The end of the fantasy baseball season is quickly approaching so let’s look at some intriguing players available in most formats, and some even in the deepest of leagues. All of these players have received a recent major uptick in playing time.
Hitters
Matt Thaiss, 1B/3B, Angels: He’s 0% rostered on Yahoo. A former first-round (16th overall) MLB Draft pick, Thaiss is a super-utility player now for the rebuilding Angels. Last year, he was 14% better than the average PCL hitter. He’s changed his swing to crouch more so he can explode out of his stance and generate more power. He made an error last week at second base, where he had not played since Little League. He’s does not profile as a top prospect but we just need at-bats now with the sample sizes so small. Just about anything can happen with any player over two weeks as long as he has plate appearances.
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Jazz Chisholm, SS/2B, Marlins: Just 1% rostered. Always “all tools, no toolbox,” Chisholm has refined his game this summer and earned a promotion. The power is legit. The Marlins have to play him because they’re so embarrassed by the Zac Gallen trade, where Chisholm was acquired straight up. Still, the Marlins are a playoff team at the moment. Chisholm is expected to play every day at second base for the rest of the season, despite having logged only one inning there in official play in his minor-league career.
Miguel Andujar, 3B/OF, Yankees: He’s 22% rostered by people who remember his shockingly good 2018 season. He’s been terrible since, on the rare days he’s physically been able to play. Note that Statcast says that even in 2018, his expected slugging was .447, decent but well short of his .527 actual. He does make contact, which is a trait you want to focus on in the short remainder of this short season since you can get lucky with a ball in play but not with a whiff.
Delino DeShields, OF, Indians: Under 5% rostered. It’s all about the 86th percentile sprint speed here. So go for it if you need steals. Like most of the rabbits, Statcast hates him. I note that I preceded Statcast in hating fantasy baseball rabbits. His expected average for his career is .215; so his .271 entering action on Friday is probably a high-water mark.
Daz Cameron, OF, Tigers: He’s 0% rostered as the Tigers’ seventh-ranked prospect. He came to Detroit in the Justin Verlander deal. But he’s never been able to approach his father’s intriguing combo profile — he’s just not as toolsy as Mike was. The defense in center is similar. He was very good one year (2018) in the Arizona Fall League. but his OPS in Triple-A last year was just .707.
Tyrone Taylor, OF, Brewers: He’s 0% rostered and a career minor leaguer. He hit his first MLB homer last week, coming off a position player. But it still counts. No idea how many in history have done that but it can’t be many. He’s picked up eight hits in his first 22 career at-bats. Taylor was the 93rd-ranked prospect by Baseball America — in 2015. He’s 26. Everyone is looking for the next Mike Yastrzemski and you only need him to be that for a couple of weeks.
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Cedric Mullins, OF, Orioles: The fact that he’s 1% rostered with five steals and hitting nearly .300 shows you how tuned out fantasy baseball is this September. How can you not want a guy who can be described like this? The Orioles are doing it right in giving some young players a taste of the majors in anticipation of 2021. Mullins is post-hype. He was viewed as a power/speed asset in about 2018. Now he’s a ground-ball hitter (51.6% this year and 54% career vs. MLB average of 45.3%) who uses his 89th percentile sprint speed to exceed Statcast expectations at the plate. And he’s going to play because he’s 96th percentile in outs above average in CF, which is Gold Glove-caliber.
Sam Huff, C, Rangers: He’s going to play, says manager Chris Woodward. And Woodward added, “I don’t know,” when asked who hit for more power, Joey Gallo or Huff. “You watch them take BP, they both hit them really far. It’s hard to say.” Just 1% rostered. He could hit seven homers the remainder of the season, or hit .180 (or both).
Pitchers
Clarke Schmidt, Yankees: He’s 4% rostered. Here’s a scouting profile. “The arsenal is a trio of above-average or better offerings, headlined by a low to mid-90’s fastball with hard sinking action and a high-spin slider in the mid-80s….” The Yankees planned to use him in the bullpen but don’t seem to be able to afford that now. So they’ll have to hope he can reach his scouting ceiling of No. 2 starter toot suite.
Caleb Smith, Diamondbacks: Back from missing most of the year with COVID-19, he’s 42% rostered. Injuries in the Arizona rotation have paved a way for him to start. But we have no idea how many pitches he can throw. He’s been rehabbing since mid-August, or before his trade for Starling Marte. Smith was pounded last year (expected slugging allowed was .471). He can get you a 25-30% K% if you’re feeling lucky.