| | | | Tuesday, September 10, 2024 | | When the Yankees announced they were calling top prospect Jasson Dominguez up – finally, at long last, after literal months of teeth gnashing and garment-rending from Yankees fans and the Fantasy Baseball community alike – it seemed all but assured that he would be the most exciting prospect promotion of the season's final few weeks. | | After all, we're talking about a guy who has been one of the most-hyped prospects in baseball since he was high-school aged; a guy nicknamed "The Martian" who has an electric skill set that could make him an all-around Fantasy superstar and who had already hit four homers in just eight games at the major-league level last season. If anyone should be capable of hitting the ground running and helping decide some Fantasy championships, it should be this guy. | | But I'm not even sure he's the most exciting prospect promotion we've learned about in the past 24 hours. | | Don't get me wrong: Dominguez is expected to play everyday for the Yankees moving forward, and should be added in at least all category-based leagues for his potent power/speed combination in what should be a very good lineup. But I think Kumar Rocker might be the even more impactful promotion now that the Rangers are calling him up, as well. | | | | Partially, this is just because of the nature of young pitching vs. young hitting right now: Pitchers just seem to be having an easier time making the leap from the minors to the majors these days. But I also think there's a chance Rocker is just the more exciting prospect right now, which says a lot given how much he's had to come back from and how exciting Dominguez is himself. | | Rocker, you might recall, was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft, when the Mets picked him and couldn't come to an agreement on a contract due to medical red flags. Unsigned, Rocker pitched some independent ball in 2022, had shoulder surgery, and was then still picked third overall by the Rangers the following year, where he made it through just 28 pretty rocky innings in High-A before having Tommy John surgery in 2023, rendering him a largely forgotten man even among prospect hounds entering this season. | | But he has put himself back on the map in a big way since his return from the injury this season. Across 36.2 innings of work, he has struck out 39.6% of opposing hitters, including an absolutely bonkers 51.4% in his two starts at Triple-A. In his now-final start at Triple-A, Rocker averaged 97.9 mph with his fastball and generated 12 whiffs on 17 swings with his slider, while also showing a changeup that should at least keep hitters honest. | | From a stuff perspective, it sure looks like an ace's repertoire, and we'll get to see it in action when he makes his debut Thursday against the Mariners, which is an awfully exciting landing spot – despite a trade deadline designed to alleviate their deep swing-and-miss issues, the Mariners still have the highest strikeout rate in MLB history for a team outside of the shortened 2020 season. It's always risky to start a player in his MLB debut, but Rocker has been so dominant this season that I would be willing to take that risk against the Mariners. | | And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he put together a run here over his final three or four starts that has us talking about Rocker as a potential superstar in 2025. The upside has always been there, and now that he's healthy, he's showing it off. Both Rocker and Dominguez should be high-priority adds in all leagues for the stretch run, but I might just be even a bit more excited about Rocker than Dominguez. | | | | Tuesday's waiver targets | | | | Thomas Saggese, 2B, Cardinals (4%) – The other prospect call-up of note from early this week, Saggese is expected to make his MLB debut Tuesday after turning his season around at Triple-A this summer. Saggese has hit .291/.351/.524 with 12 homers in 55 games since July 1, and could see some consistent opportunities at second base if Brendan Donovan misses time with a foot injury. Saggese isn't a can't-miss prospect, and his Fantasy upside is in question thanks to limited base-stealing production so far, but he's worth a look in deeper leagues to see if he can catch lightning in a bottle. | | Austin Wells , C, Yankees (55%) – There have been some playing time limitations for Wells, but it seems like it has gone out of the window lately, as Wells has now started nine of the past 11 games for the Yankees. And he has continued to hit well as a core part of the team's lineup of late, hitting .309 with six homers and 28 RBI in 28 games as the team's cleanup hitter. And that's a role he has held on to even as the lineup around him has gotten healthier, a sign of how much the Yankees value Wells. He has the underlying data to back it up, too, so I think Wells should just be viewed as a starting-caliber Fantasy option in all formats down the stretch. And a potential top-10 one for 2025. | | Reid Detmers, SP, Angels (32%) – We've been fooled by Detmers more than once in the past, so your skepticism is not unwarranted. But he's looked pretty good in his first two starts back from Triple-A, and has especially seemed to rediscover his slider, something that has been a key for him throughout his career. When Detmers' slider is dominating, he tends to be pretty good, and his slider was dominant Monday, generating nine whiffs and a 38% CSW rate, elite numbers. There's been some hard contact along the way (94.7 mph average exit velocity in this one), but Detmers now has 18 strikeouts to four earned runs allowed in 12 innings since coming back, and could continue to be a really solid starting option down the stretch … which would just make valuing him for 2025 even more difficult. But we'll worry about that in October and beyond. | | Nick Martinez, SP, Reds (22%) – Martinez is one player I don't have a ton of long-term expectations for, but if you're looking for some streaming help down the stretch, he's pitching extremely well right now. He limited hard contact well Monday against the Braves, allowing just 83.1 mph average exit velocity against, and ended up with seven shutout innings in a win. He has a 3.12 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in eight starts since returning to the rotation, and seems to be finding a way to get it done even without robust strikeout numbers. His next two starts come against the Twins and Pirates, both of whom are pretty exploitable matchups, too. | | Joey Cantillo, SP, Guardians (2%) – Things have gone kind of sideways on Cantillo over the past couple of seasons after a really good start to his professional career, but one thing he has always done well is rack up strikeouts, and Monday was the first time that showed up in the majors. Facing the admittedly overmatched White Sox, Cantillo pitched seven innings with just one run allowed and racked up 10 strikeouts. He had a 29.8% strikeout rate and 3.29 ERA at Triple-A this season, so the stuff is clearly there, and the Guardians have a well-deserved reputation for maximizing their pitchers, so if you wanted to make a bet on Cantillo in a deeper league, I think that's advisable. | | | | News and Notes | | Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to throw another bullpen on Tuesday, followed by a simulated game Friday. He might have enough time to make one or two starts in the majors if all goes well, but it'll be close. | | Vladimir Guerrero was seen limping to the dugout after fouling a ball off his left foot, but was able to remain in the game. He was sent for X-rays but, thankfully, they came back negative. | | The Cubs are hopeful Justin Steele will be cleared to throw a bullpen session at some point during the current road trip, which runs until Sunday in Colorado. | | He went on the IL with left elbow tendonitis last week, and feels like a long-shot to return at this point. | | Teoscar Hernandez was out of the lineup again, and has now missed three straight due to a left ankle contusion. | | JT Realmuto remained out of the lineup Monday due to a left knee contusion. He's aiming to return Friday. | | The Braves placed Travis d'Arnaud on the paternity list. | | The Twins placed Christian Vazquez on the paternity list. | | Paul Blackburn was scratched from his start Monday due to a back issue. Tylor Megill started in his place. | | DJ LeMahieu was placed on the IL with a right hip impingement. | | Tuesday's standouts | | Paul Skenes, Pirates vs. MIA: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K – There has been some concern about the Pirates limiting Skenes down the stretch, but that wasn't an issue in this one. He threw 98 pitches against the Marlins and was given the room to finish off the quality start, as he continues to build his Rookie of the Year case. And, with just two starts out of 20 allowing more than two earned runs, he's also continuing to build his case for a top-five ranking at SP next season. And maybe higher. Last time out, Skenes leaned on the changeup for a bunch of whiffs, but this time, it was the fastball and splitter that dominated; that slider is also very capable of generating a bunch of whiffs, too. It's an all-around dominant arsenal, and don't be shocked if some people are taking Skenes as the No. 1 SP in Fantasy next season. | | Carlos Rodon, Yankees vs. KC: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K – Rodon continues to be fine, more or less. He had the whole arsenal working for whiffs in this one, but made enough mistakes to settle for just the quality start. He's been a much better pitcher in the second half of the season, sporting a 3.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 69 strikeouts over 51.1 innings of work, but that has still come with plenty of inconsistency, with five quality starts in nine tries. The upside is still there, he just isn't that consistent ace anymore. | | Christopher Sanchez, Phillies vs. TB: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – My Fantasy Baseball Today colleagues have expressed some frustration with Sanchez at times lately, mostly, I think, because of some start-to-start inconsistency. That's fair, but on the whole, I have to say I've been very pleased with his game this season. Sure, it'd be nice to see more consistent strikeout upside, but that isn't his game; his game is pitching to contact and keeping walks to a minimum, and for the most part, he has excelled; his 3.33 ERA is backed up by a 3.49 xERA. There have been stretches where Sanchez looked like he might be taking a leap to true ace levels, but I never expected that, and I'm pretty happy with the season he has put together at this point. | | Charlie Morton, Braves vs. CIN: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K – Morton is starting to pitch a bit better lately, putting up a 2.88 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 34.1 innings of work over his past six starts. Of course, that also comes with a 1.34 WHIP and less than six innings per start even in that good stretch, so the limitations are fairly obvious here. He's fine, but I remain surprised by how widely rostered he has been all season – he's 90% rostered right now! | | Brayan Bello, Red Sox vs. BAL: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K – At 25, Bello is still young enough to put it all together, but at this point, I think I'm betting against it. He looked great in August, to be fair, putting up a 3.00 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 30 innings, but even in that stretch, he walked 14 and mostly relied on unsustainable results on balls in play. The command remains an issue, and while both his slider and changeup look like pretty good swing-and-miss pitches, he doesn't put himself in two-strike situations consistently enough to take advantage of them. I'd like to see Bello experiment with swapping his sinker for his four-seamer more consistently, because that has been the much better pitch for him this season. Until he makes some kind of sustainable change, though, I'm going to keep betting against him being much more than a streamer for Fantasy. | | Walker Buehler, Dodgers vs. CHC: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – At this point, it would only be noteworthy if Buehler actually had a good start. His deep and varied arsenal just isn't playing up right now, and the adjustment he made to prioritize his four-seamer and knuckle-curve in this one clearly didn't solve things. I might be able to talk myself into Buehler as a late-round sleeper for 2025, but he has no business being rostered in most leagues at this point. | | David Festa, Twins vs. LAA: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K – Festa had been pitching well lately, with a 3.21 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 28 innings since the start of August entering this start, but he clearly isn't a finished product yet, either. This was an especially disappointing showing, given the matchup, and his fastball was the primary culprit – he gave up a 98.5 mph average exit velocity on six balls in play. I still like Festa's long-term upside, but I don't think you can trust him in a matchup against the Red Sox in Week 26. | | | | | | | | WNBA | | College Football | The Liberty sit comfortably at the top of the WNBA, but can the Wings pull off an upset. Find out tonight at 8 PM ET on CBS Sports Network!
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