FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Brett Baty (1B/2B/3B/OF Mets): Rostered in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues
It took Baty longer to get going than anyone would have liked. but he does seem to have turned the corner while hitting .293 with two homers, eight RBI and six walks in his last 12 games. And he’s doing that while playing regularly against lefties, not because he’s succeeding against them but because the Mets just don’t have any better options. Their injury issues, which have led to Baty batting fourth and fifth against righties, definitely play a role in making Baty a smart pickup at this time.
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There was some genuine optimism about Baty coming into the year after he hit .291 with nine homers in the second half of last year and improved his exit velocity numbers. He hasn’t really built on any of that so far, but he’s still showing 84th percentile bat speed while maintaining the improvement in his chase rate. There’s still too much swing-and-miss in his game, but he has the power to make up for it, if only his 10 barrels so far had translated into more than three homers. There really ought to be more doubles and homers on the way with his groundball rate right around the league average; he’s at 43 percent right now after coming into the year at 52 percent lifetime.
Also making Baty attractive is his wealth of position eligibility. He’s added first base and outfield to the mix this year after starting 60 games at third base and 46 at second base last season. It’s too bad for him that the Mets play in a tough ballpark and aren’t providing a lot of run and RBI opportunities at the moment, but full-time at-bats from Baty as both an MI and a CI option make him worth rostering right now.
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Gage Jump (SP Athletics): Rostered in 11 percent of Yahoo leagues
Two years after being drafted 73rd overall out of LSU, Jump is set to make his major league debut Tuesday against the Mariners. The 24-year-old struck out one-third of the batters he faced in nine starts for Triple-A Las Vegas, amassing a 56/20 K/BB in 38 innings. He had a 4.50 ERA, but that’s fine in a very tough environment for pitchers.
Jump’s short-arm delivery produces 94-98 mph fastballs and very good mid-80s sliders. His split-change lacks much movement, so he’ll start his major league career leaning on his top two pitches. If the command is there, the two offerings will make him an above average starter right away. However, his walk rate is up to 11.8 percent this year after coming in at 7.4 percent at lower levels last year. Before throwing seven scoreless innings last time out, he’d topped out at 4 2/3 innings in his first eight starts for Las Vegas. Part of that was because the A’s were handling him carefully, but it was also true that it was taking him about 80 pitches to get through four innings. On May 8, he threw 103 pitches to get 14 outs.
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Maybe Jump actually did turn the corner after that May 8 outing against the St. Paul Saints. He’d thrown 11 scoreless innings with a 15/1 K/BB since. He’s overwhelmed lefties all year, limiting them to a .118 average. Righties, though, have hit .296 off him, and one can be sure MLB teams will set their lineups accordingly. With the Athletics’ temporary home in Sacramento playing as an extreme hitter’s park, Jump seems too risky to try in mixed leagues right now.
Daniel Lynch IV (RP Royals): Rostered in five percent of Yahoo leagues
After giving up three runs and throwing 32 pitches against the Mariners on Sunday, Lucas Erceg should not have been back on the mound for the Royals trying to protect a one-run lead against the Yankees on Monday. But there he was, and though the Yankees did not hit the ball particularly hard against him, he gave up two more runs to take his second loss and fourth blown save of the year. He has a 5.06 ERA and a poor 18/13 K/BB in 21 1/3 innings.
Working prior to Erceg on Monday was Lynch. The left-hander threw a scoreless eighth and would have been in line for a win if Erceg had converted the save. The outing lowered Lynch’s ERA to 1.59. He has a 27/7 K/BB and has allowed just one homer in 22 2/3 innings. At this point, he seems like the Royals’ best option in the ninth.
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Previously a weak starter and then a generic reliever, Lynch has busted out by trading four-seamers for sinkers and improving his slider. He combats righties with a trusty changeup that has always served him well. He has a 95th percentile whiff rate this year, and his strikeout rate has climbed from 16 percent last season to 30 percent right now. Maybe he shouldn’t be getting all of the save chances for the Royals; especially with Matt Strahm out, he will be needed to face lefties earlier in games on occasion. But Lynch is the Royals’ most trustworthy arm right now, and with Erceg looking like middle-relief material, he seems worthy of a pickup.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
– Instead of Jump, Christian Scott (13 percent rostered), Jack Leiter (31 percent), Griffin Jax (29 percent) and Troy Melton (17 percent) are some mostly available starters worth a try in shallow leagues.
– Jake McCarthy is leading off for the Rockies and getting all of the playing time he can handle with Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck all on the IL for Colorado. He’s a fine short-term option for teams looking to add stolen bases.