The latest Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column features Mets star pitcher Christian Scott returning to the big leagues, unknown Angels pitcher Davis Daniel excelling in a long-awaited opportunity, and Twins slugger José Miranda finally starting to perform at the highest level.
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Christian Scott, SP, Mets (22% on the list)
This feels like cheating a bit, considering Scott put together a brilliant five-start streak for the Mets in May, posting a solid 3.90 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 25/6 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 innings after clearly establishing himself as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball at Triple-A Syracuse to begin the year.
The talented 25-year-old right-handed pitcher was sent back to the minor leagues a few weeks ago to manage his workload. He makes his long-awaited return to the big leagues on Wednesday against the division-bound Nationals, who are ranked 24th in team OPS this season after 84 games.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza hasn’t committed to Scott making any more starts after Wednesday’s game, but it’s worth noting that fifth starter Tylor Megill was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse after struggling in his eight-start audition at the major league level. We’re willing to take the gamble here that Scott ultimately gets a longer runway, especially with New York’s recent resurgence that puts them back in the NL Wild Card playoff race.
Davis Daniel, SP, Angels (7% on the list)
Daniel delivered an impressive performance in his first career start last Thursday, striking out eight in eight scoreless frames against the Tigers in his season debut. The unknown 27-year-old righty, who made three appearances in relief during a quick coffee break with the Angels last year, gets a long-awaited chance for Los Angeles’ injury-plagued starting rotation after compiling a respectable 5.33 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 82/25 K/BB ratio in 76 innings (14 starts) this year for Triple-A Salt Lake in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
His numbers don’t exactly jump off the page when it comes to run prevention, but as his minor-league track record and subsequent season debut reveal, he’s going to miss a lot of hitters going forward. He threw an impressive 13 swinging strikes — including nine combined on his changeup, slider and curveball trio — against Detroit’s struggling lineup last Thursday, and was able to throw strikes consistently, as evidenced by a near-elite 35 percent CSW. If those trends continue, he’s primed to emerge as a viable option for fantasy managers, especially in deeper formats. He’ll be a strong streaming option even in shallow mixed leagues when he takes on the rebuilding Athletics, who rank 25th in team OPS after 86 games this season, on Wednesday.
José Miranda, 3B, Twins (25% on the list)
It feels appropriate to give Miranda a post-hype breakout label, considering he’s been a complete afterthought for fantasy purposes entering the 2024 season after struggling to a .566 OPS in 40 games for Minnesota last year. The 26-year-old corner infielder brought a risky fantasy contact-oriented offensive profile to the majors, and he’s certainly underwhelmed in several extended opportunities with the Twins over the past few years. Still, he appears to have finally turned the metaphorical corner this year, posting significant increases in both average exit velocity (89.7 mph) and barrel percentage (7.9 percent) without sacrificing any contact in the process.
Simply put, he’s been making more hard contact the last few months, which has resulted in a .297/.340/.486 triple-slash line with eight homers and 37 RBI over 241 plate appearances. He’s even stolen bases for good measure. He’s starting to look like the elite prospect who tore through the upper minors and looked like a potential impact fantasy contributor during his rookie season in 2022. His .960 OPS over the last 30 days ranks 21st in baseball during that span, and he’s at the point where he should be considered a power-plus-stats four-category contributor in all fantasy formats.
