Ottoneu Hot Right Now: April 14, 2025
The 2025 version of Hot Right Now will typically include three sections:
- Current Auctions: A closer look at players being auctioned at a high rate.
- Roster Adds: Analysis of players with high add% changes.
- Hot Performers: Players with a high P/G or P/IP in recent weeks.
The FanGraphs Ottoneu team plans to run this feature weekly, updating fantasy managers on the biggest movers in Ottoneu leagues with an analysis of how these players could or could not help your roster.
Current Auctions
Chase Meidroth – 85 current auctions
The young White Sox middle-infielder came from Boston in the Garrett Crochet deal. He has only played in three games thus far, so we don’t need to dig into his statistics too much beyond the fact that he’s walked in three out of 1o plate appearances and that type of discipline matches what was written about him when he was a Red Sox prospect:
Little Meidroth was absurdly difficult to strike out in college and had more walks than strikeouts throughout his career, slashing .319/.430/.519 at San Diego. His diminutive frame and lack of a clear position (his throwing accuracy from second base was pretty wild) pushed him to the 2022 draft’s fourth round. Meidroth has more or less coasted to Triple-A before his 23rd birthday while producing absurd OBPs, just over .420 throughout his pro career.
Eric Longenhagen went on to write:
Baseball Savant’s minor league statcast data has Meidroth with a .321 xSLG this year. It’s pretty rare for hitters who slug under .400 to carry elite OBP skills into the big leagues for an extended stretch; there really aren’t any long-career hitters with OBP north of .400 whose slug is below it the last 20 years or so.
A big issue with Meidroth when he was with Boston was his positional playing time, but now that he is on the White Sox, he’ll likely get more reps. It seems as if his defense will need to improve to stick around, but with time on his side on the Southside of Chicago, Meidroth is a good prospect to grab now. Be careful, as the hyped-up and unique profile has already made his average salary jump to $3.
Mike Yastrzemski – 54 current auctions
Batting leadoff for the Giants and slashing .300/.440/.525 is Mike Yastrzemski. A hitter with a .417 BABIP is Mike Yastrzemski. Still, at an average price of only $2 and a career slugging percentage of .458, Yastrzemski is being disrespected. He may be in a platoon when things cool down, but that’s only if the young Luis Matos can hit lefties better than Yastrzemski, who has a career .221/.297/.382 slash line against them. Ride the hot streak with a veteran hitter and keep an eye on what the Giants decide to do with his playing time once it cools.
Zach McKinstry – 50 current auctions
McKinstry’s 2B/SS/3B/OF eligibility adds value to a profile that is roughly major league average. His career slash line sits at .223/.290/.361 as of this writing, and his BB% and K% are right around the league average, 8.2% and 22.6%. But McKinstry has been hot of late, and there’s no doubting that. He’s currently slashing .298/.274/.382 while his walk rate has come up and his strikeout rate has come down from where it finished in 2024. He is running a high .361 BABIP and the hits spray chart on his baseball savant player page shows five infield hits and an opposite field triple that landed perfectly down the line. These types of hits stand out when we’re still working with small samples, but is this more than a hot streak? It’s hard to tell.
RosterResource still considers him in a platoon, but on the strong side, for now. 13 of his 55 plate appearances thus far have been against lefties, and in those, he’s hit .545 with two triples. It would be a huge boost to his fantasy value if he could continue to improve upon a career slash line of .231/.315/.329 against lefties. Regardless, McKinstry has recorded back-to-back seasons with 16 stolen bases, making his value more distributed for fantasy. That diversity in his profile could be the justification for adding McKinstry. His P/G mark fell to 2.34 in 2024, but it hovered just over 3.0 in 2022 and 2023. Since so many of his skills stats sit around league average, only one or two things need to click for McKinstry to move into above-replacement level. Yet, there’s no clear indication beyond a good-luck hot streak that McKinstry has taken a step forward.
Roster Adds
Zac Veen – Add% Change (7 Days) – 39.8%
The 23-year-old Rockies outfielder slashed .270/.352/.460 this spring with two home runs and nine stolen bases. Yes, he turned some heads. Still, he struck out at nearly a 30% clip. When he started the year in AAA and dropped that K% down to 16.2% in eight games, the Rockies gave him a chance to continue his hot streak at the big league level. So far, Veen has 23 plate appearances and a 34.8% K%. This is in line with Eric Longenagen’s take on the player from January:
I’m excited by Veen for the same reasons anyone would be: He’s a ferocious rotator capable of hitting some epic home runs, and he’s built as if Maserati started making human beings. Veen has one of the more electric power/speed combos in the minors, but his levers and long, low-ball swing make it very difficult for him to be on time to the contact point, especially against fastballs, which has led to a good number of strikeouts and mediocre contact.
That profile will play in an Ottoneu points league that so heavily rewards the power/speed combo. He’s worth a look, but don’t take your eyes off him if he enters your lineup. He could be back down in AAA quickly if he can’t cut his K% down.
Shane Smith – Add% Change (7 Days) – 33.0%
You have to think a young White Sox pitcher or two will rise above replacement-level Ottoneu status in 2025. Will it be 25-year-old righty Shane Smith? He was selected as a Rule 5 draft pick from the Brewers in December and has started in 3 games thus far in the season. It’s nerve-wracking to look at his Stuff+ grades, which give only his changeup an above-average measure, and even more worrisome to see that he’s throwing a 94.3 MPH fastball in the meatball zone (image below, left). Furthermore, his changeup location to opposite handed batters (image below, right) doesn’t inspire confidence:
Smith is worth keeping an eye on as he’s given more opportunities to translate his 29.6% minor league career K% to the big leagues, but he has a lot to display before making it to fantasy relevance.
Randy Rodríguez – Add% Change (7 Days) – 26.6%
A two-pitch pitcher with a 97.6 MPH fastball and a slider with an above-average Stuff+ grade and an 18.6% swinging strike rate, Rodríguez has the makings of a high-leverage reliever. Things will have to happen before he works his way into a position of earning saves or holds, as he is far from the closer spot on the Giants’ RosterResource page. But, things happen. Getting in on the ground floor for a $1 on a reliever with this kind of stuff is a good idea.
Hot Performers
Stats reflect the last 14 days for both hitters and pitchers. Players selected are usually rostered at lower levels.
Carson Kelly – (15.9 P/G)
The veteran Cubs catcher has played in nine games so far this season and has hit four home runs. He’s swinging out of his shoes with a 63.6% HardHit% and is barreling the ball up at an insane 22.7% rate. He only played in 10 spring training games, but had a .435/.519/.739 slash line, so clearly he’s keeping the good times rolling as the regular season begins. Sadly, he was hit by a pitch during Sunday’s game against the Dodgers and needed X-rays on his left hand. They came back negative.
Josh Jung – (10.1 P/G)
Jung is back in the lineup for the Rangers and slashing .407/.407/.704 in seven games. He dealt with neck spasms at the start of the season but seems back to form quickly in 2025. He’s very likely rostered in your league, but if someone has given up on him, pounce now!
Easton Lucas – (7.7 P/IP)
The Blue Jays are attempting to convert Lucas to a starter, and it has worked out well so far. He only has three pitches (FA, SL, CH), but has played with a cutter in the past. His secondaries haven’t performed well enough (yet) by SwStr% to get excited, but his fastball, which grades just above average by Stuff+, is performing well. One more good start and he may be gone from the waiver wire.
Tyler Mahle – (7.5 P/IP)
Mahle’s latest outing went 7 strong innings and gave up only two hits and a walk. He only struck out four, but the lowered walk rate from his previous two outings may indicate he’s settling into his control. With no new pitches or noticeable change in approach, Mahle may be riding the Ottoneu points high of not having given up a home run yet this season.