a very deep league sleeper heading into last season, which let’s just say did not work out particularly well. I’d given up on him by this draft season, and so far he hasn’t done much to prove me wrong with a .192 average in his 120 at bats, playing almost exclusively against righties for the A’s. I’m mentioning him, though, as he’s been making just enough of a counting stat contribution of late (he’s up to 5 homers on the year, 2 of which came this week). His potential speed/power combo should play in deeper leagues, warranting a roster spot in deep AL-only leagues, and I’ve seen him getting streamed in 15-team RCL type formats. (Two more hits and a steal for Brown while batting cleanup on Thursday, for what that’s worth…)
Xzavion Curry. Is it just me, or am I seeing multiple starters every day getting pulled at 4 1/3 or 4 2/3 innings? If relievers end up with more wins than starters this year, perhaps my dream of the wins category as we know it being eliminated from both real and fantasy baseball will finally come true. Anyhow, Curry was pulled after getting 13 outs against the Mets on Tuesday after going 5 innings in his first start this year, and through all of that he has allowed just one run. He has just 5 strikeouts in those 9.1 innings and was getting absolutely obliterated in the minors before his call up, however. Also, if he does stick in the rotation for now with Carlos Carrasco on the IL, his next start would line up in Colorado, so red flags abound here. Still, an opportunity is an opportunity, should you be so desperate for pitching that you need to throw whatever you can find at the wall to see if anything sticks.
Corey Julks. In what was an under the radar acquisition to say the least, about a week ago Julks joined the Chicago White Sox after having spent the first chunk of the season in the minors for the Astros. The White Sox, as you may have heard, are not a very good team this year, but one thing that they do offer more of than some other teams, is playing time for the mediocre player. The latest groundhog day-like Eloy Jimenez injury news has opened up even more PT, so as long as we’re at it, let’s mention Zach deLoach, who was recalled on Wednesday, and Dominic Fletcher as fellow pale hose who may see some at bats. Back to Julks, he’s started three of his first fives games since he’s been up with Chicago, and has made a great impression so far going 4 for 10 with a homer and two steals.
NL
Ji-Hwan Bae. If you didn’t get the memo, Bae is healthy and back on the Pirates major league roster. Since he’s a speedy runner who can pile up steals in a hurry when he’s getting the opportunity and hitting halfway decently, he immediately becomes a deep league option even with limited playing time. The Pirates outfield is sort of weirdly crowded (side note: when the Royals traded Edward Olivares to the Bucs, did they include a clause in his contract that his new team would also be obligated to give him inconsistent playing time and try to do anything in their power to hinder his development?), plus Rowdy Tellez is evidently still on the team for some reason. If he ends up platooning with a slumpy Michael A. Taylor, though, Bae will be the strong side of said platoon at least, though it should also be noted that he’s hit 9th in his starts, which doesn’t exactly boost his value further. (Huh… got an alert that Jack Suwinski was demoted as I was writing this blurb. So that outfield is not quite as crowded as it was 40 seconds ago.)
Darius Vines. I’m not terribly excited about what Vines will bring to the fantasy table after being recalled by the Braves, but it’s still worth mentioning that he’s the winner of the “who will replace the disastrous and now demoted Bryce Elder on the roster” sweepstakes. Vines hasn’t exactly been lights out in his big league opportunities himself, and he may pitch in relief depending on how the Braves want to fill (or not fill) that 5th spot in the rotation. But it seems like they are bound to go on a successful tear sooner or later, so if Vines ends up being in the right place at the right time for a hot team, there’s a greater than zero chance he could make an occasional positive contribution.
Nick Martini/Jacob Hurtubise. Hurtubise started his major league career with the Reds 2 for his first 13 without an RBI, but it’s always fun to include a 0% owned player in these lists so he gets that shout out after his first productive game, which occurred on Thursday. It was of mild interest, I thought, that in addition to going 1 for 2 with a run scored, an RBI, and a steal, he also led off for the second time this week. We all know that the Reds have had to reach much further down their depth chart than planned already this year, but if Jake Fraley is now healthy one would think Hurtubise may be expendable, so it’s a little confusing how it all fits together given the continued presence of yet another left-handed outfielder in Will Benson. Wait, though, we’re not done yet… one Nick Martini, also a lefty, is back with the club as well, and had a big game himself on Thursday with a couple of hits including a homer, plus a steal. Rostering all four of these guys, even in a deep, daily change NL-only league, seems even dumber than an actual team rostering all four of them on their major league squad at the same time, but it’s one of those situations that we in the very deepest of leagues may need to pay more attention to than we’d like.
Heliot Ramos. Ramos already feels like a post-hype prospect, but he’s still just 24 so I suppose he’s more like a prospect who’s gotten a few cups of coffee over the last couple of seasons but never a full-fledged opportunity. Those past cups of coffee did not go too well, but he’s already making a positive impact in his current opportunity for the Giants. Even with Jorge Soler back from the IL, they’re banged up enough to keep Ramos in the lineup of late, and in his 50 at bats he’s hitting .280 with a homer, 8 RBI, and a steal. I guess I was still feeling burned from last year’s late September, 0-for-8 call up in my NL-only league where even an RBI or two would have made a difference in my league standings. That was a silly reason to avoid him this year, as I now wish I’d grabbed him when I had the opportunity as we see if he can stick on the roster and continue to produce this summer.
