New Everyday Players — Aug 16, 2023

I have an interesting trio of new regulars, so if you’re hunting for an injury replacement or eager to fill that hole in your lineup, one of these players may be your answer.

Osleivis Basabe | TB SS

With Wander Franco out for an indefinite period of time, the Rays’ fifth ranked prospect was recalled and has started two straight at shortstop. Obviously, his playing time outlook is totally up in the air, dependent on when Franco is able to return.

The 22-year-old Basabe hasn’t shown much home run power throughout his minor league career, peaking at just an 8.2% HR/FB rate, posted last year at High-A. Similarly, his high ISO sits at just .148, and he has never posted a FB% above 30%. So it’s pretty clear that if you need home runs, he’s not your man.

But he has shown speed, stealing 16 bases at Triple-A this year before his recall and combining for 21 steals between High-A and Double-A last year. The Rays obviously aren’t afraid to run wild, so he could steal a bunch of bases for as long as he’s starting.

He has always posted strong strikeout rates and combined that with high BABIP marks, so it’s likely he won’t hurt you in batting average and could very well deliver some positive value there. That potential won’t matter much over a small sample, because anything could happen really if he only ends up starting for a week or two.

Overall, the potential is there to steal a couple of bases, which is something my Tout Wars team could use! Aside from that, there’s not a whole lot of intrigue here, so he’s seemingly only worth adding if you’re in need of an MI and could use some extra steals.

Matt Wallner | MIN OF

Wallner was recalled back in mid-July and has been playing mostly every day, even against lefties despite being left-handed, as the Twins deal with a myriad of injuries. The 25-year-old was most recently ranked as the team’s sixth best prospect, with 50/60 Game Power and 70/70 Raw Power grades. That’s the kind of speculation I want to make when picking up a free agent!

Wallner has lived up to his prospect grades so far this year, swinging and missing often, but also posting a 24.2% HR/FB rate and .280 ISO, backed by a 113.7 MPH maxEV and sublime 16.4% Barrel%. He has taken full advantage of his power by hitting fly balls at an inflated 49.3% clip. He hasn’t normally hit such a high rate of flies, so I’d guess this comes down. As good as he’s been in the power department, it’s doubtful he’d actually hit the 44 home runs he’s currently on pace for over 650 PAs!

Given his propensity for fly balls and lots of pop-ups, BABIP has been a problem. But interestingly, he has posted high BABIP marks in the minors, so perhaps he has it in him to raise that mark, at least to the league average. The projections certainly think he will, but likely aren’t taking into account his current batted ball distribution.

Wallner is the epitome of the type of hitter you take a flyer on if you need power. He’s clearly one note and won’t be contributing steals or batting average. But he also has a significantly stronger OBP thanks to his hit by pitch total, so he gets a big boost in value in those formats.

Jon Singleton | HOU 1B

Wow, remember him?! He was a top prospect a looooooong time ago and is already 31. Makes me feel old! Surprisingly, he has only recorded a bit less than a season’s worth of PAs throughout his MLB career, having last been in the Majors all the way back in 2015.

He’s back now and had gotten another chance to fill in for the injured Jose Abreu. Singleton has always been a kind of three true outcomes type hitter in the minors. Amazingly, he has posted double digit walk rates at every single minor league stop except one, which was back at High-A in 2011. He’s been at quite a lot of stops, so that’s some serious consistency.

While his strikeout rates have never been out of control, he has struck out 30% of the time, including during his MLB back in 2014. He has generally posted pretty solid SwStk%, so it’s likely his plate patience resulting in some extra passivity, leading to additional strikeouts.His power has always been good, but not elite, which perhaps held him back from getting more chances and sticking around.

It’s only been 55 PAs so far in the Majors this year, but he’s already generally doing what’s expected, except for a .125 BABIP, which should rebound. I think he’s a nice stopgap, especially in OBP leagues, where his value gets a major boost.