Ottoneu Hot Right Now: May 27, 2025

The 2025 version of Hot Right Now will typically include three sections:

1. Current Auctions: A closer look at players being auctioned at a high rate.
2. Roster Adds: Analysis of players with high add% changes.
3. 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

Daniel Palencia – 68 current auctions

Saves will always get a guy on the radar and Palencia seems to be getting saves. He struck out two in a perfect ninth, getting his third save Sunday, and appears to have a pretty good hold on the closer role for the Cubs. Palencia is in his third MLB season and has a history of piling up strike outs, but also handing out way too many free passes. He’s limited home runs, which can allow a pitcher, particularly a reliever, to get away with a high walk rate. But it has to be within reason.

Coming into 2025, Palencia had a 13.8% BB% in 43 IP, putting more than 5 batters per 9 innings on base. Last year, only seven pitchers managed to survive for 40+ IP while posting a walk rate that high, and none of them had what you’d call a great year.

This year, Palencia has the walk rate under 10% and that is a huge shift. PLENTY of pitchers had solid seasons with that kind of walk rate. And he is still getting strikeouts and avoiding homers. That will play well in any Ottoneu format. In 5×5 he is a must-add, and worth a solid bid. In points and 4×4, he is still a solid addition to a pen.

Ronny Henriquez – 55 current auctions

Is Henriquez a poor man’s Palencia? Good K-rates? Check. Too many walks? Sure. Low HR rate? Yep. Got his team’s most recent save? Of course.

The K’s are actually better, but everything else is a bit worse, including his P/IP. Being on the Marlins doesn’t help, as holds and saves are relatively few and far between, compared to the Cubs. He doesn’t have the same grip on the 9th inning, either. In fact, he has exactly one save, and while that was the most recent save, it is still just one.

There’s no harm in adding Henriquez, but given the choice, I would take Palencia (and that gap is rather large in 5×5).

Slade Cecconi – 45 current auctions

I would like to be picking up Cecconi. He’s made two starts for Cleveland and his striking out 31.1% of hitters and walking just 4.4%. That’s a super good ratio and not just a good ratio – both of those numbers are great individually. He is running a 16.7% HR/FB rate, though he gets enough GB to keep that from being a total disaster.

The big picture is a 3.45 FIP and, if you think the HR/FB rate is going to regress (which it probably will), a 2.65 xFIP And 2.61 SIERA.

This is all in a very small sample, so it’s a little silly to look at those numbers and just project him to continue that moving forward. In this small a sample, Stuff+ can be really useful and Cecconi’s 96 Stuff+ doesn’t seem great on the surface. That’s below average! But here are the four pitchers who had a 96 overall Stuff+ last year: Logan Gilbert, Colin Rea, Kevin Gausman, Michael King. That isn’t bad company.

Cecconi is far from proven and there is a lot of risk there – I am not going to start him anywhere tomorrow when he faces the Dodgers – but I think he is worth taking a shot on.

Roster Adds

Mick Abel – Add% Change (7 Days) – 63.0%

Abel was covered in this space last week by Lucas Kelly. Go read what he wrote. That’ll be more efficient than me writing it again.

Will Benson – Add% Change (7 Days) – 49.5%

Benson was also covered last week and Lucas noted, “By the time he’s added to your roster, he may have gone cold again.” In four games since then, he has gone 1-15 with a walk. He only struck out twice, which is maybe a good sign? Perhaps? We probably shouldn’t say he has gone cold based on four games, but I don’t think anyone expected him to stay hot all year. There are some positive signs – the strike out rate is much improved and a low BABIP is deflating his performance, so you could still justify buying in. But I still wouldn’t get too excited.

Hot Performers

Stats reflect the last 14 days for both hitters and pitchers. Players selected are usually rostered at lower levels.

Carlos Narvaez – (8.5 P/G)

That’s a gaudy line for a catcher, particularly one rostered in less than 1/6 leagues. Narvaez probably isn’t this good, but he has brought down his K’s, is barreling the ball at a high rate, and is legitimately earning most of this performance. He’s taken over the catching job and now appears to be holding down a spot in the top half of the Red Sox lineup. And he also has a solid minor league track record. Catchers do tend to take longer to breakout.

Jonathan Cannon – (6.9 P/IP)

Cannon unfortunately sits just 93-94, which isn’t quite hard enough to justify the myriad cannon puns I would like to make. But what he lacks in velocity, he makes up for in results, at least lately. How does a guy who lacks strikeouts (and he does lack strikeouts) drive up that type of performance over multiple starts? He doesn’t walk anyone (literally, his last walk was exactly one month (and 26.1 IP) ago. He has also only allowed one HR over that stretch, despite a sub-40% ground ball rate. I’ll be honest, with that K-rate, none of this feels sustainable for Ottoneu leagues. He throws strikes and I think he can continue to avoid walks. He can probably be a Wade Miley or Martin Perez type, but I am not expecting more than that unless he demonstrates that he can miss more bats, and nothing in his track record makes me think he can.