2020 High-skilled part/no-timers

by Pat Cloghessy

On the list of things about fantasy baseball that are most fun, hitting on late picks is right up at the top. These players are usually termed dart throws, lottery tickets or dollar stashes. Here, they are high-skilled part- and zero-timers who offer little hope of immediate playing time. The hit percentage is extremely low with a group like this, but the profit can be enormous. Let’s call them: BABS’ PTPT (Path To Playing Time) Specials.

Manuel Margot (S+) is a speed demon who is projected for part-time plate appearances. With more opportunity, he could bring the perennially coveted “late speed” to fantasy rosters. The cost is nothing (ADP 497).  But what if he is playing himself out of the rotation already? When baseball suspended play, Margot was batting .130. Not the greatest first impression in front of his new bosses. 

Another newcomer vying for at-bats in the same outfield is no-timer Randy Arozarena (s). While the asset is not as strong, his audition was better. Arozarena was 8 for 20 at the dish this spring with nine walks, two strikeouts and three stolen bases. Take the spring stats with a grain of salt, but that line typifies what we want out of a late speed source. Get on base and run. 

Playing Six Degrees from Manny Margot now sends us to San Diego, where long-time BABS favorite Franchy Cordero (PW,SB|INJ) — pictured — resides. Cordero’s path to playing time may not have improved much. He’s still behind the likes of Pham, Myers, Trent Grisham and Josh Naylor. Still, #FreeFranchy advocates pay virtually nothing (ADP 509) to find out if plate appearances will materialize. 

Swing and miss power/speed guys like Franklin Barreto (p,s|-A) almost never change. Strikeouts inevitably cap the SB upside and suffocate the batting average, making them unplayable (Keon Broxton Syndrome). However, the hope for upside lingers. We daydream about what Barreto could be with improved pitch recognition and fewer swings at pitches outside the strike zone. His K% in the majors historically hovers around 40 percent. This spring it was 21 percent. While that wide a swing is unlikely, a 30 percent improvement could bring him closer to his major league equivalent (MLE) BABS ratings (PW,S+). That is worth an end game dart throw. 

Before the world froze, Austin Allen (PW,AV|EX) was competing to be Oakland’s backup catcher. The putridity of the catching pool puts Allen’s assets in stark relief. Seriously, take a look, no catcher this side of J.T. Realmuto can boast skills like these. Allen should be on the radar in two catcher leagues, draft & hold, AL-only and at least watch-listed in other deeper formats. With a 1.097 OPS over 34 spring plate appearances, Allen might be winning the No. 2 spot. Highly-touted Sean Murphy is the incumbent, but according to BABS he is equally susceptible to growing pains. 

Colorado is always a good place to look for batting effectiveness assets. If in need an end game player with batting average upside, give Yonathan Daza (A+) a look. He logged over 100 at-bats in 2019. While the results were underwhelming, it proved the Rockies were willing to look his way when attrition forced their hand. If injuries pile up again, Daza’s strong spring (.406 BA, .989 OPS over 31 PA) could put him at the front of the line for a call-up from AAA.

Tim Lopes (SB,a) is essentially undrafted (ADP 748) except in the deepest of deep formats. He did play in 41 games for the Mariners in 2019, and his 128 plate appearances were not bad at all. He tallied 6 SB and walked 11.7 percent of the time. Mallex Smith and a host of unproven youth stand in front of him. Mix in a productive spring (11-25, 2 SB, 1.080 OPS) and a track record of base-stealing in the minor leagues, and Lopes profiles as a cheap lottery ticket.