To say that the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation is in a state of flux would be an understatement. After trading Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, the current Reds rotation consists of Anthony Desclafani, Raisel Iglesias, Keyvius Sampson, John Lamb and David Holmberg.
Desclafani is having a nice year, Sampson was a waiver claim from the Padres, Lamb came over in the Cueto deal and just made his major-league debut while Holmberg projects as a fifth starter or swing man.
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But what about Iglesias? The 2014 signee from Cuba turned some heads in the Arizona Fall League before pitching well enough this spring to earn a job in the rotation. He would make one start before the Reds demoted him, only to return in mid-May and bounce from the rotation and the bullpen. Iglesias then suffered a strained oblique which held him out until July 11, when he made one start before the All-Star break, allowing eight hits in 4.1 innings to the Miami Marlins.
Then something clicked.
Including Tuesday’s seven shutout innings over the Kansas City Royals, Iglesias has a 2.89 ERA with an 8.92 K/9 in six starts since the All-Star break. Although the home runs have crept up, his groundball rate since July 21 is sitting at 50 percent in large part to a sinker that he’s been able to keep down in the zone. With a swinging strike rate of 10.4 percent, Iglesias is missing plenty of bats to prove worthy of stashing and even though his ERA is almost three runs worse on the road than home, he provides nice upside as an August waiver pick-up. But you might want to get him quick; his season could be cut short by an innings limit.
Here are three more players worth watching…
Patrick Corbin, SP (29 percent owned)
This season, we’ve seen pitchers like Ivan Nova, Matt Harvey and Jose Fernandez return from Tommy John surgery to make an immediate impact in fantasy. You can now add Patrick Corbin to that list.
The southpaw has made eight starts since returning to the Diamondbacks’ rotation, posting a 3.43 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 43/11 over 42 innings. On Saturday, Corbin fanned eight, holding the Braves scoreless in 6.2 innings. That outing sets up a Thursday date with the Cincinnati Reds, a line-up that hasn’t fared very well since the All-Star break. Corbin’s numbers this year are starting to resemble the numbers from his breakout 2013 season. I’m buying in.
Khris Davis, OF (30 percent owned)
Davis holds some nice power and he plays in one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball. Sure, he doesn’t make a whole lot of contact but he’s once again become an everyday player now that Gerardo Parra is gone, and he’s making the most of his opportunity. In August, Davis has collected five home runs, 10 runs and 14 RBI (as a bonus, he even stole a base).
Davis is hitting to all three parts of the field and he’s been collecting a decent amount of walks which is helping his OBP remain over .300 for the month. After hitting 22 home runs last year, Davis is up to 12 this season and still has a shot at 20.
Desmond Jennings, OF (14 percent owned)
The Rays optioned Joey Butler to triple-A to accommodate Jennings, who’s finally back from a long-standing knee injury that he suffered all the way back in April. The 28-year-old has simply never lived up to the hype that followed him around in the minors but has still flashed fantasy value in the past, posting four straight seasons of double-digit home runs and steals.
In a small 2015 sample, Jennings has gone 6-for-15 with a double and a triple in four games since returning. At this point, he’s about as big a wild card as you’re going to find but you can make a case for adding him in AL-only, 14 or 16-team leagues.
