That’s What I Like: Ben Brown, Simeon Woods-Richardson, David Fry

What’s up, Slaminators? Did you know that the RazzSlam FAAB deadline is tomorrow? I did! I know this because I’ve had a tab open on my computer for weeks informing me that I better not miss FAAB, “or else Grey will smoosh you.” I don’t know how he’s going to smoosh me through the computer, but I dare you Grey! Come at me!

Speaking of, how’s my RazzSlam team doing? At least good enough to get through the cutline, although my pitching has been largely decimated by injuries. Guess who my second-highest scoring pitcher is? Brady Singer. Yeesh. All of this is fine — there’s a lot of baseball left to play. Let’s see if we can find anybody to add to your team and save your fantasy dreams:

That’s What I Like:

Ben Brown: (CHC, P, 32% Rostered): I’m going to freaking broken-record this thing until y’all start listening: add Ben Brown. B^2 (which isn’t actually saving any space to write it that way) got the nod for a start this week and threw 7IP with 10Ks and 2 walks. Also, zero hits and zero runs. This is the third consecutive week that I’ve highlighted BB, and I’ll keep doing it until he gets 100% rostership. Sure, the Titanic can sink, the Cybertruck can fail, and Ben Brown can come back to earth. But in the past month, BB has a 13.5 K/9 rate with a 0.48 ERA and a 1.11 FIP/2.12 SIERA. Even if he regresses quickly — and it’s going to happen, don’t kid yourself — he’s still doing things that are Top 10-SP kinds of things. “But what about ease of schedule…” you mutter, your mouth filled with leftover Memorial Day coleslaw and beans. Dude, he’s faced the Braves and Brewers the majority of those outings. Henry Aaron is actively trying to get out of his grave to help his former teams battle against Ben Brown. 70% of your leagues can add B^2 for free. I dunno what you’re waiting for. Father’s Day sale? I mean, if you want to call me daddy while I’m adding him for $2 in RazzSlam and laughing my way to the championship, I mean, you do you. Everybody else, add Brown and put him somewhere in your RP/P slots and just let his magic happen for as long as it’ll continue.

Simeon Woods-Richardson (MIN, P, 45% Rostered): Being a fantasy writer is easy — just write about the top prospects of every team getting their chance to play! I’m not going to lie — I haven’t covered SW-R in this column because I assumed he was 100% rostered. Fast forward to June and he’s available in 50% of leagues and rolling with a 1.80 ERA/3.21 FIP over his past three starts (not including the 12.5 K/9 gem he’s throwing at the time of writing). SW-R needs some time to develop and his profile isn’t of an immediate impact fantasy arm. However, the Twins are gonna need him for their trademark second half surge, and a SW-R with a 9 K/9 rate who is racking up IP in the second half could be a great add for your team.

David Fry (CLE, C/OF, 88% Rostered): A player with catcher eligibility who is on pace for 50 homers and a .700 SLG on the year? Sign me up! And what’s best is that he’s also slowly accumulating 1B/3B playing time, which means that he could very well be C/1B/3B/OF by the All Star Break. That is like a best ball wet dream. 10% of y’all can get Fry right this moment for free, and he’s batting in the middle of a Cleveland lineup that has somehow climbed its way into playoff relevancy. I wish I had something negative to say about Fry, but the guy is literally walking at a 17% rate with a 24% line drive rate. Sure, his barrel rate is pedestrian and his BABIP looks like Ted Williams. There’s going to be some regression. But what’s best? Fry has legs and has sneakily worked 4 steals into his platform. If the guy maintains his roster position, he could be a 25/15 player by the end of the year without over-performing. If he over performs, we’re talking 30/20 with a .300 average, which is a first round draft pick. Did I mention the part where you can get this Fry deal for nearly free in 10% of leagues right now? Super size me! (And don’t quote Morgan Spurlock rn)

I’m The Problem – It’s Me

Wyatt Langford (TEX, OF, 100% Rostered): I love me some articles by The Itch, and I’ve used his advice to great success. In my dynasty leagues. Dynasty leagues require years of planning. Myself, I’m focused on getting your team to the championship this year. I don’t care if Wyatt Langford is the ABBA of prospects and will be great in 5 years. That’s Itch’s domain. I care whether you’re going to make your fantasy playoffs in 12 weeks. And you know who is right next to Zack Gelof in terms of “Worst Fantasy Baseballer on the Player Rater who isn’t injured or playing 1/10th of the time or Nolan Jones?” It’s Wyatt Langford. Rookies get outmatched really easily when they make the jump to the big leagues. Happens in all sports. Caitlin Clark is going through it right now. So is Wyatt Langford. Sometimes there are signs of bad luck that we can overlook. But Langford? His K rate is getting worse, and he’s totaled 5 extra base hits on the year in nearly 150 AB. I think it was 2 weeks ago when I cited Adam Wainwright’s career ISO as a pitcher, and it was like .090 or something. Langford’s ISO on the 2024 season is .061. Yeah. Adam Wainwright as a pitcher batting was a bigger threat to a baseball than Wyatt Langford right now. Dynasty fans — hold on to your Langford roster spots because he’ll come around in time. But my redraft audience — y’all gotta go with some of the hot hands out there. Guys like David Fry are free on the wire with pending position eligibility in nearly every roster spot — it’s time to let go of Langford.