The good news is that the Rays removed one obstacle to Wander Franco's promotion by trading Willy Adames to the Brewers this weekend.
The bad news is that they introduced a new one.
Taylor Walls ... what the heck?
When you hear Willy Adames was traded and then find out who's been called up to replace him pic.twitter.com/QFUNohK9vf
— Scott White (@CBSScottWhite) May 22, 2021
Couldn't it have at least been Vidal Brujan?
We can talk about Walls if you want to. He showed good on-base skills in the minors and is apparently a great defender at shortstop. But will he be the difference in the Rays winning the AL East? Of course not. If defense is mainly what he brings to the table, then the Rays already had that with Adames, and surely they know it.
It comes off like a stall tactic. Maybe they want to wait another month until the Super 2 issue is off the table. Maybe they honestly want to see more of Franco in the upper minors given that he's a 20-year-old who had basically an entire year of development wiped out.
Fair enough. It means this period with Walls might just be a trial run to see if he can do enough with the bat to justify the glove. At 24, he deserves his chance, and if Franco came up first, he might never get it. So far with that chance, Walls is 3 for 8 with two doubles. Hard to make much of it yet.
- We talk waivers, Luis Castillo (again) and much more on the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast. You can follow us to get the latest episodes on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
| ||||||||||||
In the long run, I don't think he has enough power to be a real asset in Fantasy. I'm thinking a player in the Nick Ahmed mold, if things go right, and I'd take a flier in a deeper Rotisserie league -- say, 15 teams or more -- just to see where it goes.
As for Brujan, I think his arrival could be any day still. His usage at Triple-A suggests it'll more likely be to play the outfield than the infield.
Let's see who else is emerging on the waiver wire ...
Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter
Your Cheat Code To Fantasy Baseball
You're destined to gain an edge over your friends with advice from the award-winning FBT crew.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
With a pair of two-homer games over the weekend and 49.5 Head-to-Head points over the past week, Austin Riley seems to have put it all together, taking the lessons learned from so studiously working the count at the start of the year and bringing his massive power into the fold. Statcast suggests he's overachieving, for what it's worth, but you don't pass up a .320/.414/.549 slash line from a player with his pedigree this deep into the season.
| |||||||||||||
Adbert Alzolay has had his ups and downs, but his latest start was his best yet and further evidence that the Cubs are comfortable letting the rookie pitch deep into games provided he keeps his pitch count low. Three straight starts without a walk should help with that. He ranks right between Brandon Woodruff and Trevor Bauer in terms of swinging-strike rate.
| |||||||||||||
I was pretty dismissive of Spencer Turnbull after his no-hitter Tuesday, but that was before I realized he was in line for two favorable matchups against the Indians and Yankees. He turned in an excellent start the turn before the no-hitter, too, which is why his season-long numbers look so good. I'm still skeptical, but if he does deliver on those two matchups, improving his numbers all the more, it'll be too late to add him.
| |||||||||||||
After a lengthy recovery from a hamstring strain suffered in spring training, Brendan Rodgers is back and ready to claim the second base job for the Rockies. He didn't show much rust on his rehab assignment, going 7 for 15 with two doubles at Triple-A Albuquerque, and got two hits Saturday in his second game back. The former top prospect is still only 24 and will have all the benefits of Coors Field. There's enough upside for all formats.
| |||||||||||||
One of the top pitching prospects in baseball has a rotation spot to call his own now, and that's enough to make Spencer Howard a speculative pickup in deeper leagues. The reason he's not being added everywhere is because he already got a look last year and struggled in six starts, but he was pitching through a rotator cuff issue that hampered his velocity. He's still building up after beginning the year in relief, but there's plenty of upside here.
| |||||||||||||
James Kaprielian's first career start was good. His second career start nine days later was great, pretty much assuring him a couple more turns in the Athletics rotation. He's a former prospect who's only getting his chance now, at age 27, because of health issues, but he bounced back with a 3.18 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 in the minors two years ago.
| |||||||||||||
Hansel Robles has been used like a closer would in each of his past three appearances, first by securing a save Thursday, then by pitching the ninth inning of a tie game Saturday, then by trying for another save Sunday. He ended up blowing the lead in that one, allowing one run on one hit with one walk, but then earned a win with Tyler Duffey notching the save. Robles obviously isn't secure in the role yet but appears to be the front-runner for saves with Alex Colome and Taylor Rogers having already squandered their chances.
| |||||||||||||
It was only 2019 when Danny Santana hit .283 with 28 homers and 21 stolen bases. The performance was easy to discount given his unimpressive track record, which is why so many wrote him off when he came down to earth in 2020, but it turns out he was dealing with a pretty serious elbow issue that required surgery. The Red Sox have started him in three straight since he returned from his rehab assignment, where he went 9 for 20 with two homers and one steal. In Rotisserie leagues especially, he's worth a shot.
| |||||||||||||
