Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Rangers in need of a closer after trading Keone Kela
There's an opening for saves in Texas. Meanwhile, Stephen Piscotty and Shane Bieber continue to impress. Our Scott White looks at the best on the waiver wire.
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A trade late Monday sent Keone Kela to the Pirates, creating an opening at the back of the Rangers bullpen.
And while early indications are that lefty Jake Diekman will fill it — he worked the ninth inning with a four-run lead Monday, facing the heart of the Diamondbacks order — he may well follow Kela out the door, which means we shouldn't get too attached to the idea of him closing. Seeing as he has a 3.69 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, he may not be best equipped for it anyway.
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But the Rangers do have a reliever whose numbers are more befitting of the role.
At 24, Jose Leclerc is someone who the Rangers can groom for the long haul, and he's already proven as a bat-misser, having recorded 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie last year. While Diekman worked the ninth inning Monday, Leclerc struck out the side in the eighth and may well force his way into the closer role even if Diekman stays put. He'd be my choice to add of the two.
All of a sudden, Stephen Piscotty is on pace for 23 homers and 41 doubles, which would be similar to what he contributed in 2016, when he was regarded as a must-start outfielder. Granted, most of it has come over the past six weeks, but his BABIP is right around .300 during that stretch — perfectly sustainable, in other words.
Monday's outing was just barely a quality start, but those are nothing to sneeze at in an era when so few pitchers are allowed to take a third turn through a lineup. That's six times in seven starts now that Bieber has thrown at least six innings, and the two walks equaled his high during that stretch. Another Rick Porcello, perhaps?
Between Jesse Winker having season-ending shoulder surgery and Adam Duvall getting shipped to Atlanta on Monday night, Scott Schebler no longer has any impediments to his playing time, which is only right seeing as the left-handed slugger has hit .351 off lefties this year. He's on a rehab assignment after losing two weeks to a shoulder injury of his own, but he was hot before then, batting .319 with seven homers and a .932 OPS in 36 games.
Johan Camargo's Week 19 (July 30-Aug. 5) is off to a good start with a couple doubles Monday, which gives him a .304 (35 for 115) batting average to go along with five homers over his past 31 games. There may be more BABIP correction ahead, too, so he's more productive as a shortstop-eligible player than his 33 percent ownership rate would have you believe.
Bet you wouldn't have guessed Derek Holland has more than a strikeout per inning this year. He also has the best swinging strike rate of his career by far, leading to numbers that aren't half bad overall. Making half his starts at the game's most pitcher-friendly venue seems to be smoothing out the rough edges. You missed the opportunity to use him in a two-start week — he delivered five strong innings at the Padres on Monday — but at 27 percent ownership, he's available in leagues that may even appreciate him as a one-start option (at least when he's at home).






















