The Wire Troll: Mickey Moniak’s Extra Job Security
Can Mickey Moniak take advantage of his extra PT? (New York Times)
Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. The dog days of August have arrived, leaving you with precious little time to catch up in your leagues. Avail of the waiver wire!
This week, we learned that Mike Trout is done for yet another season (see below for Fantasy opportunity); Bryce Harper is slumping badly; and Carlos Carrasco continued to rack up decent strikeout totals.
So while you wonder how many Ks Bailey Ober can get Saturday (the over/under at FanDuel is currently 6.5), let’s get to this week’s…
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks
Mickey Moniak, OF, Los Angeles Angels (ESPN: 0.4 per cent; CBS: 4 per cent): Former No. 1 overall pick Moniak fell off the prospect radar after 2018 and it took him until last year to finally have a positive impact as a major leaguer. Unfortunately, he’s gone back into the tank again this year, but with news that Mike Trout has another meniscus tear that will end his season, Moniak at the very least has more job security. Better yet, Moniak is showing signs of life, recording multiple hits in back-to-back games (including a homer on Thursday — see video below), giving him seven games out of nine with base knocks as he continues to put an ugly start to the season in the rear view mirror. He’s sure to play more this year than ever, and his walk rate has bounced back (although is still no hell). At the very least, Moniak can help you in deep leagues and offer some upside potential (within reason; he’s unlikely to ever come close to living up to his draft spot) for the home stretch.
Bailey Falter, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates (ESPN: 2.1 per cent; CBS: 13 per cent): Falter is another player who emerged from the trade deadline with more job security thanks to Martin Perez being shipped to San Diego. Just two years ago, Falter was considered for our Wire Troll All-Star Team, but he went winless with the Phillies last year and was even worse after getting dealt across state to the Pirates. However, he’s bounced back this year, winning a few games while recording a solid 3.95 ERA over a career high 95 2/3 frames. Falter, having recently come off the IL, is highly inconsistent and has regressed since a great first couple of months, but for the season he’s never been harder to hit (even if the BABIP gods have shined on him).
Willie Calhoun, OF, Los Angeles Angels (ESPN: 0.2 per cent; CBS: 1 per cent): Calhoun showed promise of living up to his hype in 2019, but since then, injuries and ineffectiveness have held him back. Before taking an 0-fer on Friday, he was on a six-game hit streak and could get a chance to play a bit more as long if Luis Rengifo’s wrist continues to be an issue, so there could be a deep AL-only value here. Calhoun had a decent start to the season, but has slipped since, and hasn’t been seeing enough PT to be useful, but he’s gotten enough action this year to surpass his counting cat numbers from 2023. It would be nice to see him barrel up more often with the hopes of increasing his modest slugging percentage, but chances are he’s never going to hit with much pop.
Quick Hits
- Zach Eflin had a mixed debut for the Orioles after being acquired at the trade deadline. He was hit often, but racked up a goodly amount of Ks and did enough to earn a W. He’s been inconsistent of late and July was his worst month yet this season, but the move to B-More should get him back on track in the win department after racking up a career-best 16 victories last year, but just six in 2024.
- Jose Ramirez is on a major tear right now, delivering a sac fly on Friday that scored two runs. Before that, he spanked a two-run shot and added an RBI double on Thursday, giving him four jacks over three games and hits in five straight, marking his first three-game homer streak since 2021 as he closes in on a third 30-homer campaign. Ramirez actually didn’t hit as well as usual in July, but he’s remained a durable player over the last few seasons.
- If Maikel Garcia is unowned in your shallow league, you may want to rectify that. He’s delivered four hits over the last three games and seven runs over the last five. June was a disaster, but he was more productive last month and while his speed is a great asset, we’ve been impressed how his extra-base pop has grown annually, adding a bit of depth to his Fantasy profile.
- Paolo Espino got roughed up in his spot start on Wednesday and was immediately returned to Triple-A. No one in the bigs gets more spin out of their curveball than he does, and he throws the pitch almost as much as his fastball, yet has not gotten good results from the offering this season. Espino showed some promise as a swingman with the Nats in 2021, but hasn’t won a game in the majors since and, at 37, looks like he’s near the end of the line.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
British singer Elton John has been at it since 1962, enjoying a 60+ year career. In 1973, he released his sixth album, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, and the second single from this effort was “Daniel,” which reached No. 4 in the U.K.
