The Wire Troll: Diego Castillo Saving in Seattle
Diego Castillo’s recent work has him in the mix for saves. (Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)
Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. We’re into mid-June now, so as the Angels morph from contenders to pretenders, let’s see who looks like a good waiver wire addition this week.
This week, Shohei Ohtani helped pull the Halos out of their worst streak ever; Stephen Strasburg (thoracic outlet syndrome) got smoked in his long-awaited return; and Minnesota’s first three hitters all went yard on Thursday, just the seventh time that’s ever happened in MLB history.
And now, let’s get to this week’s…
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks
Diego Castillo, RP, Seattle Mariners (ESPN: 4.6 per cent; CBS: 12 per cent): Continuing a recent trend, Castillo was filthy good on Thursday in bagging his second straight save. While he hasn’t necessarily usurped Paul Sewald as the Seattle closer, Castillo has definitely worked his way into the mix and deserves consideration notwithstanding his role. After a sweet start to the season, Castillo got roughed up last month but has been rolling now with seven straight scoreless outings (two saves, two wins and a hold) to eat into what was an awful ERA for a while there. The beefy righty is still working his way out of that hole, but man is he ever looking good now thanks to a recovery in his fastball velocity this season. Grab Castillo in AL-only leagues and deeper mixed formats; worst case scenario is you’ll land a super hot set-up man. Hell, he’s even willing to lug his massive frame off the mound to make a defensive play from time to time (see video below).
Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (ESPN: 0.3 per cent; CBS: 4 per cent): Perdomo made our Top 100 Prospects list as recently as last year before dropping off this season after his struggles in Double-A in 2021. Still, he showed a little something-something in his brief MLB debut last year before struggling with his productivity in the bigs so far this season. However, Perdomo could be worth a look in deeper leagues given that his job security just got a boost with Nick Ahmed (shoulder) shifted to the 60-day IL. At the very least, Perdomo has shown great glovework all over the infield and on Tuesday he smoked a grand salami for his first big league dinger. He racked up a ton of runs, showed flashes of a solid hit tool and displayed nice speed over his minor league career and is still just 22, so there could be some nice upside here.
Quick Hits
- While J.T. Realmuto managed to drive in his 20th run with a sac fly and draw a walk on Thursday, he’s in a 1-for-17 skid, dropping his OPS down to 681. He really has yet to get hot this season, failing to record an OPS of even 700 for any month, in what’s been his worst hitting campaign since his 11-game MLB debut in 2014.
- After an otherwordly start to the season (0.95 ERA through five starts), Zac Gallen has looked a lot more human. His ERA has ballooned to 2.95, but other than Friday, he really he only got bitch slapped once (by the Royals, of all teams), and he took a tough-luck loss in his only other start in June. Coming off a career-worst showing in 2021, Gallen has really turned things around through 11 starts with a personal best 1.07 WHIP and a solid record with a meh team.
- Aaron Judge had another hit on Friday while drawing two more walks (four straight games with free passes), and he just seems to keep getting hotter as the season goes on. How about an OPS of 1149 in June? Good health the last couple of years has been a factor in Judge turning things around, but he has never hit better than he has so far this season. We’ve been remiss on giving him some love this year, but given that he’s been the top Fantasy asset so far, it’s high time for a nod in his direction.
- Speaking of Yankee flyhawks, is it time to give Joey Gallo another look if he’s been cut in your league? Before Friday, he’d hit safely in three straight, going 5-for-12 with three homers, six RBI and a walk. Slowly, but surely, Gallo has improved as the season has progressed, and while he’s been in offensive regression for the last two years, perhaps he’s about to go on a hot streak.
- On Friday, Wade Miley (shoulder) made his first start in nearly three weeks, and while he looked very sharp again, he left early with more shoulder issues. Coming off a career year in 2021, it’s been a real struggle for him, health wise, making it very difficult to roster an otherwise nice asset.
- Another veteran that may have been waived but could be worth a second look is Carlos Santana. He spanked a two-run job on Thursday, making him 6-for-10 with two doubles, a homer, three RBI, two runs and a walk over the last three games before going hitless Friday. Santana was rancid in April, slightly less rancid in May, but has come alive so far in June, so consider him as an option while he’s raking.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Now 76, songwriter supreme Donovan really built a unique sound over the years. Here’s another track from 1969’s Donovan’s Greatest Hits, with a re-recording of the song “Colours,” the original of which was released in 1965.
