It’s apparently try-something-new-in-the-outfield week, with the D-backs turning to Ryan Waldschmidt, the A’s calling on Bolte and the Mets giving A.J. Ewing a look. Eric and James covered Waldschmidt over the weekend, but I’m going to touch on the other two here.
FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Henry Bolte (OF Athletics) – Rostered in 14 percent of Yahoo leagues
The 22-year-old Bolte was the Athletics’ second-rounder in 2022. Toolsy but very strikeout prone, he didn’t get much love initially as a prospect, but he did show some improvement between Double- and Triple-A last year, and he really impressed in hitting .348/.400/.632 for the A’s this spring. Now he’s joining the major league club after batting .348/.418/.659 with 12 homers and 17 steals for Triple-A Las Vegas. He struck out just 22 percent of the time, down from 29 percent last year and 35 perfect in 2024.
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Bolte’s biggest flaw now might be just how rarely he gets the ball into the air. It’s really pretty amazing that he had 12 homers considering his 58 percent groundball rate in Triple-A. His 44 percent home run-per-flyball rate was about four times higher than the major league average. Bolte’s exit velocity numbers are solid, but they don’t back up him posting strong power numbers right away in the majors. However, he will have his ballpark working for him. Sutter Health Park has played almost as well as Coors Field for right-handed hitters since the A’s moved there last year.
The ballpark is a big reason it’s worth giving Bolte a try in mixed leagues, at least on teams in need of speed. Maybe he won’t play against every right-hander with Carlos Cortes off to such a fantastic start. Lawrence Butler has been bad, but he’s also been a little unlucky and the A’s aren’t likely to bail on him and his long-term extension. Still, it’s not going to be a Bryce Eldridge situation. Bolte is an elite basestealer, having gone 61-for-65 since the beginning of last year. He might wind up back in the minors at some point, but he has the most fantasy upside of this trio of callups.
A.J. Ewing (OF Mets) – Rostered in 14 percent of Yahoo leagues
Ewing is debuting at just 21. The 134th pick in the 2023 draft, he’s consistently been one of the most patient hitters in the minors since debut, having walked 14.4 percent of the time and struck out 21.8 percent of the time. Once Ewing reaches base, he’s often going to advance an extra 90 feet without any help. He’s 17-for-18 stealing bases this year. He was 70-for-81 in 124 games last season.
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Ewing was hitting .339/.447/.514 with two homers in his 30 games between Double- and Triple-A. Some of his “power” is simply a product of his legs turning singles into doubles, but his exit velocity numbers aren’t bad. He’s not going to hit many homers in the short term, but maybe in a couple of years, he’ll have the potential to get 15 or so per season. He’s probably not ready to hit major league left-handers, so Tyrone Taylor should get some starts over him in those situations.
It doesn’t look like the Mets are getting Luis Robert Jr. back from injury any time soon. Ewing figures to have at least the month to show what he can do, and if he thrives, then he could stick in the outfield and the Mets would use Robert and Juan Soto more at DH. Most likely, he’ll be average at best offensively for now, but if he can hit .250, the speed might make him useful. He has a lower ceiling than Bolte, but he is in the better playing time situation for the short term.
Ben Brown (SP Cubs) – Rostered in nine percent of Yahoo leagues
Going into the season, it looked like the Cubs might have enough rotation depth to allow Brown to settle into a setup role in a potentially dynamic tandem with Daniel Palencia at the end of games. And then Cade Horton went down, Justin Steele had a setback in his elbow surgery rehab and Matthew Boyd messed up his knee playing with his kids. After 12 relief appearances in which he amassed a fine 2.10 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, Brown made his first start Friday, throwing four hitless innings against the Rangers. It suggests he’s going to be in the rotation for a good while.
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Brown had a 6.30 ERA in his 15 starts last year, so it’s understandable why fantasy leaguers have been wary so far. However, adding a sinker and giving hitters two fastballs to worry about has been a gamechanger for him. Not only has the sinker been effective, but it’s presence has made his four-seamer considerably better. His changeup is well below average and rarely seen, so last year, hitters could just immediately identify four-seamer or curveball out of his hand. They don’t have that luxury any longer.
Brown will lose a little velocity as he gets back to throwing 90-plus pitches per game. While adding the sinker should definitely help in the ERA department, it has left him with less strikeout potential. Also, as nice as it was to see him put up the four hitless innings in his first start, it was against a weak Texas lineup in what’s become a terrible environment for hitters in Globe Life Field. Still, it seems like things are going to be different for Brown this time around as a starter. He probably won’t outduel Chris Sale while he’s facing the Braves on Thursday, but starting next week, he should be a worthy choice in mixed leagues for at least a spell.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
– Although I have more faith in Graham Ashcraft, Pierce Johnson would seem to be the Reds reliever to roster with Emilio Pagán down. Johnson’s flyball tendencies are scary, especially in such a hitter friendly ballpark in Cincinnati, but he has made a habit of never giving up as many homers as it seems like he should.
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– No one in the Giants bullpen rates as a great pickup, but I’m still going with Caleb Kilian as my choice of the bunch. The return of Erik Miller from the injured list is going to add even more competition there. Kilian hasn’t been as sharp lately as he was at the start of the year; he struck out 14 in his first 10 innings this season but only four in eight innings since.