The Wire Troll: Abraham Toro Takes Over Second Base for the A’s
Abraham Toro has a chance to provide some deep-league value. (Facebook)
Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. April is nearly over and you now have a better idea of your teams’ strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, there is still ample time to plug any holes you have by employing the waiver wire.
This week, Ozzie Albies (toe) came off the IL; recently recalled Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s first MLB hit was a tie-breaking dinger; and Toronto swingman Bowden Francis (forearm) has landed on the 15-day IL.
And now, let’s get to this week’s…
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks
Abraham Toro, 3B/1B/2B, Oakland Athletics (ESPN: 1.9 per cent; CBS: 4 per cent): Almost three years ago, we thought Toro was worth a second look because he landed an everyday role. However, his play tailed off from that point, and he’s never had as much PT since. That’s changed this season and Toro has been thrust into an even bigger gig now that Zack Gelof (oblique) is out. Unfortunately, Toro isn’t immune to periodic struggles, but he did snap a slump with an RBI double on Friday. The reps will likely be there for a while and he does have some pop (see video below), so if he can get his walk rate back to where it was last year and tap into the clear upside he has in his hit tool, he’ll be an AL-only asset worth considering.
Yanquiel Fernandez, OF, Colorado Rockies (ESPN: 0.1 per cent; CBS: 6 per cent): Fernandez ranked just inside the top 75 in our most recent Top 100 Prospects list, and judging by the power he’s flashing, he may not need as much time as we thought to master Double-A. He delivered an RBI single on Thursday, giving him four RBI in two games as he had raised his BA to a respectable level (before an 0-fer on Friday) while displaying much more pop than he did during his 56-game look at this level last year. Best of all, Fernandez’s strike zone judgment is vastly improved. Could he get a look at Coors before season’s end?
Chris Flexen, SP/RP, Chicago White Sox (ESPN: 0.2 per cent; CBS: 3 per cent): Flexen was a revelation when he came back from Korea, but things really unravelled for him last year. He’s now acting as a swingman for the putrid Pale Hose, moving back into the rotation and hurling five shutout frames on Friday for his first win of the season, which is always worth a mention, but he’s generally been better as a long man. Don’t expect many more victories from Flexen given his team and role, but the fact is he hasn’t been quite as awful as his ERA suggests, so if you’re in need in a very deep AL-only league, he could be of some use.
Adael Amador, SS/2B, Colorado Rockies (ESPN: 0.4 per cent; CBS: 13 per cent): One of the game’s top prospects, Amador got off to a slow start at Double-A but is starting to show signs of life with four hits and three walks in the last three games. His power hasn’t shown up yet, but he does have 10 steals and continues to get on base at a great clip (.365). The Rockies are struggling horribly (again) while second baseman Brendan Rodgers continues to regress, so there’s an opportunity for Amador to still get his ZIPS-projected 385 at-bats in the bigs if he can heat up soon.
Others to Consider
Brenton Doyle, OF, Colorado Rockies (ESPN: 5.8 per cent; CBS: 32 per cent): As mentioned above, there aren’t many bright spots in Colorado, but Doyle is one, hitting safely in five straight. Maybe he’s been lucky given that his hard-hit ball rate is down a smidge, and his xBA, xSLG and xOBA also suggest fortune has shined on him, but you may as well ride the wave while you can.
Jose Soriano, RP/SP, Los Angeles Angels (ESPN: 2.3 per cent; CBS: 14 per cent): Soriano has successfully shifted into the rotation this season to become a fine streaming option even if his run support has left something wanting (hence the goose egg in the win column). If he can get his command back to where it was last season, the wins will come.
Trevor Williams, SP, Washington Nationals (ESPN: 11.2 per cent; CBS: 15 per cent): Wow, Williams sure has turned things around this season, going from a career worst -2.05 wins above average last season to 0.66 (his best since 2018) so far this year. His command has bounced back nicely and he’s been much harder to hit so far thanks to employing his slider more than ever while getting positive results with the pitch for the first time in his career.
Elehuris Montero, 1B, Colorado Rockies (ESPN: 0.4 per cent; CBS: 5 per cent): The Michael Toglia experiment is over (for now), leaving first base in Colorado exclusively for Montero and he’s heating up at the right time, smacking a two-run homer Thursday after a three-hit performance on Tuesday. We pimped Montero in mid-September and it was a great call as he saw his most action of the season and hit well down the stretch. He’s seeing fewer sliders this year, which works well as he’s had a tough time against that pitch the last couple of years.
Max Meyer, SP, Miami Marlins (ESPN: 6.5 per cent; CBS: 47 per cent): With yet another Marlin starter hurting (Jesus Luzardo was scratched from his Friday start because of an elbow woe), Miami may have no choice but to bring Meyer back to the bigs. Before being farmed out to ostensibly manage his workload, Meyer had been spectacular in the bigs, reducing his fastball usage and upping his slider deployment to great success.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
David Bowie was very young when he first got interested in music, and the rest — as they say — is rock and roll history. In 1998, he released a compilation album, The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979, which included “Beauty and the Beast,” originally the first song on his 1977 classic Heroes.
