by Mickey Bell

*Stats and Roster % as of the morning of June 19

GRADUATED

• Batters
  • Jon Berti, 2B/3B/OF, MIA (11% to 58%)
  • Riley Greene, OF, DET (41% to 55%)
  • Brendan Donovan, 2B/SS/OF, STL (28% to 54%)
  • Michael Harris II, OF, ATL (26% to 53%)
  • Tommy Pham, OF, CIN (42% to 51%)
• Starters
  • Spencer Strider, RP, ATL (44% to 68%)
  •  Lance McCullers, SP, HOU (50% to 51%): Could return in July.
• Relievers
  • Tanner Houck, SP/RP, BOS (45% to 69%)
  • Emilio Pagan, RP, MIN (39% to 52%)

50% OR UNDER

Rowdy Tellez, 1B, MIL (49%: returning)

He’s in a homer slump but I think you can trust the process that those will come with his 95th percentile Max EV (Exit Velo) and solid Barrel rate. He has still batted 0.273 with a 0.349 OBP in June. He just needs to turn some of those singles into extra base hits, and I think he will.

Honorable Mentions: 

• Batters
  • Oneil Cruz, SS, PIT (48%: new)
  • Wilmer Flores, 1B/2B/3B, SFG (47%: returning): Boring accumulator, but he’s not getting platooned and is batting 2nd through 4th in the lineup. 
  • Manuel Margot, OF, TBR (50% to 45%)
• Starters
  • Josiah Gray, SP, WAS (41% to 48%)
  • George Kirby, SP, SEA (50% to 47%)
  • Jon Gray, SP, TEX (28% to 41%)
• Relievers
  • Jhoan Duran, SP/RP, MIN (49% to 44%): He’ll help you in strikeouts and ratios but he’s not the closer. He will get a save every once in a while, but it seems like Pagan’s job.
  • Tanner Rainey, RP, WAS (44% to 40%)

40% OR UNDER

Brandon Belt, 1B/OF, SFG (37%: returning)

Since the start of the 2020 season, Belt has a 0.949 OPS and 43 HR in just over a season’s worth of games. Sure, injuries are an issue, but this guy is an elite hitter when healthy enough to get in the batter’s box.

Honorable Mentions: 

• Batters
  • Christian Walker, 1B, ARI (37% to 39%)
  • Josh Rojas, 2B/3B/SS/OF, ARI (39% to 37%)
  • Josh Naylor, 1B/OF, CLE (39% to 35%)
  • Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, TEX (25% to 35%)
  • Ezequiel Duran, 2B/SS, TEX (13% to 34%)
  • Garrett Cooper, 1B/OF, MIA (32%: returning)
• Starters
  • Roansy Contreras, SP, PIT (41% to 34%)
• Relievers
  • Diego Castillo, RP, SEA (36% to 38%)
  • Paul Sewald, RP, SEA (39% to 36%)
  • Tanner Scott, RP, MIA (12% to 32%)

30% OR UNDER

Seranthony Dominguez, RP, PHI (8% to 29%)

Dominguez is a must-roster closer now. The Phillies fan side of me is saying there might be bumps in the road but Dominguez has every chance to be one of the most valuable relief pitchers in fantasy for the rest of the season.

Honorable Mentions: 

• Batters
  • Ramon Laureano, OF, OAK (33% to 30%)
  • Jake Burger, 3B, CHW (15% to 28%)
  • Gabriel Moreno, C, TOR (27%: no change): More of a hit tool player than a power prospect, but he’s a catcher and the current 11th and 12th ranked catchers, Gary Sanchez and Sean Murphy, each have 8 HR and averages around 0.220. Moreno could be more valuable than that. He’s at least worth rostering until Danny Jansen comes back.
  • Brandon Marsh, OF, LAA (27% to 25%)
  • Jorge Mateo, 2B/SS/OF, BAL (27% to 25%)
• Starters
  • Dakota Hudson, SP, STL (37% to 30%)
  • Marco Gonzales, SP, SEA (22%: no change)

20% OR UNDER

Alek Thomas, OF, ARI (17% to 20%)

This is probably the most confusingly low rostership percentage. In his first 146 PA in the big leagues, Alek Thomas has 5 HR, 4 SB, and a 0.280 BA. He’s shown he can hit and that a 20+ HR, 15+ SB output is very much in range.

Honorable Mentions: 

• Batters
  • Jonathan Villar, 2B/3B/SS, CHC (19% to 18%)
  • Juan Yepez, 1B/3B/OF, STL (14%: returning)
  • Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, WAS (7% to 12%): Garcia came into 2022 with a 0.680 career OPS in 370 AB across 2020 and 2021. What might have been missed by some people is that Garcia was 20 and 21 years old in those seasons. The Nationals started Garcia at AAA this year, and he had 8 HR and a 134 wRC+. He has a 140 wRC+ through 11 games in the majors so far with a 0.360 BA. The 0.431 BABIP will regress but don’t be surprised if this post-hype sleep is finally ready for The Show.
  • Andrew McCutchen, OF, MIL (12%: returning)
• Starters
  • Nick Lodolo, SP, CIN (14%: no change): Lodolo is on a rehab assignment. The starting pitcher is arguably a bigger prospect than Hunter Greene. Keep him on your radar.
• Relievers
  • Colin Poche, RP, TBR (20% to 17%)

10% OR UNDER

Jarren Duran, OF, BOS (8%: new)

Duran has slotted into the leadoff spot with Kike Hernandez and Christian Arroyo on the IL. Even when those two come back, Duran could keep his job as none of the Red Sox outfielders–including Alex Verdugo, Jackie Bradley, and Franchy Cordero–has a wRC+ above 87. Duran has 22 HR and 27 steals in his last 103 games at AAA. Through eight games in the majors, he has a 157 wRC+ and 2 SB.

Honorable Mentions: 

• Batters
  • Luis Gonzalez, OF, SFG (9%: no change)
  • Josh Lowe, OF, TBR (8%: returning)
  • Jack Suwinski, OF, PIT (6% to 8%): 11 HR in 47 games.
  • Oscar Gonzalez, OF, CLE (7%: no change)
  • Tyrone Taylor, OF, MIL (11% to 5%)
• Relievers
  • Matt Strahm, RP, BOS (9% to 6%)