The Fantasy Baseball Experience - Who's Losing Playing Time?
Hi, I’m Jack Thaler, and I hope you enjoyed last week’s edition of My Fantasy Baseball Experience. This week I will be talking about playing time.
Believe it or not, playing time affects fantasy baseball more than you probably think, so today I will be discussing two emerging playing-time situations as the MLB season enters its final stretch.
The first of these situations involves Andrew Vaughn’s recent breakout. Vaughn was only supposed to be the Brewers’ temporary first baseman while Rhys Hoskins spent time on the injured list with a left thumb sprain. Hoskins is expected to return in mid-August, but the question is whether he will still have the full-time job because, since being traded to the Brewers, Vaughn is batting .348 with seven home runs in 25 games.
I actually think the Brewers will end up platooning Vaughn and Hoskins at first base, which would make both of them much less valuable for fantasy baseball because neither player would receive enough at-bats. So enjoy Vaughn for the next week or so because you may need to drop him once Hoskins returns.
Another playing-time situation involves a young player named Kristian Campbell. Campbell was a top-10 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and he made his major league debut earlier this season. He played nearly three months, from April through mid-June, before being sent back to Triple-A.
His numbers weren’t terrible, as he was batting .223 with six home runs, which is respectable for a rookie. However, the Red Sox decided to send him down anyway, partly because it also created room for Wilyer Abreu to return from the injured list.
Campbell is heating up in Triple-A right now, and I expect the Red Sox will call him back up soon. At the moment, David Hamilton and Ceddanne Rafaela have been sharing time at second base. If Campbell is promoted, I expect he will platoon with one of them, which would obviously limit his fantasy value. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Now for my waiver pickups of the week.
Pitchers:
Cade Cavalli
Cade Horton
Cade Cavalli just made his second career start and his first since returning from Tommy John surgery. He pitched 3.1 scoreless innings while striking out six batters. I think Cavalli is a stud. He has incredible stuff, and the only real concern is his health.
Cade Horton is a former top prospect who is on an incredible streak of not allowing any runs. Over his last four starts, he has given up zero earned runs while striking out 16 batters. Horton has tremendous talent, so keep an eye on him.
Hitters:
Jakob Marsee
Luke Keaschall
Jakob Marsee was just called up and made his major league debut about a week ago. He is batting .419 with one home run and five stolen bases in his first 11 games, so keep an eye on him if his hot start continues.
Luke Keaschall showed promise during a six-game stint in April and was recently called back up. Since returning, he is batting .458 with two home runs in five games. He has shown no signs of slowing down so far this season, making him another player worth watching closely.
I hope these waiver adds help, and I hope to see you next week for the 10th edition of My Fantasy Baseball Experience.
