Good day friends, Week two of my waiver and prospect rankings comes with some roster notes, injuries, prospect call ups and some stats that stood out to me, as of April 10th.
I try to hit anything relevant for standard and also deep leagues in my notes; I may miss something, because I’m not perfect, but the goal is to hopefully provide some information that you can use to win your leagues each week.
Roster Notes (as of 4/10):
- Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles appear to only have four starters at the moment and they traded two of their top closer prospects. It’s possible D.L. Hall is up sooner, rather than later.
- Chicago White Sox: Moncada is out and it still doesn’t give Andrew Vaughn anymore playing time as now Leury Garcia is starting and Harrison moved over to third.
- Cleveland Indians: Steven Kwan is already hitting 2nd in the batting order.
- Detroit Tigers: The Tigers traded for Austin Meadows so that pushes back the start time of Riley Greene probably and also pushes Torkelson back in the batting order.
- Houston Astros: The Astros hitting Kyle Tucker 6th, still makes no sense. He’s off to a hot start.
- Kansas City Royals: Still waiting on Isbel and Oliveres to get some playing time.
- Los Angeles Angels: Jo Adell isn’t playing…and Jose Rojas is taking his playing time. I don’t get it.
- Minnesota Twins: After the Paddack trade the Twins appear to be going with a 6 man rotation and still haven’t sorted out their normal lineup.
- New York Yankees: Josh Donaldson is leading off and Gleyber is on the bench.
- Tampa Bay Rays: Josh Lowe made the opening day roster and is hitting 5th! I didn’t expect that deal.
- Texas Rangers: Brad Miller is hitting leadoff for the Rangers and they appear to be missing a fifth starter.
- Atlanta Braves: Albies hitting fifth and Rosario hitting first is a little weird, but that will probably change at some point.
- Chicago Cubs: I thought Seiya would be hitting higher in the lineup, but it appears they are working him in easy.
- Cincinnati Reds: Tommy Pham is hitting third, so he has some nice value in this lineup between guys like India and Votto.
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Trea hitting third bethind Betts and Freeman is interesting.
- Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers keep switching their order around, I suppose until they hit it off, we will keep seeing them swap things around.
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Roansy is up and in the pen and Castillo made the team, but is in a weak side platoon. Doesn’t make much sense.
Injury Notes (as of SUN 4/10):
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- Ronald Acuna is expected to be back in the lineup on April 22nd as the DH for the Braves.
- Kyle Lewis should be back directly after the first 10 day IL is up.
- Luis Castillo is out with shoulder soreness until the end of April.
- Mike Minor appears to be out for at least a week to ten days.
- Lucas Sims is apparently looking good and should be back ass soon as he’s eligible off the 10 day IL.
- Stephen Strasburg is expected to be ready in early May.
- Luis Urias – Should be back once he is off the IL next week.
- Lance Lynn is likely out until June after the knee injury.
- Lucas Giolito injured his abdomen and is out until at least April 24th.
- Mike Clevinger is out and won’t be back until he’s right, which could be anywhere from 10 days to a month.
- Josh Rojas strained an oblique and is out until early May.
- James Kaprellian is expected to be out until early May.
- Jon Gray went on the IL after his first start with a blister issue, which we know can be fickle with pitchers.
Top 10 Standard Waiver Adds:
- OF Steven Kwan (Guardians): Kwan made the opening day roster and I expect he will hit for a high average, get on base and gather some nice counting stats with 15-20 homers and 5-10 steals this year. He was on my deep league list last week and is getting bumped to the number one spot on standard leagues this week since he was moved up in the order to hit in front of J Ram.
- 1B Brandon Belt (Giants): For some reason Belt is a FA in a good number of leagues (57% of 12 team roster leagues). He was one of the best players in baseball per plate appearance last year and as long as he is healthy, he should be rostered.
- OF Kyle Lewis (Mariners): Lewis is only expected to miss the first week or two and then should come back and provide 25 homer / 10 steal upside. Lewis will be back for week 3 and this should be a nice stash for anyone missing an OF. Lewis is a repeat from the week 1 list.
- SP Reid Detmers (Angels): Detmers didn’t have the best first start this year, but he was against the Astros and they can mash. He still looked pretty good despite some of the hangers and I’m bumping him from my deep league list to standard as this is probably the last chance you will have to add him (if he’s even available). Detmers gets @ Texas next week, which is a much nicer matchup.
- SS Jeremy Pena (Astros): Pena is only hitting seventh in the order right now (but hey Kyle Tucker is hitting 6th) and he looks great early. He has a power / speed combo that could add up to 20 / 20 and has the every day gig for the Astros. If you need a SS you can do a lot worse!
- SP Drew Rasmussen (Rays): Rasmussen has very good stuff and the Rays have already noted they will be pushing McClanahan and Rasmussen this year in innings, he’s a repeat because he’s still available in a ton of 12 team leagues. He also gets the Oakland A’s for his next start.
- OF Jesus Sanchez (Marlins): Sanchez finished strong last year and the only reason he is a free agent in any leagues right now is because he’s on the Marlins and people forget about Marlins players. Sanchez is a repeat on this list and needs a heater for people to remember who he is.
- OF Andrew McCutchen (Brewers): Cutch still puts up decent power / speed numbers and playing in Milwaukee could help him keep it up. I added Cutch in some leagues last week (and he’s a repeat on the list), but he has been hitting high in the order and at DH every day for the Brew Crew.
- UTIL Seth Beer (Diamondbacks): Beer looked pretty good in limited action before his injury last year. My hope is he can get eligibility at either 1B or OF to add to his value, but he could hit over .260 with 30 homers in his first full season. Beer already had a game winning homer on Opening Day and is still available in many leagues, this is a repeat from last week.
- SP Huascar Ynoa (Braves): Ynoa was fantastic last year until he injured himself. He hasn’t looked nearly as sharp in ST, but that’s not uncommon. We should give him a couple starts to see if he can continue how he left off last year. Ynoa gets Washington on Monday, so it’s a cake start to begin his season.
Top 10 Deep League Adds:
- SP Dakota Hudson (Cardinals): Hudson won’t get you strikeouts, but if you need innings, wins or just someone to help lower your ERA and WHIP, he has a career 3.14 ERA. Try to get that anywhere else on waivers in 15 team leagues. Hudson was on this list last week, but I see him getting added since he makes his first start on Monday.
- SS Didi Gregorius (Phillies): Didi is coming off his worst season, but I expect a rebound and SS is pretty shallow once you get out of the top 10 rounds in 15 team drafts. If you miss on Pena, you missed on Abrams and you need a starting SS, Didi is your guy.
- RP Jordan Hicks (Cardinals): It’s been announced Hicks will be the Cardinals 5th SP, but I think this is just a piggyback situation until either Flaherty is healthy or Liberatore is ready. Hicks could possibly take the closer role back at some point this year and if you are trying to add someone who might get some saves, there are worse bets than a guy who throws 105 MPH. Hicks is a repeat from week 1.
- SP Nick Lodolo (Reds): Looks like Lodolo will get at least one start, but might be replaced as soon as Minor makes it back unless he outperforms Hunter Greene. Lodolo is a repeat on this list, but next time you might see him back on the prospect list.
- SP Tucker Davidson (Braves): I like Davidson better than Wright, but not better than Ynoa. Wright had a strong showing in his first start, but Davidson showed some really good stuff last year before his injury and the Braves have shown they do a good job of coaching up their pitchers. We will see if they keep the six man rotation all year or just until there is an injury or rosters go back to 26. Davidson is a repeat on this list from week 1.
- 1B Bobby Bradley (Guardians): Cheap power. He will hurt your average and he’s not great for points leagues, but he should hit 30 homers over a full season. He was on this list week 1 and has not seen an increase in adds to move him into the standard league list.
- RP Tyler Rogers (Giants): Rogers will probably net close to similar numbers as last year and that plays in deep leagues. 10-15 saves with a nice number of Ks and good ratios. Rogers is still available in most deep leagues and is a repeat on this list.
- Yoshi Tsutsugo (Pirates): Tsutsugo is a new addition to this list. I wasn’t high on him, but other industry guys were. He looks solid to start the year and is a lock for playing time high up in the Pirates order, so I’ll take him where I need some ABs.
- Jhoan Duran (Twins): Duran threw some sick splitters and now everyone wants him. He’s a middle relief guy right now, but after the Twins traded Rogers, there is a potential opening at the back of their bullpen that Duran could possibly win.
- OF Heliot Ramos (Giants): Ramos got the call up today, but he didn’t have a great 2021 season in AAA. The Giants seem to really like him and at one point last year compared him to Willie Mays, but I think he’s going to be more like a .250 hitter with 25 homer power and 5 steals, which isn’t great but usable if he’s playing every day.
Top 10 Re-Draft Prospects (not promoted yet):
- SS Oneil Cruz (Pirates): Looks like the Pirates are going to play roster manipulation games with Cruz, but he should be up as soon as Super 2 passes as long as he performs at AAA. Estimated Promotion Date: Late April
- C Adley Rutschman (Orioles): Rutschman suffered an injury which gives the Orioles an excuse to keep him down and gain another year of eligibility. Estimated Promotion Date: Mid-May
- 3B Jose Miranda (Twins): Miranda has already shown everything he can in the minors, he’s ready for the majors. The Twins pretty obviously sent him down to earn another year of eligibility, as they have Arraez at DH and Urshella could pretty easily move into a super UTIL role for the team, rather than being the starting 3B. Miranda isn’t the best defensive player, but he should be at least the starting DH for this team. Estimated Promotion Date: Late April / Early May
- OF Alek Thomas (D-Backs): Thomas was competing for a starting OF spot in Arizona and the only thing blocking him right now is the tandem of David Peralta, Pavin Smith and Christian Walker. Once Thomas shows he’s on track at AAA and the team gets another year of service time for him, I expect Thomas to be up pretty quickly and put up a nice well rounded rookie season. Estimated Promotion Date: Early May
- SP MacKenzie Gore (Padres): Gore showed this spring he’s prepared and ready for major league action. The Padres just spent some dime on Nick Martinez and traded for Manaea. Clevinger is already hurt and Gore will likely be the next man up behind him in case of injury or worst case he comes up and pitches in the bullpen or as a 6th starter later in the year. Estimated Promotion Date: Late May
- SP D.L. Hall (Orioles): The Orioles mentioned after sending D.L. Hall down to minors camp and he was throwing 100 MPH heat that he would be back soon. I expect Hall to either come up late April or maybe he comes up in tandem with Adley Rutschman once Rutschman is healthy. Estimated Promotion Date: Late April / Early May
- C M.J. Melendez (Royals): Melendez was sent down to get more practice defensively around the horn so that they can keep his bat in the lineup when he gets the final callup. Being blocked by Salvy isn’t good for your service time. Estimated Promotion Date: Mid-May
- OF Riley Greene (Tigers): Greene would have made the team Opening Day more than likely had he not broken his foot at the end of Spring. Now he’s looking for a return in June – July after his 6-8 week recovery time, plus a few weeks in the minors rehabbing. The Tigers also traded for Austin Meadows, who will likely take Miggy’s spot at DH once Greene comes back. Estimated Promotion Date: Late June
- SP Matthew Liberatore (Cardinals): This promotion will likely depend on the health of Jack Flaherty as he recovers from his shoulder injury. If Flaherty has a setback or has troubles coming back or the Cardinals suffer another injury in the rotation, Liberatore should be up in short order. He could be up as soon as he passes the Super 2 with Hicks being a stop gap for the Cards to gain another year of eligibility. Estimated Promotion Date: Early May
- SP Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles): The Orioles aren’t competing this year and have no reason to call G-Rod up, but he will be up at some point this year. He will likely come up a couple months after Rutschman and Hall adapt to their call ups. Estimated Promotion Date: Late July – Early August
Honorable Mention: UTIL Vidal Brujan (Rays), SP Cade Cavalli (Nationals), SP George Kibry (Mariners), SP Max Meyer (Marlins), OF Brennan Davis (Cubs), 1B Triston Casas, 2B Nolan Gorman
Graduated (Opening Day): Bobby Witt, Julio Rodriguez, C.J. Abrams, Roansy Contreras, Josh Lowe, Hunter Greene, Matt Brash, Nick Lodolo, Bryson Stott
Moves I’ve Made (last week):
- CBS Memorial Magazine League: Dropped M.J. Melendez for Andrew McCutchen on a $3 claim (my first priority was Randal Grichuk for $7, but Scott White ended up with him for $23!)
- I have a number of claims in this week as some of my guys finally hit the IL (Urias, Flaherty and Floro) – I’ll disclose them next week.
- TGFBI: Lost a claim on Matt Brash, but got my second and third priority claims of $87 on C.J. Abrams and $12 on Diego Castillo ($1,000 budget).
- Unfortunately, Isbel and Adell have not been playing, so I’ll definitely have to make a move to supplement the lack of playing time as 4 / 7 reserves are injured and another is in the minors. I need Abrams to get OF eligibility.
- Dynasty Home League (12 Team): Dropped Jesus Sanchez for Steven Kwan. Added Andres Munoz after Sims went on the IL.
- Ottoneu: Dropping a $3 Rowan Wick, for a $1 Jhoan Duran.
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