Sorry. Wrong Kikuchi. Four players to target in 15+ team leagues.
Harrison Bader (OF) St. Louis Cardinals
Bader had 16 HR and 9 SB last season. So far this season, he has 3 HR and 7 SB. It is likely that Harrison Bader won't provide batting average, on base percentage, or RBIs. But could Bader hit 15 HRs and steal 25 bags? It's looking more and more likely. If your league format rewards power and speed, or uses hits instead of average or OBP, Bader is a very good OF4 or a low-end OF3. He won a gold glove in 2021 and will be in the lineup everyday for his defense, giving him ample opportunity to build counting stats. If you can compensate for his deficiencies, Bader is very much worth rostering.
2. Jurickson Profar (1B/2B/OF) San Diego Padres
Jurickson Profar is hitting .188 with 5 HR and 1 SB. His swing strike rate is a miniscule 6.9% and he is walking at a 14.9% clip!! So why Profar? His xBA is .253 adn his xSLG is .426. His flyball rate is up and his ground ball rate down. He's obviously showing more patience and signs of more power. Given his positional flexibility, OBP, and power, if you can live with a lower average, Profar can be a great fill-in at the end of your bench.
3. Abraham Toro (2B, 3B) Seattle Mariners
.150/.218/.310
Garbage. But BABIP .131! 18.6° launch angle. 8.1% swinging strike. 50th xBA. 65th xSLG. 58th barrel. 94th K. 66 speed.
.255 xBA. .409 xSLG. 33% GB. 36.4% Flyball.
If his BABIP normalized, he'd be hitting .250 - .270, bringing his OBP to .330. He hits the ball hard and doesn't strike out. Second and third base haven't quite set the world on fire, league-wide. And Toro can be a very good bench player if his stats come back to the mean. If you don't have a good back up at 2B and 3B consider Toro as a waiver claim.
4. Yusei Kikuchi (SP) Toronto Blue Jays
Yusei Kikuchi COULD be 2021 Robbie Ray. Or 2022 Eric Lauer. Or he could be Yusei Kikuchi. Thru 6 starts, Kikuchi is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 26 innings and 27 Ks. He has a 4.23 xFIP and a 14.9!% BB-rate, but his 52.2% GB rate is encouraging.
His first six starts:
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Houston Astros
Houston Astros
New York Yankees
New York Yankees
Not easy.
Baseball Savant comps his velocity and movement to Ray and Lauer. His velocity has stayed constant over the past few years and the Blue Jays are clearly tinkering with his breaking stuff. His 4FB has been decent and his changeup has been an above average pitch. His slider is up 4 mph this season with 8.1" more vertical movement. The Blue Jays made the same adjustments with Robbie Ray in 2021 and he won the Cy Young award. Kikuchi clearly won't win the Cy but, given an abbreviated spring training and only 6 starts, there hasn't been enough time to see if the Toronto tinkering can help Kikuchi. I, for one, think it will. My belief is that Kikuchi will be a high strikeout, high ground ball real life #3 and fantasy #4/5 by the end of 2022. If you can be patient with Kuchi and keep him stashed on the bench, you should reap great rewards by the end of the season.
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