Ottoneu Hot Right Now: September 24, 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
Stephen Kolek – 36 current auctions
The Royals acquired the 28-year-old righty as part of the trade deadline Freddy Fermin deal with the Padres. He spent most of August in AAA, where he displayed a too-low 10.4% K-BB% due to an elevated BB%, but the strikeouts were there. He was called up to the big leagues for a spot start at the end of August, and he did well, going 6.0 IP while giving up only one run, though he only struck out three. But the key to his success in his last three starts has been his limiting of walks. In his four starts with the Royals, his BB% is at 3.0% versus the 7.7% BB% he displayed in 14 starts with the Padres. There probably isn’t anything to latch onto there. His season BB% is 6.7% and that’s likely where he’ll finish the season. I’m harping on what is a good BB%, but without a swing-and-miss pitch, Kolek has leaned on a heavy sinker and good batted ball outcomes. He’s a 4.6 P/IP starter on the year, but he’s been hot with the Royals, pitching to a 7.0 P/IP mark with his new team.
Tyler Wells – 23 current auctions
Wells is finally back for the O’s and has had three good starts. Two of those were against the low-powered offenses of the Pirates and the White Sox, and Wells only struck out a combined 10 across those two starts. He’s limiting walks, which is helping his ERA stay low, given the fact that he’s given up one home run in each of his three starts. 2023 was Wells’ best season by far. He finished the year with 118.2 IP, a K% of 24.9%, and a WHIP/ERA of 0.99/3.64. That year, his changeup recorded a 16.4% SwStr%, and it played so nicely with his fastball to be a big part of his success. He lines up to take on the Rays for his last start of the season, but a $1 pick up and keep at the tail end of the season may pay dividends next year if Wells can find that sweet changeup again.
Hunter Barco – 22 current auctions
The 24-year-old lefty threw one inning of relief in his major league debut last night, September 23rd. He recorded the win, though it was on shaky ground. While he didn’t walk any batters, he did give up two hits and relied on his defense to get him out of the inning, recording no strikeouts. Still, a win is not bad for your first MLB experience.
He had one heck of a season in the minors (AA/AAA) where he recorded a 1.20 WHIP, a 2.81 ERA, and a 27.8% K%. If you’re contending and thinking it may be nice to get some of those K% points in the last week, take caution, as his BB% is too high, 11.8%. These things are weird, though. He walked none in his debut, but I wouldn’t bet on his BB% staying at zero. Barco was listed as the number four Pirates prospect by Eric Longenhagen back in March when he wrote:
Barco’s velocity has been up again in the spring of 2025, peaking in the 96-97 mph range. If he can sustain mid-90s heat all year, then he’ll have made a good case to be on next offseason’s Top 100 list, as his secondary pitches have tended to carry his profile, especially when he was living around 90 mph at Florida.
His fastball averaged 93.1 MPH in his one MLB inning.
Roster Adds
Carter Jensen – Add% Change (7 Days) – 22.6%
The 22-year-old Royals’ rookie catcher has been lucky with a .324 BABIP, but somehow unlucky when you compare his actual stats with his expected stats in his small sample season (51 PA):
BA: .289, xBA: .378
SLG: .556, xSLG: .716
wOBA: .395, xwOBA: .492
Still, you’ll take that .556 SLG any day. With a 91.4% Z-Contact%, you may start to open your eyes a little more when exploring his player page. He’s hit the ball hard (58.3%) and gotten to the barrel of the bat (22.2%). He’s also not displaying exaggerated strikeout rates to demonstrate power; 11.8% BB%/17.6% K%. There’s a lot to like from Jensen. He’s a great add now to keep through the offseason.
Zach Cole – Add% Change (7 Days) – 19.0%
The Astros’ rookie outfielder has been playing above his expectations in his first 30 major-league plate appearances:
BA: .296, xBA: .267
SLG: .630, xSLG: .587
wOBA: .420, xwOBA: .391
Furthermore, he’s been striking out at a 33.3% clip with a .357 BABIP. It’s sort of like that move, Angels in the Outfield. It’s actually one of the wildest small sample profiles I’ve seen this season. His Z-Contact% of 78.0% is well below the average, yet he’s barrelling the ball 17.6% of the time with an excellent 64.7% hard-hit rate. Someone must have told him, “Get up there and swing like hell, kid”. It’s been working. Adding him now to ride the hot streak is a gamble; he has plenty of “Oh’fers” in his gamelog with all that swing and miss.
Hot Performers
Stats reflect the last 14 days for both hitters and pitchers. Players selected are usually rostered at lower levels.
Bo Naylor – 8.7 P/G
Part of the Guardians’ end-of-season surge, Naylor has dropped his September K% down to 16.7% while slashing .306/.340/.592 with three home runs. He’s made a few key improvements on the year as a whole, and though his season-long slash line sits at .194/.283/.379, he does have 14 home runs and is only 25 years old.
Heriberto Hernández – 7.6 P/G
A 25-year-old outfielder for the Marlins, Hernández has been hitting in the middle of the lineup. He’s played in 82 games this season, his rookie year, and he’s shown some improvements along the way, including dropping his September K% down to 22.1% from his season mark of 26.2%. He’s tapped into his power in the month as well, slugging .452 with three home runs.
Carmen Mlodzinski – 8.0 P/IP
The Pirates’ reliever may be a good pitcher to add if you’re running out of IP but still want to maximize your counts. He’s played a long-relief role for most of the season and could add holds points to your totals before the season is out.
Colin Rea – 7.7 P/IP
Rea was listed in Jake Mailhot’s Ottoneu Drip: Last-Minute Pitchers to Add: September 23, 2025. In it, he wrote:
Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon have had their ups and downs this year but the matchup looks good enough to think about streaming them for their final starts of the season.