Hot Potato: The Most Added Players in CBS, June 25, 2018

It’s always fun to discover which players fantasy owners are rushing out to the free agent pool to add to their rosters. Typically, it’s the hot player of the week or the pitcher coming off one good start. But sometimes, the player was criminally underowned to begin with, and the ownership surge simply get this percentage to where it should have been. So let’s check out the hottest pickups in CBS leagues and decide whether fantasy owners are right to be rushing to add these players to their teams.

Injuries in the Brewers rotation has opened up an opportunity for rookie Freddy Peralta, and he has been superb in his three starts. While he has struggled with control at every level, his strikeout rates have been elite and over 30% at every stop since 2017. That’s even backed by SwStk% marks above 13%. Interestingly, he’s been a two pitch pitcher, featuring a curve to go with his fastball, and he’s throw his fastball over 80% of the time! Has a starting pitcher ever generated that many whiffs and strikeouts throwing his fastball that often?!

His curve ball has been pretty good, though not elite, so the majority of his high whiff rate is coming via the fastball. Even crazier — he only averages 91 and change on the pitch! It’s hard to argue with his professional results, but I have a hard time believing any starting pitcher could strike out that many hitters relying so heavily on a sub-92 mph fastball.

Boy, Brewers starters are hot topics. Brent Suter had a forgettable April, posting a 5.34 ERA, but he’s been under 4.00 since and his skills have improved. The southpaw gets by with sterling control, as his fastball sits below 87 mph! I wouldn’t be interested in him in shallow mixed leagues given the limited strikeout potential, but a 4.00 ERA and strong WHIP are certainly usable in 15-team mixed and deeper.

Sam Dyson’s ownership shot up after Hunter Strickland hit the DL and he was named the primary ninth inning man. His skills have completely rebounded from last year’s disaster, and although he’s not your prototypical closer, he’s certainly good enough to get the job done. The problem, though, is that the Giants bullpen also features a dominant Tony Watson, who has closed before, and a healthy(?) Mark Melancon, who had been their closer until he suffered an injury himself. So, there’s little job security here and it wouldn’t be a surprise if any of those three ran away with the closer role.

Who the heck is Shane “Don’t Call Me Justin” Bieber?! In the minors, he has consistently shown absolutely elite control, with his highest walk rate at any stint sitting at just 3.1%! Amazingly, he has paired that with double digit SwStk% marks everywhere, and mid-20% strikeout rates. How has he not gotten more prospect hype? It’s not even like his velocity is severely lacking, as he has averaged just over 93 mph with his four-seam fastball, which is actually a notch above the league average.

To go along with the fastball, his slider has been incredible, generating a 33.3% SwStk%, while both his curve and changeup are at 18.2%. That’s quite the arsenal. Actually, it reminds me of Corey Kluber, as both he and Bieber’s fastball ain’t any good, despite average velocity. If the elite control and whiff induction wasn’t enough, he has also been a ground ball pitcher, which should help limit his homers allowed. I have no idea who Shane Bieber is and where he came from, but I’m liking what I’m seeing.

Man, talk about Jekyll and Hyde, Domingo German has been up and down since entering the Yankees rotation. Looking beyond the ERA though, his skills have been fantastic, as he has posted a 28.7% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, and 3.32 SIERA over eight starts. His ERA during that time stands at an ugly 5.09, though, so his owners may not even realize how good he has actually been. And heck, you might find him still swimming in your free agent pool.

So apparently fantasy owners are eagerly anticipating Shelby Miller’s debut upon returning from Tommy John surgery. His minor league rehab starts look good, as he has struck out nearly 35% of the batters he has faced. However, I am always hesitant to pick up a pitcher returning from major elbow surgery, as they typically struggle mightily with their control. I also want to see where Miller’s velocity is, but I’d likely recommend staying away, especially early on.

Oddly, Yan Gomes is the only hitter on today’s list of pickups. I’m not sure why all of a sudden now fantasy owners are picking up Gomes, but there’s seemingly always a couple of teams in desperate need of a catcher. Gomes is doing what he’s always done, but is striking out more than ever before, and also hitting more fly balls. He’s not swinging and missing more often though, which suggests to me that he isn’t necessarily selling out for more power. You’re probably not going to get a helpful batting average, but how many catchers offer that? He’s a worthwhile second catcher in all leagues given that he’s always possessed good power.