The Wire Troll: David Price Returns to Rotation
David Price limited damage in his return to the rotation. (AP)
Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. We’re into mid-July and pretty much 55 per cent of the way through the 2021 season. Mine the wire!
This week, the Dodgers cancelled Trevor Bauer bobblehead night, which was scheduled for August 19; Adam Eaton was DFAed by the White Sox; and Eddie Rosario landed on the IL with an abdominal strain.
And now, let’s get to this week’s…
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks
David Price, RP/SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN: 19.9 per cent; CBS: 21 per cent): Can you believe it’s been seven years since Price was dealt away from Tampa Bay? Now on his fourth team since that trade, he has mostly been pitching in relief for the Dodgers, but that changed Friday given: (a) the ongoing Bauer investigation; and (b) Clayton Kershaw‘s forearm issues. Price has twice been added as a gun for hire in a playoff chase; perhaps moving to the rotation for L.A. will give him a bigger opportunity to put his stamp on another pennant race. He’s looked sharp lately, hurling three straight scoreless outings (covering three innings) in relief, and certainly held his own in Friday’s start with three shutout frames (despite some battles), but has generally been inconsistent so far this season. Still, Price has a nice record this season despite some command regression. He has managed to lower his xERA to its best since 2016, but has already been torched for a harder hit ball than he gave up in all of 2019 when he last pitched (recall that Price opted out of the 2020 season). One caveat: we expect a tiny bit of performance regression from Price as a starter. Oh, and one other thing: keep this dude away from the virtual world (see video below).
Quick Hits
- Brandon Nimmo, who’s already missed plenty of action this year as part of a banged-up Met outfield, is hurting again. He injured his shoulder on Wednesday and was not part of Thursday’s lineup, but the game was rained out. It’s considered minor (Nimmo reportedly would have been available off the bench), so that’s good news, and the fact he played and enjoyed a big game Friday suggests he dodged a bullet. There’s been a major regression in his extra-base pop so far, but he’s enjoying career bests in BA and OBP to compensate.
- Back in late-December 2016, we wrote about the current longest tenured managers for every MLB team, and at the time, Colorado’s Bud Black was the newest kid on the block, having been hired the previous month. Well, after guiding the team to 91 wins in 2018, it’s been all downhill since, and despite a recent strong stretch by the Rox, they sit in fourth place in NL West, well back of the top three. Unless this team finally delivers some clutch hitting on the road and has a huge second half, Black’s tenure with the team may soon be coming to a close.
- San Diego rookie reliever Daniel Camarena has been rocked in each of his first two MLB appearances, but on Thursday, he did some rocking of his own, spanking a grand slam off Max Scherzer in what’s become an emotional story. With the blast, Camarena became the first Padre ever to have his first career hit be a grand salami. We may never see him pitch in the bigs again, but man, what a memory he’ll leave.
- Yankee pitching prospect Luis Medina has had a tough time since being promoted to Double-A last month, seeing his BAA rise to .250 after dominating High-A to begin the season. However, he seems to be adjusting to the higher level given that in his last start he hurled five shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while fanning eight. Medina reportedly has an electric arm, so he’s definitely worth considering in Dynasty formats.
- Logan Gilbert, No. 97 on our Top 100 Prospects list, really gave Seattle a boost on Thursday considering how poorly its rotation had fared the last couple of days. He fired seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball at the Yanks, fanning a career-best eight and walking none for his finest outing yet and his third straight strong performance. The rookie has gotten better and better since his recall, and now has a winning record through 10 starts, while showing very fine control. Gilbert is the real deal.
- Yankees fans are in panic mode lately, but don’t blame reliever Chad Green. He’s hurled shutout ball in nine of his last 10 outings to lower his ERA by nearly a full run. Green got off to a great start, scuffled in May, was better in June and has been lights out so far this month as he’s yet to surrender a hit in 4 1/3 IP. Carrying a heavy workload as always, he’s recovered nicely with his command after regressing in that regard for a couple of years.
- The Cubs have had a rough go lately, but perhaps help is on the way given how well outfielder Michael Hermosillo is mashing at Triple-A. A 28th round pick of the Angels in 2013, he was signed by the Cubs as a minor league free agent last fall. Hermosillo spanked four long balls and hit .324 in June to earn Cubs Minor League Hitter of the Month honours. For the season, the 26-year-old is batting .330 with five homers and 20 RBI in 27 games while improving his walk rate. Hermosillo has certainly put himself in position to get another look in the bigs.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American funk band Mandrill got its start in 1962, and other than a 10-year gap in the ’80s, has remained active since. In 1973, the band released its fourth album, Just Outside of Town, featuring the classic “Fat City Strut.”
