New Everyday Starters — Aug 2, 2021

The trade deadline has now passed and not surprisingly, there was a ton of movement and new opportunities for players to take on full-time roles have arisen. All but one of these players now finding themselves with regular playing time is a result of deadline deals, with the the other being the beneficiary of an injury to the incumbent.

Luis Garcia | WAS 2B

Technically, Garcia was recalled after the Nationals were hit with a COVID outbreak and Trea Turner hit the IL the day before the trade deadline. However, the next day, Turner was trade away, solidifying a starting job for the top prospect. While he no longer qualified for this year’s top prospect list, he was the Nationals’ top guy in 2020 and ranked 81 overall.

Through 2019, Garcia’s minor league performance didn’t exactly command fantasy owners’ attention. He showed little power, rarely walked, stole at most 11 bases, and only had a solid mid-teen strikeout rate to hang our hats on. It was the type of statistical profile that made me wonder how this guy was ranked so highly. Then something happened this year — his power exploded. His HR/FB rate, which lingered in low-to-mid single digits previously in the minors, skyrocketed to 37.1% at Triple-A this year, his first try at the level. His ISO also tripled, from hovering around the .100 mark to an elite .296. That’s not a power spike you typically see as the magnitude is just nuts! Sure, the sample size is small being over just 142 at-bats. However, when the surge takes his power so significantly above where it’s been before, and he hits one more homer in nearly 1,00 fewer at-bats, you have to take notice.

The impressive thing is that he jacked up the power without having to sacrifice contact. Yes, his strikeout rate did rise to its highest mark in his minor league career, but just barely and it remained far better than any league average. His walk rate also spiked, actually tripling from his lowly Double-A mark in 2019. This was a major breakout. One concern though is that he doesn’t hit enough fly balls to become a serious power source yet and he hasn’t posted BABIP marks over .300 since 2018, so his batting average will be reliant on his stolid strikeout rate carrying over, which isn’t a given considering his SwStk% marks have been a bit higher than his strikeout rates would match with.

All that being said, you have to believe Garcia has a starting job in the middle infield the rest of the year, though might sit against left-handed starters. He’s also been batting fifth, which should give him some RBI chances. He’s an add in deep mixed and deeper at the very least, and I’ve already added him in my 12-team mixed league as an alternative to the blah J.P. Crawford as I eagerly await Adalberto Mondesi’s return.

Edward Olivares | KC OF

Could it finally be the time that Olivares sticks in the Majors and plays regularly? It’s crazy how the team has handled him, recalling him for a couple of days and then demoting him several times throughout the season, even as they had Kelvin Gutierrez doing nothing while playing third, instead of moving Hunter Dozier back there from the outfield, who himself has been a massive disappointment, and Michael A. Taylor and his sub-.300 wOBA continuing to play every day. Like seriously Royals, are you trying to win or not?

Sure, Olivares wasn’t a big name prospect when the team acquired him from the Padres last year, but he makes solid contact, and owns both power and speed. This season during his first go at Triple-A, he has enjoyed his best offensive performance yet since his Rookie League during his 2014 professional debut. His HR/FB surged above 20% for the first time, ISO hit a career best of .250, his walk rate rose, and his strikeout rate remained consistent, sitting between 17% and 18% for the third straight year, but this time coming with the lowest SwStk% of his career.

He has the potential to contribute everywhere and perhaps when he starts hitting, he’ll move up in the Royals lineup from the eight hole. I think even in shallow mixed leagues he’s an excellent speculation.

Matt Thaiss | LAA 1B

Thaiss’ recall was not a direct result of a trade deadline deal. Instead, it was to replace the injured Jared Walsh, who will miss time with an intercostal strain. Thaiss has now started the last two games, one of which was against a left-handed starter.

Thaiss is already 26, so he’s no longer really a prospect, but he’s hit very well during his last two seasons at Triple-A. His walk rate has jumped into double digits, making him an excellent OBP league guy, while he has kept his strikeout rate in above average territory. His ISO hopped above .200 back in 2019 at Triple-A and then spiked again to a career best of .250 this year. We find a similar trend in his HR/FB rate, which jumped back into double digits in 2019 before surging higher to a career best 21% this year.

The Angels have been really decimated by injuries and it would be silly of them to give an aging veteran/journeyman playing time over Thaiss, so his playing time, at least until Walsh returns, should be secure, but teams are sometimes far more impatient than I expect them to be. Throughout Thaiss’ short time in the Majors, he’s struck out too much and has posted a lowly BABIP, but he has shown power and a double digit walk rate kept his OBP near .300, despite just a .206 average. I wouldn’t expect him to have the type of impact that Olivares, or even Garcia, can have, but he’s a perfectly acceptable stop gap in deeper leagues, especially those that count OBP instead of average.

Keibert Ruiz | WAS C

Ruiz doesn’t actually have a starting job right now. Heck, he’s not even in the Majors. But he’s a clear beneficiary of the trade deadline deals as he was sent to the Nationals as part of the blockbuster Trea Turner/Max Scherzer swap and has a much clearer path to playing time this year.

Ruiz had been ranked as the Dodgers second best prospect and 42nd overall top prospect. With the catcher offensive bar set so low, it won’t take a lot for him to be an immediate positive value in shallow mixed leagues. What sets him apart is his contact ability. In both 2018 and 2019 at Double-A, he posted single digit strikeout rates, fully supported by low SwStk% marks. During his first taste of Triple-A this year, his SwStk% remained elite, though his strikeout rate did rise…to 11.7%. That’s still fantastic, and it came with a career best walk rate that hit double digits for the first time.

You rarely see plate discipline like that, and if you do, it’s usually from some slap-hitter with little power. Ruiz doesn’t have limited power. He has posted double digit HR/FB rates at three of his last four minor league stops, including a career best this year with a high teen mark. But the home run power doesn’t tell the whole story, as his ISO actually skyrocketed to a mammoth .320 this year, the first time it jumped above .182. That’s because he was a doubles machine, almost knocking one every 10 at-bats. That’s a good sign for future power growth as some of those doubles become home runs. Furthermore, because he strikes out so infrequently, even a league average HR/FB rate will result in a nice home run total, especially for a catcher.

The only concern offensively is his low BABIP marks. Despite a solid looking batted ball distribution profile, he has posted sub-.300 marks in each of his last three stints. It doesn’t bode well for an above league average mark in the Majors over the near-term, but thankfully his strong strikeout rate might still be good enough to result in a helpful batting average, or at least one that won’t kill you like many catchers.

He’s an immediate add if you need a catcher as soon as he gets the call, or take the proactive approach and stash him now so you don’t have to gamble on missing out when the news hits the wires.