Big Kid Adds (Week 12)

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues.

Batters

Max Muncy (9): Lots of analysts point out how Muncy went from a 34 wRC+ in his first stint to a 122 wRC+ this time. He didn’t change his plate discipline with the same strikeout (30% K% vs 31%) and walk (4% BB% vs 4%) rates. He’s not pulling the ball more (47% Pull% vs 47%). And grounding out more (41% GB% to 47%, 12.3 deg LA vs 5.2).

He is hitting the ball harder with his HardHit% (26% to 44%) and avgEV (87.2 mph to 90.2) because he increased his average Bat Speed (72.5 mph to 73.7) by over 1 mph. Here are the average improvements from work in this year’s The Process.

Overall, Muncy probably was not as bad as his first call to the majors and probably not 20% better than the average hitter. I guess his talent is somewhere in between.

Alek Thomas (7): For most of the season, Thomas formed a centerfield platoon. The last time Arizona faced a lefty, he started, so managers hoped the platoon was gone. A string of nine starts against righties ended, and Thomas was on the bench that last time the team faced a righty.

Even when Thomas does play, he has not even been average. He has 3 HR, 4 SB, and a .259 AVG in 203 PA. Just a volume play.

Nolan Gorman (7): Over the last 10 games, Gorman started in eight of them. He’s on a bit of a tear, hitting .333/.421/.667 with 3 HR so far in June. Up until June 1st, he was hitting .189/.283/.300. His profile hasn’t changed with a .254 BABIP before and .400 after. Gorman has experienced similar or better upswings in his career, so no breakout to bet on. Just take advantage of the playing time.

Lane Thomas (6): Thomas just returned from the IL (foot) while batting .273/.385/.409 since returning. Historically, he sat against lefties, but in eight games so far, he sat twice. Once against a righty and a lefty. Of the batters featured, he’s my favorite.

Christian Moore (6): I was surprised more managers didn’t attempt to roster the 22-year-old second baseman. The issue is that Moore doesn’t seem to be a difference maker in any category with 5 HR, 8 SB, and .279 AVG in AAA. His Steamer600 projections are also uninspiring with readily available comps like Chris Taylor and Tommy Pham.

The more I dive in, the more I think he’s not fantasy-relevant without taking a major step forward.

Mickey Moniak (6): Part-time outfielder who sits against all lefties and some righties (five starts in the last 10 games). He’s been great in eight June games (.375/.464/1.000, 4 HR). Moniak has experienced several similar peaks, so no, I’m not seeing a breakout.

Luis Rengifo (5): I saw Rengifo hit the waiver wire in several of my leagues. His original managers must have been tired of his struggles (49 wRC+), and the new ones hope for a rebound. So far in June, he only has a .629 OPS so the new managers are still waiting.

Starters

Eury Pérez (11): There is no way to start him at this point until he finds the plate. I’m not sure if he’s worth a drop with the possible upside. There have been no signs of the upside.

Eury Pérez6.43 K/96.43 BB/96.43 ERA

— Jeff Zimmerman (@jeffwzimmerman.bsky.social) 2025-06-19T19:01:42.982Z

Jacob Misiorowski (11): There are going to be some great starts from the 23-year-old righty, and there are going to be some disasters. He’s a real-world Nuke Laloosh. Every at-bat seems to end in a walk or strikeout. Some games will be no-hitters like his debut. Once he gives up some hits, those walks will come back to bite him.

Another issue is he’ll be running up high pitch counts and not making it deep into the game. It’s the issue Blake Snell dealt with in his career.

Misiorowski’s upside is off the charts as seen by his high bids.

Keider Montero (7): While a mid-to-high 4.00 ERA talent, he was scheduled to face the Pirates. He’s shown signs of improvement (3.20 xFIP in AAA), but hasn’t pulled it all together.

Justin Verlander (6): Verlander was scheduled to come off the IL this week. He continues to struggle with a 4.45 ERA (4.52 xFIP), 1.43 WHIP, and 7.5 K/9. Pass.

Emerson Hancock (5): I know that Seattle faces some weak offenses (@MIN, @TEX, vsKC, vsPIT) over the two weeks after this week, but Hancock doesn’t seem to be the route to attack it. Managers are focusing on his 1.53 ERA in June and ignoring his 8% BB% (9% BB% in June) and the 1.38 WHIP (4.81 ERA equiv).

While he’s had a couple of similar hot streaks, he’s regressed up to his true 5.00 ERA talent.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any breakout, and he’s not worth chasing at his current talent level.

Hunter Dobbins (5): If a fantasy manager wasn’t focused on ERA, Dobbins has been a steady talent.

Month: xFIP, ERA
April: 3.47, 2.45
May: 3.79, 5.08
June 3.86, 2.25

With the ups and downs, his 3.74 ERA is right in line with his 3.66 FIP, 3.75 xFIP, and 3.88 SIERA.

His best trait is limiting walks with a 1.9 BB/9, which ranks 11th among pitchers (min 50 IP). His slider (13% SwStr%) and curve (20% SwStr%) miss a ton of bats, so I’m surprised he only has a 6.8 K/9. While his 46% GB% isn’t elite, it does help to limit home runs.

Solid high-3.00 ERA talent.

Jacob Lopez (5): Another add I’m not sure about. As bad as his 4.80 ERA is, his 1.50 WHIP is doing more ratio damage. Nothing in his profile looked great until his last dominating start against the Royals (6 IP, 9 K, 1 BB, 0 ER) that dropped his ERA from 6.00 to 4.80.

Looking for talent change, he started throwing his cutter more (9% usage to 22%) this time up. It’s not a difference maker. It has a 10% SwStr% which is in line with his other three pitches, ranging from 9% to 13%.

The one issue that will drive Lopez’s value is the home runs he allows. He only has an 18% GB%. Of the 249 pitchers with 30 IP, that’s the second lowest. And his 3.9 BB/9 means there will be runs on for those home runs.

Rostering high walk, high home run pitchers has never worked out.

Relievers

Ryan Pressly (8): Got a Save last week, but Daniel Palencia got the two Saves since then.

Shelby Miller (6): With Justin Martinez out for the season, Miller was a must-add in all Saves leagues.

Dylan Lee (6): With Raisel Iglesias struggling (5.93 ERA), the hope would be for Lee to get some Saves.

Luke Jackson (6): Got the Save on Sunday after Robert Garcia blew the Save on Sunday. It’s not clear (as of this writing) who is the closer.

Matt Strahm (5): Strahm got two of the last three Saves. Even if he’s not the capital C closer, he could be worth 10 to 15 Saves this season.

Bryan Baker (5): Got a Save last week, but Félix Bautista got the next two.