This weekend was defined by call-ups, namely of four players: Riley Greene, Oneil Cruz, Alex Kirilloff and C.J. Abrams. I'll address each of them here, but I've written a separate column that goes into greater detail, including what order to prioritize them off the waiver wire. Be sure to check it out as well.
Of course, those four weren't the only players to emerge on the waiver wire this week. They're highlighted alongside six others here.
Possible waiver wire pickups
Already in two games, Greene has four walks, which speaks to his polish as a hitter. You may remember he actually won the starting center field job in spring training, but a fractured foot delayed his debut until Sunday. Most preseason publications rated him higher than even Spencer Torkelson at the start of the year, and unlike the first baseman, Greene offers an element of speed. It's his hit tool that stands out most, though, which is generally the one that yields the most immediate results in Fantasy. Pick him up everywhere.
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Voit, the MLB home run leader in 2020, showed further signs of recapturing that form with another home run Sunday. It wrapped up a banner week in which he went 10 for 30 (.333) with three homers, six doubles and a 1.262 OPS. He's now batting .275 (39) for 142) with nine homers and an .880 OPS in 36 games since returning from a biceps strain, numbers that aren't far off from his years as a must-start Fantasy option while with the Yankees. The strikeout rate is a little alarming still, but it's clear the 31-year-old has more left in the tank.
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Monday's promotion has been a long time coming for Cruz, who was being drafted with gusto back in March. Even when he got sent down for the start of the season, most presumed it would be for only a couple weeks, but a miserable April changed that. He's gotten back on track over his past 26 games, batting .299 (29 for 97) with seven homers, three steals, a .953 OPS and a manageable 17.5 percent strikeout rate. Of course, it's the skills that stand out even more than the stats. Standing an Aaron Judge-like 6-feet-7, he also produces Judge-like exit velocities -- and with some speed to boot. The downside is equally notable, but the upside is worth pursuing everywhere.
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Can we just say it now? Houck is the Red Sox closer. It was made abundantly clear by him recording a one-out save both Friday and Sunday. He now has each of the team's past four, all coming within the span of 10 days. Since transitioning to the bullpen for good on May 15, he has a 0.92 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 9.2 K/9 in 11 appearances, and his limited arsenal seems to be playing up over shorter spurts. As much mixing and matching as manager Alex Cora has had to do at the end of games this year, his consistency with Houck speaks volumes.
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Separate IL stints for a blister and a sprained knee took the wind out of his sails pretty early, but you might remember Gray was a trendy sleeper at the start of the year, getting a chance to pitch outside of Colorado for the first time in his career. He may be living up to that potential now in June. Three of his past four starts have been absolute gems. He threw seven shutout innings in the latest Friday and recorded double-digit strikeouts in the other two. The ERA estimators -- from the 3.38 FIP to the 3.61 xFIP to the 3.53 xERA -- would all suggest he's been a bit unlucky so far, and we already know he's capable of providing volume. Seems like he deserves a second chance.
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It's true we had already seen Kirilloff for 244 major-league at-bats prior to his return to the majors Friday, but for how many of those was he actually healthy? Basically just the first 42 last year. He tried playing through a wrist injury thereafter, eventually succumbing to season-ending surgery, and the wrist still wasn't right at the start of this year. But he got a cortisone shot, worked to eliminate some bad habits down at Triple-A, and then went on to deliver his best minor-league performance yet, batting .359 (47 for 131) with 10 homers and 1.106 OPS. This time, I expect he's here to stay.
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Nearly three weeks into his return to the majors, Garcia's performance has only picked up. His 3-for-4 showing Sunday capped off an 8-for-17 performance this weekend. The extra-base hits have been lacking, resulting in a .147 ISO, and he also has just one walk. Neither of his home runs were cheap shots, though, and he's clearly impacting the ball hard enough to deliver more. Overall, the 22-year-old is living up to expectations this time around (not that they should have been so high at ages 20 and 21) and should at least be rostered in all leagues that require a third middle infielder.
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With another three stolen base Saturday, Berti is up to 16 -- not for the season, no, but since May 27. That's less than a month ago. The 32-year-old utility player has always had speed to spare, but sporadic playing time over the years has prevented him from getting the most out of it. He seems to have settled in at third base for the time being, though, and while he remains a light hitter with little chance of sticking in the role, he's reaching base at a good enough clip right now (.382) to help bring your count up in that scarcest of categories. The quadruple eligibility helps as well.
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We only learned late Sunday that Abrams would be making his return to the majors Monday, possibly in response to Manny Machado spraining his ankle. The promotion is warranted, though, just by virtue of Abrams' performance at Triple-A. Over his last 19 games there, he has hit.398 (35 for 88) with four homers, seven steals and a 1.033 OPS. The 21-year-old was clearly overmatched in his first major-league stint earlier this year, having hardly spent any time even at Double-A prior, but if there's playing time available for him, things could go better this time around. His hit and speed tools each rate near the top of the scale, earning 70-80 grades from most publications.
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Suwinski's call-up back in late April barely registered in Fantasy even though the 23-year-old had decent numbers at Double-A last year, batting .262 with 19 homers and an .868 OPS. And now, he has a three-homer game to his name, doing the deed Sunday off three different Giants pitchers. Between his 11 homers in 148 at-bats and his 75th percentile maximum exit velocity (110.9 mph), it's fair to say he's capable of putting a charge in the ball. He also makes his share of weak contact, judging by his pedestrian average exit velocity, and has trouble putting bat to ball at all, striking out about 30 percent of the time. He likely won't be consistent enough to factor in standard Fantasy leagues, but he's more usable than his 9 percent roster rate would suggest.
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