Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Alex Kirilloff, Nico Hoerner get the call and could make a big splash
New and old options to help Fantasy managers fill roster gaps
By
Chris Towers
•
2 min read
We're at the point in the MLB season where we would typically expect the first round of prospects to get the call to the majors now that the first round of service-time related shenanigans has passed. However, because the minor-league season hasn't officially started yet and prospects are still working at teams' alternate sites in a sort of extended spring training, it's harder to know when we might see some of the biggest names on the top prospects list this year.
We do know when we'll be seeing at least one of them now, however. Alex Kirilloff will be recalled Friday with the Twins placing Miguel Sano on the IL. Kirilloff, Scott White's No. 16 prospect coming into the season, made his MLB debut in surprising fashion in 2020, starting their wild card playoff game, and now he'll likely start at least for the next week or so at first base for the Twins. And he's the kind of player worth adding in nearly all formats right now.
Kirilloff's most recent minor-league numbers won't jump off the page; he hit just nine homers with a .756 OPS in 2019, although he dealt with a wrist injury that season that surely sapped his power. He drew positive reviews at the alternate site in 2020, indicating that the expectation is for something more like his .970 OPS with 20 homers in 130 games in 2018.
Well, maybe not that good, but the expectation should be that he's a strong talent who could make an impact if everything goes right. He profiles as a good bet for batting average, with hopefully 25-plus homer potential. There probably won't be much speed in the profile, but a realistic expectation is something like a typical Eddie Rosario season.
Plus, I would imagine we all probably need some help at outfield at this point. I know I do in many of my leagues. According to FanGraphs.com, there are only 26 qualified outfielders with an OPS of at least .800 right now, and that's about how many I feel comfortable starting these days. Kirilloff isn't a guarantee to hit or to even stay up with the club for good, but you can't afford to overlook a player with his kind of potential right now.
Here's who else we're looking to add heading into the weekend, beginning with another young player getting the call:
We talk Alex Kirilloff, Ryan Weathers and Week 5 sleepers on the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 Podcast. You can follow us to make sure you get the latest episodes when they drop on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Friday's Waiver Wire Targets
Hoerner's had a weird professional career so far. Entering his fourth season since being drafted 24th overall in 2018, he has played just 89 games in the minors and 68 in the majors. He hasn't exactly blown the doors off the place in either the majors or the minors, but given how inconsistent his playing time has been, you can hardly blame him. There were reports in spring that he was working to unlock more of his raw power, and he had an excellent exhibition season, hitting .364 with two homers, seven extra-base hits, three steals and just four strikeouts in 17 games. Hoerner could provide a badly-needed spark for the Cubs offense and is worth looking for if you need middle infield help in H2H points or categories formats.
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It's amazing what a difference a day makes at this point in the season. Peralta entered play Thursday with a .665 OPS and exited with an .824 mark. Just like that, he's back to where we normally expect him. Peralta isn't typically a must-start Fantasy option because he'll often sit vs. lefties, but he's had very good batted-ball numbers pretty much every season, so it's not terribly surprising to see him get back to that level. One thing to keep in mind regarding his occasional off days is that, while he's started all but two of the Diamondbacks games so far, they've only faced three left-handed starters.
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Among the plethora of intriguing pitchers who have emerged on the wire over the first few weeks of the season, the 21-year-old Weathers isn't necessarily near the top of the list, but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that most of you still don't have much room to be picky about pitchers. Weathers doesn't necessarily profile as an elite starting pitcher, or at least he hasn't so far in his professional career. However, that professional career includes just 129.2 total innings since he was selected seventh overall out of high school in 2018. It's not clear whether he'll be able to handle the rigors of starting nor whether he has the swing and miss to really be a must-start Fantasy option. On the other hand, he's a 21-year-old lefty who throws in the mid-to-high 90s and has 16 strikeouts in 15.1 innings so far this season despite his lack of experience. There's plenty of room for Weathers to outpace my expectations, in other words, and he's a wonderful bench stash if you've got the room.
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Reynolds really struggled in 2020, and it looked like his 2019 might have been a bit of a fluke. After all, he wasn't exactly a big prospect, and his tools didn't really jump off the page. After the first three weeks of this season, however, it's starting to look like 2020 was the fluke because Reynolds is off to a fantastic start, with the batted-ball numbers to back it up, just like he had in 2019. His .313 batting average is, of course, impressive in its own right, but when you put it up against the league-wide .235 mark -- the lowest in baseball history -- it's clear Reynolds is a must-roster player in any league where batting average matters. And, it might just need to be any league period at this point.
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