When Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games, it wasn’t clear he would have a real role for the Braves even when he was able to return. After all, why give everyday at-bats to someone who wouldn’t even be eligible for the postseason?
But with the Braves sitting seven games under .500 after a win against the Mets Tuesday, they’re in a spot where they might need a miracle to make the playoffs. And, with their left fielders collectively hitting .217/.271/.283 on the season, it’s not like they have anyone they’d want in their playoff lineup to take plate appearances away from. Which means when Profar is eligible to return from his suspension on July 2, he’s probably going to have an everyday job waiting for him. It might be just the miracle the Braves need to get back into the playoff picture.
And he’s going to be in a very valuable position when that happens. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters Tuesday he will likely use Profar as his primary No. 2 hitter when ready. Profar began the process of getting ready Tuesday by going 2 for 3 with a walk for Triple-A Gwinnett in his first rehab game. Profar figures to play everyday for the next two weeks before being activated for July 2.
And Profar was absolutely a must-start player in Fantasy the last time we saw him, as he hit .280/.380/.459. He combined his typically excellent plate discipline with the best quality of contact of his career, leading to a career-high 24 homers, 94 runs, and 85 RBI. There’s no guarantee he’ll be that good this season, but the upside is worth taking the risk on in basically every Fantasy format.
You can’t stash him in an IL spot, which complicates things, but you have bench spots to take risks on players with upside like Profar’s, and it’s only two weeks now. Profar is rostered in just 28% of CBS Fantasy leagues, but that number will probably be 100% in two weeks. Now’s your chance to beat the rush.
Here’s what else you need to know about from Tuesday’s action around MLB:
Wednesday’s top waiver-wire targets
Cam Smith, OF, Astros (56%) – Maybe the game is starting to slow down for Smith. Remember, he made his MLB debut on Opening Day after just 32 professional games, and he was doing so while trying to learn a brand new position on the fly, so some early-season struggles shouldn’t exactly have been a surprise. He’s made some adjustments to produce more consistent contact over the past month-plus, but at the expense of the power that was supposed to be his calling card. He broke out of a nearly two-month homerless streak with a pair of 400-plus foot homers Tuesday, so let’s hope this is a sign of the talented rookie starting to figure it out. It’s just one game, but with a player with this kind of upside, you’d rather be early to adding them than late.
Michael Soroka, SP, Nationals (39%) – The Nationals’ losing streak reached 10 games Tuesday against the Rockies, but it wasn’t Soroka’s fault. He put together a quality start with nine strikeouts over his six innings of work, with the slurve generating 12 swinging strikes to lead the way. Soroka has a 3.71 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 17 innings since the start of June, and there’s clearly strikeout upside here. He’s a work in progress otherwise, but these flashes have been impressive. You won’t want to start him against the Dodgers later this week, but a matchup against the Angels next week looks pretty intriguing.
Michael Toglia, 1B, Rockies (18%) – Is history repeating itself? Toglia was so bad early last season that he earned a trip back to Triple-A, but he hit .233/.331/.469 with 21 homers in 409 plate appearances after returning and was generally a pretty useful Fantasy option. He was disastrously bad to open this season as well, but he’s back after a few weeks down at Triple-A and is 4 for 9 in his first two games back, including two homers Tuesday. Toglia had a very strong .358 expected wOBA last season, so if he can keep the strikeout rate closer to 30%, I still think he can be very useful for Fantasy. He’s not worth adding in all leagues yet, but he could be if he keeps this up.
Wenceel Perez, OF, Tigers (9%) – I’m not quite sure where it’s coming from, but Perez kind of looks like a difference maker right now. We’re still dealing with a very small sample size (just 62 plate appearances for the season), but he is now hitting .316/.355/.702 after homering and getting two hits for the second game in a row Tuesday, and he has the underlying numbers to back it up. Perez has a 91.2 mph average exit velocity and .406 expected wOBA for the season now. That’s a more than 100-point improvement in xwOBA from last season, and Perez was generally not a big power source in the minors, so I’m inclined to write this off as just a hot streak. But if you’re the type to play the hot hand, his is sizzling right now.
Masataka Yoshida, DH, Red Sox (8%) – With Rafael Devers out of the picture, the Red Sox suddenly don’t need to worry about whether Yoshida can throw or not. He’s been able to hit since Spring Training, but hasn’t progressed to being able to throw coming off offseason shoulder surgery, and with Devers around, that meant there was no rush to get Yoshida going. But with the DH spot free, Yoshida could begin a rehab assignment soon and would figure to be the team’s primary option against right-handed pitching before long. That probably won’t be enough to make him matter in most 12-team leagues, especially H2H points leagues. But Yoshida is a .284/.343/.433 hitter in his career and could have some appeal in deeper leagues and especially daily leagues.
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