| | | | Thursday, August 1, 2024 | | We're past the trade deadline and into August, and now it's just a dead sprint to the end of the regular season in your H2H points leagues, with just two months left in your Roto leagues as well. And, if you're trying to figure out where the Fantasy landscape has shifted after the deadline -- and maybe want to make a few moves before your own trade deadlines pass -- you'll want to start with my Trade Values Chart here, which has my latest rankings for both H2H and Roto scoring for about the top 200 players or so. | | You can also get a few more opinions by heading to our rankings page, where Scott White and Frank Stampfl's rankings for each position reside alongside my own. While I can't speak for Frank or Scott, I can tell you that Ranger Suarez, Garrett Crochet, Jordan Hicks, and Max Scherzer are all among the biggest fallers in my rankings over the past week. And on the hitting side, Jackson Holliday, Victor Robles, Xavier Edwards, and Miguel Vargas are all among the biggest risers; I'll also add that Pablo Lopez isback in my top 12 after correcting things in the month of July. | | Let's get to the rest of the newsletter, starting with my thoughts on a big-name prospect we're still waiting to get called up, and why I think he remains worth stashing in most leagues: | | | | Thursday's waiver targets | | | | Before we get to the rest of the waiver-wire targets from Wednesday's action, let's start with a speculative add who has to be close to getting the call … right? | | Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo, Scott White's No. 2 prospect remaining in the minors, continues to patiently bide his time, waiting for the call for his MLB debut. It didn't come when the Orioles moved Connor Norby at the trade deadline Tuesday, and it didn't come Wednesday when Jordan Westburg suffered a fractured hand that has his availability for the remainder of the regular season in question – the Orioles called up infielder Livan Soto, acquired in a trade with the Reds Tuesday, instead. | | What more does Mayo have to do at this point? The 22-year-old has played 75 games at Triple-A this season, hitting .293/.366/.578, and now has 32 homers and 114 RBI in 137 career games at Triple-A. He's well-seasoned at this point – I mean, my goodness, I put too much salt on pretty much everything I cook, and even I think the Orioles might be over-seasoning him at this point. There have been plenty of opportunities for them to call Mayo up and it hasn't come yet, which raises several questions that may or may not be fair. Are the Orioles holding Mayo down for service-time related reasons, or do they just not like him as much as everyone else seems to? | | I think the former question is probably more likely to be in the right direction than the latter, and I also think we're very close to the point where it becomes a non-question. The Orioles don't exactly have a pressing need for another bat right now, but this is also absolutely one of the handful of teams with a legitimate chance to win a World Series right now, and they're only 0.5 games up on the Yankees for the NL East, so it's not like they have some gigantic cushion. Their margin for error is pretty wide as far as these things go, but they should be prioritizing winning right now over potentially having an extra year of club control in seven years … right? | | Mayo is rostered in 52% of CBS Fantasy leagues, and I'd go ahead and add him where he isn't right now, in anticipation of a callup at some point soon. It has to be soon … right? | | | | Colton Cowser, OF, Orioles (72%) – Cowser's usage has been a source of some frustration this season, but it's hard to have too many complaints right now. He has started five games and been the leadoff hitter in all five, and he's been mashing since the All-Star break, hitting four homers and combining for 25 runs and RBI, and a couple of steals in 13 games. With this hot streak, I think he's back to being must-add where available. | | Matt Wallner, OF, Twins (13%) – So, here's the tough thing about Wallner: He's been absolutely red hot since getting recalled from the majors, hitting his fifth homer in 15 games Wednesday to push his season OPS all the way to .990. Of course, he's also struck out 43% of the time for the season, a mark he has only lowered to 37% since being recalled. The power is legitimate, but Wallner still strikes out too much to be able to rely on outside of deeper category leagues where you need power specifically. | | Freddy Fermin, C, Royals (6%) – Having Fantasy relevance as a No. 2 catcher is tough, but with Salvador Perez in his mid-30s, there have been increasingly more opportunities for Fermin to play of late, and it's not just with Perez seeing time at DH. Fermin was the DH Wednesday, and he has started six of the past eight games and 15 of 21 since July 4. It helps that Fermin is hitting .345 with an .876 OPS in the month of July, of course, but we're deep into the dog days of summer, and keeping Perez fresh for the playoff run is going to keep Fermin in the lineup more often than not. For a guy hitting .286/.332/.440 since the start of last season, that's enough to keep him relevant as a No. 2 catcher. | | Jake McCarthy, OF, Diamondbacks (14%) – McCarthy is largely forgotten in Fantasy circles, and he still isn't playing quite every day – though he has started eight of 12 since the All-Star break. But he's gotta be forcing the Diamondbacks' hand with his play of late. McCarthy went 3 for 4 Wednesday against the Nationals and is now hitting .294 for the season with 14 steals. The upside here is limited because McCarthy just isn't an everyday player, but if you need speed and batting average, he can certainly provide those two things. | | Calvin Faucher, RP, Marlins (2%) – Faucher didn't get the save Wednesday, but it kinda looks like that was the role, right? Andrew Nardi , one of the expected contenders for saves, worked the sixth inning with a two-run lead, then Anthony Bender (another potential closer) worked the eighth with a four-run lead. Faucher then worked a clean ninth, striking out one on 14 pitches. Now, it wasn't a save situation after the Marlins added two runs in the seventh inning, so maybe it's nothing. But if you're speculating on saves, it seems reasonable enough to assume things are leaning Faucher's way right now, at least. | | | | News and Notes | | Westburg was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured hand, and while Brandon Hyde said he hopes Westburg can be back this season, there's no official timetable. You'll sometimes see guys return from fractured hands after about four weeks, but usually, you're talking about more like a 6-8 week timetable, and that's what I'm going to assume here. If you need a second base replacement, I'd be looking at Jackson Holliday and Xavier Edwards first, while if you need a third baseman, consider Mark Vientos, Michael Busch, or Jake Burger. | | Gerrit Cole played catch without issue Wednesday and is slated to throw a bullpen Friday. If all goes well, Cole will start this weekend against the Blue Jays, likely Sunday. He was scratched from his most recent | | Mookie Betts is participating in batting practice and could return in a couple weeks. It sounds like he'll play in some simulated games soon and could progress rapidly from there. | | Fernando Tatis remains without a clear timeline for a return, though he is expected to play again this season. When? Well, A.J. Preller doesn't really know: "We expect him to be back. Exactly when? That's something we've still got to get more information from our doctors. But every report I've gotten has been really positive." | | Brandon Nimmo exited after fouling a ball off his left foot. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Nimmo is day-to-day after x-rays came back negative. | | Christian Yelich said it's not 100% certain that he will undergo offseason back surgery, and if he does, he doesn't believe his availability for the start of 2025 would be in jeopardy. He's trying to return this season without surgery, but I'm pretty skeptical about how much we can expect at this point. | | Luis Rengifo exited Wednesday's game after re-injuring his wrist. He missed time earlier in July with that same injury, so that's concerning. | | Joe Musgrove will make a rehab appearance on Sunday. Musgrove threw 40 pitches in a two-inning simulated game Tuesday and has now been cleared for game action. He's been out since late May due to a bone spur and a bone bruise in his right elbow and will likely need at least a few tune-up starts before he can return. | | Kenley Jansen apparently tweaked his lower back during Wednesday's game against the Mariners. | | Triston Casas started his rehab assignment at Triple-A on Tuesday. If all goes well the rest of this week, we could see him back next week. He's available in about 20% of CBS Fantasy leagues, so go check your waiver wire to make sure he's not out there. | | Starling Marte will report to Single-A Monday to begin a rehab assignment. | | Dave Roberts said Max Muncy "crossed a hurdle" after visiting a chiropractor and is scheduled to start taking swings Thursday. Muncy has been out since mid-May due to an oblique strain. | | Lance Lynn was placed on the IL with right knee inflammation. Andre Pallante will remain in the Cardinals' rotation as a result. | | Yusei Kikuchi will make his Astros debut Friday against the Rays. | | Frankie Montas will make his Brewers debut Friday against the Nationals. | | Michael Lorenzen will make his Royals debut Saturday against the Tigers. Alec Marsh was optioned back to Triple-A to make room for Lorenzen. | | Paul Blackburn will make his Mets debut Friday against the Angels. Tylor Megill has been moved to the bullpen. | | The Marlins optioned Connor Norby to Triple-A, which is pretty annoying. He's not such a sure thing that you have to keep him stashed. | | Edward Cabrera is expected to make his next start Sunday after testing on his left knee came back clean. | | Jorge Polanco was removed from the game due to knee issues. | | The Braves optioned Nacho Alvarez back to Triple-A and started Whit Merrifield at second base Wednesday. | | The Braves also optioned Bryce Elder to Triple-A after a strong start on Tuesday. | | The Dodgers optioned Justin Wrobleski to Triple-A. | | Wednesday's standouts | | Pablo Lopez, Twins @NYM: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K – Lopez hasn't quite been dominant lately, but he hasn't been far off. Since giving up six runs on July 5 to balloon his ERA to 5.18 for the season, Lopez has allowed just seven runs in 25 innings of work, with 26 strikeouts to six walks allowed. It's very good production, and we have every reason to think he'll be able to keep it up the rest of the way. I moved Lopez back into my top 12 at SP this week. | | Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks vs. WAS: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K – Gallen just hasn't looked quite right lately, so it was nice to see a return to form Wednesday. The one walk was especially promising, as Gallen had walked nine in his previous two starts – his six strikeouts also matched his high for a July start. It was a tough month for Gallen, and the fact that it came off his return from the IL in late June meant we couldn't just write it off entirely. But this was more like what we expect from Gallen, so let's hope he builds on it. | | Framber Valdez , Astros vs. PIT: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 10 K – That's now three starts in his past four with double-digit strikeouts for Valdez, and here's how rare that is for him: If we include the postseason, he had three double-digit strikeout starts in his previous 32 outings before this stretch. Valdez led with his curveball Wednesday and generated a whopping 15 of his 21 swinging strikes with it, and that seems to be the key of late, as he has thrown his curveball 181 times in July, compared to 191 sinkers; in June, he threw his sinker twice as often as the curveball, for some context. There are always trade-offs when you change your approach that much, but Valdez hasn't really faced any so far – his control has actually been better since he started prioritizing his curveball, and he gave up just two homers in July. I don't think Valdez is suddenly an elite strikeout pitcher, but this change in approach is certainly a welcome one after he had some bumpy stretches in May and June. | | Taj Bradley, Rays vs. MIA: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K – Bradley is still prone to giving up hard contact, but that really wasn't that big of an issue in this one – he gave up a couple of homers, yes, but with just five hard-hit balls total on 13 balls in play. This is a frustrating performance against one of the two or three most beatable matchups in the league, but given how good Bradley has been before this, I'm not too concerned about it. | | Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies vs. NYY: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K – The Yankees suddenly look like a tough matchup again, and I think that's mostly what explains this one. But it's been a weird stretch for Sanchez lately. The strikeouts and whiffs were there Wednesday, but he had just four strikeouts in his previous two combined games and leaves the month of July behind with a 6.59 ERA in five starts. I feel pretty confident that Sanchez will bounce back, especially since I don't have a good explanation for his struggles, but it's been a tough stretch for sure. He will definitely need to rediscover his slider, after throwing it just nine times and giving up three batted balls with an average exit velocity of 103.6 mph in this one. | | Nick Lodolo, Reds vs. CHC: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – The problem for Lodolo recently has been his curveball, but he actually got six whiffs and generated mostly weak contact with it in this one, so that doesn't explain it. And, in some ways, that's actually more concerning, because at least the curveball's struggles lately could explain his struggles; that isn't true in this one. I tend to have faith he'll figure it out, and Lodolo certainly has too much upside to consider dropping. But you probably can't start him right now. | | Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers @SD: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K – For the first time in 424 career MLB starts, Kershaw failed to record a strikeout. His velocity was down from his debut, and he generated just two whiffs in the disappointing outing. Kershaw looked pretty good in his debut, but he really didn't have anything in this one, and this is more what I was worried he might look like coming off shoulder surgery. I'm not dropping him, but I'm not starting him until he shows us something more. | | Mackenzie Gore, Nationals @ARI: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – I am perfectly fine with dropping Gore, who looked like a breakout early in the season and now looks completely lost. There's clearly talent here, but Gore's velocity is way down recently – 1.5 mph down from his season average today – and hasn't really been effective since May. I think the simplest explanation is that he's just lost his mechanics with a complicated delivery, but whatever the explanation, you can't use Gore right now. It's a shame. | | Drew Thorpe, White Sox vs. KC: 5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K – I don't want to give up on Thorpe in the long term, but I see no real reason to roster him in most Fantasy leagues at this point. Even when he was succeeding – he had a 3.03 ERA just two starts ago! – Thorpe wasn't generating many strikeouts, because he just doesn't have a viable swing-and-miss pitch against major leaguers beyond his changeup. I could see a Gavin Stone-esque breakout next season, but he needs the rest of his arsenal to catch up to the changeup, and until he shows signs of that, he's an easy drop in all leagues. | | | | | | | | Canadian Football League | | The Early Edge | Spend your Saturday with Canadian Football on CBS Sports Network. Watch the Edmonton Elks take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders this Saturday at 7 PM ET.
Watch Live
| | Welcome to The Early Edge! The No. 1 daily sports betting show and podcast powered by SportsLine + CBS Sports. If you’re looking for today’s best bets in a fast-paced fun environment, we’re the show for you.
Listen Now
|
| | | | |
|
|
