BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
Folks it’s that time of the week again where I’m here to give you three players to pick-up that will help your teams immediately. This week we have a couple pitching prospects and an power/speed combo outfielder!
Alek Manoah: Toronto Blue Jays SP (35.6% ESPN Ownership)
The first player on today’s list is a pitching prospect from the Toronto Blue Jays that MUST be owned in all leagues. Alek Manoah is currently the fifth-ranked prospect for the Blue Jays and gets his first major league start tonight against the New York Yankees. Manoah gets the opportunity tonight because of his recent dominance in the minor leagues. So far this season Alek Manoah has made three AAA starts and was incredible in all of them. Over his three starts Manoah went 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, and 27 strikeouts in just 18 innings. Manoah allowed just seven hits and one home run over these three starts as his elite pitching forced the Blue Jays to call him up earlier than expected. Manoah is a hard thrower who can consistently throw his fast ball in the high 90’s, has a great slider, and generates a ton of swing and misses with his pitches. He is currently owned in only 35% of leagues but that number should skyrocket if he has a good debut. I love Alek Manoah because of his potential. Manoah’s strikeouts per nine innings was 13.9 in the minor leagues which would be an elite level for the majors. Even if he K rate goes down a little, Manoah should be able to create enough strikeouts to be a must start in fantasy regardless of the match-up. Pick him up immediately!
Manuel Margot: Tampa Bay Rays OF (44.5% ESPN Ownership)
The second player on today’s list is a name you have probably all heard before as he was once a highly touted prospect for the San Diego Padres. After a few disappointing seasons, Manuel Margot has become a very reliable everyday outfielder for the Tamp Bay Rays and is hitting the ball better than he ever has in his career. So far this season Margot is batting .248/.282/.391 with four home runs, seven doubles, two triples, and 28 RBI’s. He currently has a hard hit rate of 41.8% and a strikeout rate of 15.9% which are both the best rates of his career. Margot has also stolen six bases on the year and should finish the season with around 20 steals. Despite only hitting .248 I expect Margot’s average to get better as the season goes on because of how hard he is hitting the ball combined with a BABIP of just .275 (lowest in his career). Margot has been getting “unlucky” this season and if he continues to hit the ball hard and strike out less his average is only going to go up. Recently we have seen that with Margot batting .333 with just three strikeouts over his last 9 games and in those games he’s added 11 RBI’s and a home run and a steal. If your team is in need of an outfielder that can give you some power and speed I would look into adding Manuel Margot.
James Kaprielian: Oakland Athletics RP (27.7% ESPN Ownership)
The final player on today’s list is a pitching prospect for the Oakland Athletics who is getting an opportunity to start because of injuries. James Kaprielian has been given an opportunity in the Athletics rotation because of the injuries to Juesus Luzardo and Mike Fiers. He’s made three appearances so far this season and has looked very good in all three starts. On the year, Kaprielian is 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 17.2 innings. Kaprielian has done this against good offenses, the Angels, Mariners and Red Sox. James Kaprielian is another pitcher who generates a lot of strikeouts and in his first three starts he caused 31 swinging strikes. Although it’s a very small sample size, 31 swinging strikes over just 17.2 innings is an elite rate and a very encouraging sign for a young pitcher. Whether Kaprielian stays in the rotation long term is up in the air but, as long as he has a spot I would highly recommend using him. If he continues to pitch as well as he has the the Athletics will have no choice but to continue to give him starts.
In case you missed it check out Episode 7 of TWS Fantasy Baseball
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