Big Kid Adds (Week 24)

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with an even larger entry fee ($2.5K to $15K). They were originally named “High Stakes Leagues” and this year there are nine of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers are going to 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 four or more of these leagues.

Batters

Ronny Mauricio (9): He’s been on fire so far in 11 PA with a 1.000 OPS and 2 SB. The top prospect (#58 at FG) has all kinds of tools. In AAA, he hit a .292 AVG with 23 HR and 24 SB.

Here is what we do know from the 22-year-old’s limited time in the majors:

• He started all three games since being recalled batting seventh or ninth.
• He hit a double at 117.3 mph for the eighth hardest-hit ball this season.
• Pitchers aren’t throwing him many fastballs (36%) with him seeing almost as many sliders (34%). Against non-fastballs, he has a 25% SwStr%, so he’s going to keep seeing them.

Jasson Domínguez (9): Of the three hits the 20-year-old has this season, two went for home runs. The Yankees’ top prospect (34th overall) hit for .265/.377/.425 with 15 HR and 40 SB across a few levels

There is not much that can be gleaned from three games but here are a couple of points.

• The team has a ton of faith in him by batting him third or fifth this past weekend.
• Like with Mauricio, teams aren’t throwing Domínguez many fastballs (36%) but a steady diet of changeups and splitters (35% seen, 27% SwStr%).

Michael Brantley (8): I understand wanting part of Houston’s lineup, but I’m not sold on the 36-year-old Brantley being the answer. He hit a home run but it barely left the yard and wasn’t considered to be a barrel. His AAA StatCast numbers had him hitting what would be a career-low 87.7 avgEV in 48 BBE (batted ball events) and a 106.9 maxEV. While his major league avgEV is at a career high, he hasn’t really gotten ahold of a ball with a 104 mph maxEV. Since he’s still making great contact (100% so far), expect him to be a decent source of batting average.

Besides a lack of power, the team doesn’t expect to play him every day. I’ll repeat the comment from this week’s Waiver Wire Report by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

How the Astros will deploy Brantley remains to be seen. Baker said Brantley will likely draw time at left field and designated hitter. Yordan Alvarez also splits time between those two spots. Brantley will likely require regular off days initially as well.

“The plan is to play left sometimes and DH sometimes. I think that’ll help him and Yordan both,” Baker said. “Just got to choose when and where … and try to have them where they can both be productive.”

So far the team has followed the quote with Brantley playing in left for a game, being the DH for the nex tone, and finally getting a day off.

I see him as a high average, low power and stolen base threat who plays two-thirds of the time. A part-time Jeff McNeil.

Hunter Goodman (7): The projections love Goodman as seen by his Steamer600 (ROS) projection

A .260 AVG with 30 HR is a nice player (Soto is at 28 HR with a .259 AVG).

While Goodman has yet to belt a home run, he is hitting .375/.407..583 (all at Colorado) with a .529 BABIP. The righty does have a bit of swing-and-miss in his game with a 30% K%, 18% SwStr%, and struggling against changeups (29% SwStr%).

At least for now, he’s a home streamer and we’ll find out soon if he can hit on the road.

Taylor Walls (5): Walls’s value jumped once the news came out that he was going to take over the shortstop job.

#Rays Cash said Walls will step in as the starting shortstop on pretty much an everyday basis (starting Saturday), and that Basabe will be used when needed at 2B, 3B, SS

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 1, 2023

And then it came crashing down once people found out he was already hurt.

Walls has a "sore groin," which #Rays think is from trying to ramp up from oblique injury. Cash thinks he will be available off the bench. https://t.co/8zc4KUsVv6

— Kristie Ackert (@ByKristieAckert) September 4, 2023

Walls has several positives with great speed (21 SB on the season), some power (7 HR), and nice position flexibility (2B, SS, SB). I targeted Walls in several leagues where I needed steals and in one of my Main Event Leagues, I spent more than any other team ($22) in the whole NFBC. The only category we can move up in is steals (three first and one second in the other four hitting categories).

Lenyn Sosa (4): Started in 14 of 17 games at second base. During this callup, he is hitting .264/.264/.509 with 4 HR. The key for Sosa is keeping up the batting average.

DJ Stewart (4): Stewart is on fire with 10 HR in just 114 PA after hitting 16 in AAA (229 PA). While I wouldn’t count on the batting average (31% K%), he is a nice source of available power.

Liover Peguero (4): The 22-year-old has started in nine straight games at either second base or shortstop. In 132 PA, he is hitting .267/.315/.450 with 6 HR and 4 SB.

Kole Calhoun (4): There was some concern that Calhoun would lose all fantasy relevance with Josh Naylor coming off the IL. Calhoun has started in nine straight games.

Starting Pitchers

Emmet Sheehan (6): The Dodgers rotation is a mess, especially with the legal troubles another shit-bag in their rotation got into. Sheehan should get a start this weekend but when is not obvious.

The 23-year-old has struggled with his control this season by posting a 4.5 BB/9 leading to a 1.30 WHIP and 5.31 ERA (5.63 xFIP). Ratio killer who could be streamed by a manager desperate for a Win and nothing else.

Michael Soroka (6) and Darius Vines (5): Going into Sunday’s nightly FAAB run, how Atlanta’s rotation was going to shake out was up in the air. The team had just demoted Vines so he was going to start unless someone else got “hurt”.

Soroka is at least getting one start against the Cardinals and possibly the Pirates. In the majors this season, Soroka has a 5.52 ERA (4.87 xFIP), 7.1 K/9, and 1.47 WHIP (3.4 BB/9). Like Sheehan, Soroka could be a ratio killer but he has two winnable starts. It’s tough to know how long he’ll throw in his remaining starts. In 2020, he through 13 IP. 0 IP in 2021. In 2022, he was up at 25 IP. This season, he’s already at 116 IP. In the minors, they have cut down on his IP from going 6 IP to 7 IP to 4 IP to 5 IP. It’ll be interesting to see how long he throws today.

Andre Jackson (6): I’ve had my eyes on Jackson for a couple of weeks. In 24 IP with the Pirates, he has a 9.9 K/9, 2.92 ERA (3.86 xFIP), and 0.97 WHIP. The big difference is leaning into his curveball (16% SwStr%,80% GB%). His 20.6% K%-BB% is tied with Zac Gallen and Gerrit Cole. Since he started throwing strikes, he can no longer be ignored.

Michael King (4): King is trying to move to the rotation and the results have been encouraging. In his three starts, he has increased the number of pitches he has thrown from 50 to 61 to 69. In those three starts, he has a 0.77 ERA (3.42 xFIP), 9.3 K/9, and 0.94 WHIP (1.5 BB/9). He is attacking batters with four pitches:

Pitch: Usage, SwStr%, GB%
Sinker: 45%, 6%, 58%
Four-seamer: 23%, 10%, 39%
Slider: 19%, 17%, 32%
Change: 16%, 22%, 46%

It’ll interesting to break down the pitch results once the season is over.

Matt Manning (4): Manning has a decent schedule with the Yankees this week and the Reds (at Detroit) and Angels the next week. A .212 BABIP is keeping him at a 3.62 ERA with his 5.35 xFIP. I suspect there is heavy regression coming.

Tylor Megill (4): He just can’t seem to get it together. Since he was added to the rotation after the trade deadline, he has a 5.52 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 1.65 WHIP (.362 BABIP). He’s not creating any weak contact as seen by his 40% GB% and his 1% Popup%.

Relievers

Ryan Helsley (4): Helsley came off the IL but he hasn’t gotten into a game yet to know his role.

Robert Stephenson (4): With Adams on the IL, Stephenson moves up into a high-leverage relief role with his 3.42 ERA (2.95 xFIP), 0.94 WHIP, and 13.1 K/9.