Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Jordan Westburg the latest prospect to get the call; Joey Votto makes his case
Meanwhile, Kyle Bradish and Reese Olson look like they may have some value
By
Scott White
•
1 min read
We've long known the Orioles have had reinforcements at the ready as they look to close the gap on the Rays in the AL East. The question was whether they'd turn to the infielder or the outfielder first.
And now we know. While Colton Cowser continues to bide his time at Triple-A Norfolk, Jordan Westburg is indeed getting the call Monday and expected to slot somewhere on the Orioles infield. Though naturally a shortstop, there's a good chance he shifts around just because that's how this team likes to play it.
So how good is he? Well, I'd be more excited about Cowser getting the call, but Westburg did put up big numbers in his own right, particularly with regard to power. Plus, all the shifting around likely means he picks up eligibility at second and third base, which could come in handy in deeper leagues especially.
It doesn't mean you have to add him everywhere, though. My general approach to prospect call-ups this year still applies: hope for the best, but understand that the odds are against him making an immediate impact. He's not Elly De La Cruz, after all.
Possible waiver wire pickups
I ranked Jordan Westburg only 87th in my preseason top 100 because it was unclear from the scouting reports whether his 27 home runs last year were backed by enough raw power to translate to the now cavernous Camden Yards. But the exit velocity readings are in, and they are excellent: 91.3 mph average and 110.2 mph max. He's also done a better job of hitting the ball to all fields this year, so he's not going to live and die with the left field fence. I've taken a more guarded approach with prospect call-ups in general this year, and I don't think Westburg's talent level makes him an exception. There's enough swing-and-miss in his game to suggest he may struggle. But there's also enough upside for you to take a shot anywhere you need middle infield help.
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More than once, I've referred to Brayan Bello as Framber Valdez lite, and more and more he's beginning to live up to the name. He compares well to Valdez in both ground-ball rate (57.4% vs. 57.2%) and swinging-strike rate (11.1% vs. 11.3%), and few pitchers who are so good at the former are also respectable at the latter. Where Bello clearly falls short of Valdez is workload, but it's getting better. With his latest outing Friday, he's suddenly put together four straight quality starts. Meanwhile, he's up to 10 straight allowing two earned runs or fewer, giving him a 2.45 ERA during that stretch and a 3.27 ERA overall. The walk rate still runs a little high, and he gives up his share of singles as a ground-ball pitcher. Still, if you can stomach the WHIP, everything else looks solid.
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Royce Lewis was a little slow out of the gate coming back from a second torn ACL. He struggled to make contact at the same high rate that we saw during his brief time in the majors last year, and for the contact he did make, the quality was lacking. The Twins themselves seemed reluctant to buy in fully, never starting him more than three games in a row. Over the past week, though, everything changed. Lewis made his sixth straight start Sunday, and during that time, he's batted .458 (11 for 24) with two homers and just two strikeouts. His average exit velocity has been 89.6 compared to 85.8 previously. He could stand to run more, but the playing time was the biggest hurdle to him helping you at shortstop or third base.
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Griffin Canning is getting harder to dismiss even though his exit velocity readings remain high. With his six shutout innings Saturday -- at Colorado, no less -- he now has a 2.25 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 over his past six starts. Reduce it to five starts, and he has only three walks in 29 innings with a 14 percent swinging-strike rate. That's how he's surviving all the hard contact. He's giving up his share of home runs but allowing few baserunners otherwise. All the ERA estimators suggest it's unlikely to continue, but he's been backing off his fastball in favor of more sliders and changeups, which seems like a recipe for success. My biggest hesitation is that he'll rarely be a two-start pitcher since the Angels are often going six-man for Shohei Ohtani.
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Kyle Bradish's latest start Sunday, in which he allowed two runs on two hits over seven innings against the Mariners, was arguably his best of the season, but he's been on a nice run for a while now, putting together a 2.92 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 8.4 K/9 over his past nine starts. Some of those starts have been on the shorter side, which is why he has only three wins on the year, but this was his second in as many starts. Pitching for the Orioles, more are likely to follow. Bradish doesn't get a ton of strikeouts, but the stuff has always earned high marks. He should remain a valuable pitcher to round out a 12-team staff given that he has a good lineup and bullpen backing him.
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The safe money is to bet against a 39-year-old coming off surgery to his shoulder and biceps, especially given that Joey Votto already appeared to be in steep decline last year, batting .205 with a .689 OPS. But he's a famously heady player who figured out a way to reverse the effects of decline once already, in 2021, and suffice it to say he's feeling rejuvenated physically. In a week since being activated from the IL, he's already popped three homers, including two Friday that were both in excess of 415 feet. It may not take much of a slump for him to cede the job to Christian Encarnacion-Strand, but given how difficult first base has been to fill in certain leagues this year, Votto has shown enough to get a look right now.
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If you've struggled to find a reliable source of saves, consider Scott McGough the answer to your prayers. The transformation has been so sudden that the roster rate continues to lag behind, but he's now recorded three saves in five days, including two of the multi-inning variety, and is responsible for five of the Diamondbacks' past six. And the other numbers have become closer-caliber as well thanks to a stretch of 20 appearances in which he's compiled a 0.35 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 11.6 K/9. A closer the last two years in Japan, McGough seems to have hit his stride in the majors, and with the Diamondbacks looking like one of the best teams in the NL, his opportunities won't be lacking.
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Of Reese Olson's five outings in the majors so far, only one was a quality start, but most are like his latest outing Friday, which saw him limit the Twins to one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine. His ERA is 4.74 thanks to one ugly start, but for the most part, he's looked like a capable bat-misser. Control doesn't appear to be an issue, and he has two pitches (a slider and changeup) that are both capable of generating whiffs. After getting six with the changeup last time out, he barely threw it in this one, instead getting 11 whiffs with his slider. It shows surprising adaptability for a pitcher so inexperienced and is all the more reason to think Olson could turn into a clutch pickup down the stretch.
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