OF Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals (69%)
Dylan Crews, one of the big names from the 2023 draft, will be called up to start for the Nationals this coming week. He is a potential 5 tool asset for fantasy owners, as he had 13 home runs and 25 steals this year in the minors with decent ratios. He is certainly worth bidding for in any leagues in which he is still available, but you will likely need to bid a hefty amount to obtain him.
SP Osvaldo Bido, Oakland Athletics (40%)
Osvaldo Bido has started six straight games and has won four of them. Aside from an ugly seven-run blow-up against the Angels, of all teams, Bido has gone at least five innings and has not allowed more than two runs in any of these games. While his peripheral numbers leave much to be desired, he seems to have some pretty nasty stuff. He is worth a look for owners in deeper formats who need the potential for more quality starts or wins, but the walks he has been allowing could start to cost him more.
C Adrian Del Castillo, Arizona Diamondbacks (39%)
We’ve had a lot of impressive young catchers pop up this year, and Del Castillo appears to be yet another one. He had 24 home runs at AAA before his callup earlier this month, and he is slashing a robust .333/.391/.595 through his 42 major league at bats so far. There are definitely signs that he is playing above his head, like his lackluster batted ball velocities and a strikeout rate of over thirty percent. However, Del Castillo already has 3 homers for Arizona, and one would think that what he is doing over this short sample is, at least to some degree, just a continuation of the success he enjoyed in the minors. He is certainly worth a scoop if you are in need of a catcher with some upside or in two catcher leagues where he might be an upgrade over at least one of your guys.
SP Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals (22%)
Pallante isn’t going to wow anyone with any of his performances, and his walk percentage is far too high, but he’s done a pretty good job of limiting the damage against him. His 3.84 ERA isn’t great, but it’s not bad either. He also just pitched back-to-back seven-inning games with no more than two runs allowed, and against the Dodgers and the Twins, no less. Pallante’s secret is a near 63 percent groundball rate, which is actually the highest of any starter in the game by a good margin. This makes him potentially worth adding and starting in deeper leagues for owners needing an arm with a pulse.
OF Ramon Laureano, Atlanta Braves (22%)
Laureano has caught fire this month, hitting .364/.407/.654 with five home runs (which accounts for over half of his season total). He is now batting second for Atlanta, and it seems like he could be a decent addition in many formats. He’s currently on a nine-game hitting streak, so hopefully, the wave can be ridden for at least a while longer.
Honorable Mentions
RP Porter Hodge, Chicago Cubs (34%)
One of the top options to close after Neris left. Good arm.
RP Edwin Uceta, Tampa Bay Rays (29%)
Has been exceptional. Now part of a closing committee.