The most exciting news of the past week for many fantasy players was the arrival of Rays prospect Wander Franco. Most managers had already anticipated the uber-prospect getting the call before the official news. Franco was already rostered in well over 90 percent of Fantrax leagues, and that number now sits at 96 percent. If he is somehow available in your league, get ready to put in a hefty FAAB bid to acquire him. Excitement is at a fever pitch for what Franco will do over the final three months of the season. Franco flashed all his tools in his debut, going 2-for-4 including a three-run home run. While I fully expect Franco to eventually become a fantasy stud, I also believe there will be plenty of people who feel I have him ranked too low in the latest edition of my rest of season rankings.
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I do have him ranked as a top-100 hitter, so he is someone I would feel comfortable starting in fantasy right away. He has an elite hit tool and batting eye, with above-average power and speed. However, we are still talking about a 20-year-old who has just 177 plate appearances above A-ball under his belt. He is facing the best pitching in the world, and there will likely be some lulls. In fact, since his debut, Franco is currently sitting on an 0-for-15 slump. I am guessing he did not have a ton of those stretches in the Minors. In Dynasty leagues, I would not only hold but HODL (hold on for dear life). But in redraft, I could certainly see capitalizing on the hype and selling for the right package.
Sometimes we forget that even the prospects who pan out do not exactly set the world on fire from Day One. Mike Trout had a triple slash of .220/.281/.390 in 40 games in 2011. Jose Ramirez hit .239 with eight home runs in his first 180 Major League games. Even the current king of fantasy, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. posted a -3.4 offensive WAR in 2019. Baseball is hard, and it often takes quite a bit of time for hitters to figure it out. Not everyone is Ronald Acuna, Jr. or Fernando Tatis, Jr. Franco has all the tools to become an elite fantasy player in due time. I would just against expecting too much for the rest of 2021. I believe he will settle somewhere in the .275 range and hopefully approach double digits in both home runs and stolen bases. That is plenty useful for a half-season in fantasy.
Speaking of Prospects…
The Milwaukee Brewers recalled Keston Hiura this week after Daniel Vogelbach injured himself scoring on a base hit. I dislocated my finger playing co-ed flag football once, so I get it. We know the upside with Hiura, as he is just two years removed from hitting .303 with 19 homers in 84 games. He also has a .403 batting average in limited action in Triple-A this season. But the days of Hiura hitting for a high average in the Majors appear long gone. Over his last 99 MLB games, Hiura has hit .186 with a 37 percent strikeout rate. Of course, power always plays, and guys get hot. Just ask Kyle Schwarber. Hiura should get a pretty decent look with Vogelbach out until August and is worth a flier for those in dire need of power.
Like Wander Franco, Jarred Kelenic was a can’t-miss prospect way back in (checks notes) May of 2021. I remember it like it was yesterday… Anyway, Kelenic hit just .096 in 83 at-bats before being shipped off to Tacoma. He has acquitted himself quite nicely to Triple-A pitching. In 20 games with Tacoma, Kelenic is hitting .306 with seven home runs and six stolen bases. He is still available in 16 percent of Fantrax leagues and is worth a stash for those with room on their roster. The Mariners have exceeded expectations thus far this season, but their offense can use a jolt. They seem to have (again) decided to not play Taylor Trammell full-time, and Jake Fraley has cooled off a bit over the past week or so. I expect Kelenic to be back with the big club sometime after the All-Star break.
Closer Notes
The carousel never stops, friends. Here are a few of the latest shenanigans around baseball’s bullpens.
On Friday, Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi announced that Jose Alvarado would get the next save chance. He was not messing around, as he asked Alvarado to get five outs against the Mets in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Alvarado blew the save, partly due to his own fielding error. In the nightcap, Archie Bradley blew the save in the seventh inning. When the Phillies took the lead in extras, jettisoned closer Hector Neris came in and recorded the save. With Alvarado unavailable on Saturday, Neris was again given a save chance, which he promptly blew. I put Alvarado ahead of Neris in this week’s rest of season rankings, but I cannot pretend to have a ton of confidence in either option at this point. I left Bradley out of the mix for now but he can also re-enter the conversation at some point.
Cincinnati Reds reliever Lucas Sims will miss a month with a right elbow sprain. Sims had seemed to put it together a bit before the injury, so the timing is unfortunate. I had initially thought that Tejay Antone could step in and grab a share of the closer’s role upon his return from a forearm strain, but Antone re-aggravated the injury and is back on the IL. It would appear the job is Amir Garrett’s for the time being. Garrett has been a mess for most of the year, although he has pitched four scoreless innings over his last five games. Brad Brach recorded a save on Thursday and a hold on Saturday, so he could join the fray as well.
Detroit deployed Jose Cisnero and not Michael Fulmer to dispose of Houston in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. It seemed odd given that Fulmer had been used as Detroit’s de facto closer both before and after his recent stint on the Injured List. Fulmer entered the nightcap in the sixth (not seventh) inning while tasked with protecting a two-run lead. This could very well have been the “high leverage” outing many managers ask their best relievers to navigate, as Houston had the top of their lineup due in the sixth. However, Fulmer did himself no favors by prompting blowing the lead by allowing back-to-back home runs to Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa. For now, I still have Fulmer ranked higher than Cisnero in my rest of season rankings, but I do not feel great about it. Gregory Soto can also be a factor in the Tigers’ bullpen.
In Minnesota, Taylor Rogers recorded a save last weekend but has been used in more of a setup role in three appearances this week. Meanwhile, Hector Robles has two saves in the last seven days despite allowing four earned runs in three innings. Good times. Both Robles and Rogers have seven saves on the year, while Robles has a 12-7 advantage in holds. Rogers is the superior pitcher by almost every measure, highlighted by his 42:5 K: BB ratio. Because of that, I am significantly higher on Rogers going forward this season. But Rocco Baldelli obviously loves him some Robles, so he cannot be ignored in fantasy.
Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings
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How close was Cedric Mullins in earning a spot as a top 100 OF for rest of the season?
Hi Justin,
Thank you for your question. He actually is, and I currently have him at #39 among OF. I know it doesn’t show that in the “Outfield” portion of the rankings. For some reason, they have Mullins listed as a CF but not an OF, which I realize doesn’t make much sense. But Mullins is my 39th ranked OF if you go off Overall ranking.