I’m not really sure what’s going on in the Deep League Report this week. Decent starting pitchers don’t show up here very often, but this week there’s one in each league. There might be some East Coast bias in play, too, since three of the six NL-only players featured this week are Mets. But enough with the prologue—on with the show.
AL-only position players
Matt Chapman—Athletics
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With Trevor Plouffe now in Tampa and Ryon Healy playing mostly at DH, Chapman has a clear shot at the full-time third base job on Oakland. The 24-year-old has both power and plate discipline, hitting 36 homers and drawing 68 walks in 589 plate appearances split between Double A and Triple A last season. Before his call-up last week, Chapman was hitting .259/.350/.592 with 16 homers and five steals at Triple A, continuing to show the combination of power and patience that placed him toward the top of the A’s prospect list heading into the season. His strikeout rate, which likely will settle around 30 percent, makes him a batting-average risk, but his playing time, power and on-base skills make him worth more than a couple of dollars in FAAB, especially in OBP leagues. Note that Chapman is currently day-to-day with a knee infection, but it looks like antibiotic treatments have been working well and that he is expected to return to the Oakland lineup in a few days.
Mason Williams—Yankees
It’s not clear if the Achilles injury to Aaron Hicks will land him on the DL, but it has kept him on the bench for a few days. Short-staffed in center field already with Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL due to a concussion, the Yankees brought up Williams from Scranton to have a true center fielder on the big-league roster. The 25-year-old hasn’t been tearing it up in Triple A, hitting a meager .243/.289/.275 with no homers and 12 steals. He clearly has little-to-no power, but he should steal enough bags while he’s getting playing time to make him worth a buck or two of FAAB, provided that he gets on base frequently enough to run. Considering his Triple-A stats, that’s not a given, but it’s a worthwhile gamble.
David Washington—Orioles
The injury to Chris Davis prompted the Orioles to promote Washington from Triple A, giving him his first exposure to the major leagues. Baltimore has a lot of 1B/OF/DH types, though, so the 26-year-old rookie probably will fall behind Mark Trumbo, Trey Mancini, Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim, Seth Smith and Joey Rickard at their positions across the depth chart. The promotion certainly was earned, as the big lefty slugger was hitting .291/.344/.517 with 10 home runs, 29 runs scored, 26 RBIs and four steals in 56 games. If he runs into a few early on, he could play his way into more starts against righties. Bid a buck if you need a corner in deep leagues, with the understanding that he probably won’t do much.
Other Options: Alen Hanson, Dwight Smith Jr., Kevan Smith
AL-only pitchers
Alex Claudio—Rangers
He doesn’t strike out many, but Claudio does just about everything else. He has excellent control, posting BB/9 rates well below 2.0 in each of the last two seasons. The lefty also keeps the ball on the ground, putting up a 3.6 GB/FB ratio last season and a 5.1 mark this season. His 5.0 K/9 won’t help your team, even in deep AL-only leagues, but his 2.36 ERA and 1.02 WHIP are in line with his performance over the past few seasons, so there’s no reason to believe he can’t sustain that level of performance. If you need a safe non-closing bullpen option, Claudio is worth a buck of FAAB.
Jacob Faria—Rays
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Through his first three starts, Faria has taken the league by storm, posting a 1.37 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, with 22 strikeouts and four walks over 19 2/3 innings. The 23-year-old won’t put up Kershaw-esque rate stats forever, but he is a legitimate prospect with good stuff who has struck out more than a batter per inning at just about every minor-league stop he’s made over the past few years. If you need starting pitching, go big on Faria—starters with his upside don’t pop up too often in deep AL-only leagues. Bid at least $10-$12, and potentially more, depending on your needs and the league context. For what it’s worth, he went for $22 in my old-school 4×4 AL-only league Sunday night.
David Hernandez—Angels
Bouncing back admirably from a disappointing 2016 season, Hernandez has been terrific for the Angels, posting a 2.49 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 21 2/3 innings, with 24 strikeouts and four walks. The 32-year-old has only one save, though, as Bud Norris has been surprisingly solid in the closer’s role—though he went on the DL on Tuesday. Still. with Cam Bedrosian returning from the DL and Huston Street getting closer, Hernandez remains down on the closer depth chart. Look elsewhere if you’re fishing for saves, but bid $1-$2 if you could use a reliable non-closing reliever to anchor your rate stats and throw in some strikeouts for good measure.
Other Options: Danny Barnes, Dan Altavilla, Daniel Coulombe
NL-only position players
Gavin Cecchini—Mets
The Mets injury woes aren’t limited to their rotation. DL stints for Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker have left a couple of big holes in the infield, prompting the team to promote Cecchini. He can play everywhere, so he’ll be backing up T.J. Rivera at second base, Jose Reyes at shortstop and Wilmer Flores at third base for the time being. However, with Reyes struggling and Rivera not having much of a major-league track record, it wouldn’t take much for Cecchini to end up as more than a utility player, until one or both of the regulars return from the DL. The 23-year-old doesn’t offer much power or speed, and has scuffled so far at Triple A this season, but he has good bat-to-ball skills and could contribute in average, runs and maybe RBIs if he falls into enough playing time.
Brandon Nimmo—Mets
Called up to fill in when Juan Lagares hit the DL, Nimmo probably won’t play much unless there’s an injury to one two of the guys ahead of him on the depth chart. As it stands, he’s behind Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, the suddenly hot Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson. Like Gavin Cecchini, Nimmo’s numbers at Triple A this year are worse than they were a year ago, so it’s not as if the 24-year-old has slugged his way into consideration for playing time, either. On the plus side, he’s still young, he makes good contact and he draws a lot of walks. That makes him a decent gamble in keeper leagues and OBP leagues. On the minus side, he’ll probably need a couple of contracts ahead of him to run their course before he gets an extended shot at being an everyday player.
Johan Camargo—Braves
He won’t displace Dansby Swanson at shortstop or Brandon Phillips at second base any time soon, but it looks like Camargo might have edged ahead of Rio Ruiz in the competition for playing time at third base in Atlanta while Adonis Garcia recovers from a finger injury. The 23-year-old has never reached double digits in homers or steals in a full season in the minors, so don’t expect much from him in either of those categories. As long as he’s getting the bulk of the starts at third, though, he’s worth a pickup in deep NL-only leagues since playing time is hard to come by in the free-agent pool.
Other Options: Jeremy Hazelbaker, Chad Huffman, Ryan Raburn
NL-only pitchers
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Injuries to Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey have left the Mets rotation threadbare. Lugo’s return from an elbow injury could not have come at a better time for the team. The 27-year-old has been excellent in his first two starts, posting a 2.63 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, with 11 strikeouts and four walks in 13 2/3 innings. Those rate stats are right in line with the 2.67 ERA and 1.09 WHIP he had a season ago, so there’s no reason he can’t continue to perform at a high level as long as he remains healthy. Given the state of the Mets rotation, he doesn’t have much competition for starts, so he’ll be a good source of bulk innings for the next month or two, even if his rate stats creep upwards. Bid a few bucks in deep NL-only leagues and hope that he can stay on the mound for an extended period of time.
Andrew Chafin—Diamondbacks
Like a season ago, Chafin has averaged less than an inning per appearance as a bullpen lefty. Unlike a season ago, the southpaw has been outstanding, posting a 1.90 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP with 33 strikeouts and eight walks in 23 2/3 innings after putting up a 6.75 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP with 28 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22 2/3 innings in 2016. He won’t throw enough innings to have the same kind of impact that a reliever throwing 80+ innings in a year would have, but it’s hard to find fault with his ERA and WHIP, especially considering the 12.6 K/9 that goes with those rate stats. In deep NL-only leagues, when looking for a non-closing reliever in the free-agent pool, finding someone who won’t set fire to your rate stats is often more important than finding someone who might actually contribute positively to your rate stats, since most of those guys already are rostered. The 27-year-old looks like a relatively safe play in these types of leagues with the potential to help a bit. Don’t bid more than a buck, but don’t be afraid to spend $1 in FAAB on Chafin if your bullpen has an open slot or if you need to ditch a pitcher who has been torching your rate stats.
Brock Stewart—Dodgers
Already 25 years old, Brock Stewart isn’t young for a rookie. He attracted a lot of attention with his performance in the minors last season, though, striking out 129 and walking only 19 in 121 combined innings at three levels before finishing the year with the major-league club. The righty will work out of the bullpen for now as a long reliever, although an injury to any of the starters or continued poor performance from Rich Hill could give him the opportunity to make some starts for the Dodgers. He’s worth $1-$2 in FAAB as a long reliever in deep NL-only leagues, and a little more than that in keeper leagues.
Other Options: Jason Motte, Brian Duensing, Dustin McGowan
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I will, of course, write about some players multiple times over the course of the season. Off the top of my head, I think I've done it for Jabari Blash and Ricky Nolasco this season already. However, I usually write about them for a second or third time because something changed.