Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Time is now for Tyler Glasnow – CBSSports.com

At the start of the season,
Lucas Giolito
and
Tyler Glasnow
were the two big prospects the Fantasy community was stashing with their last few roster spots. The talented duo were arguably the top pitching prospects in baseball, and their combination of pedigree and experience in the high minors made them the safest bets to get the call and start helping Fantasy players right away.

Turns out, their teams did not think they were quite as ready as Fantasy players hoped. Giolito wasn’t called up until last week, while the
Pittsburgh Pirates
called up three young pitchers from the minors, none of whom was Glasnow. Until now.

The Pirates are expected to call up Glasnow to start Thursday against the
St. Louis Cardinals
, and given their rotation issues, it’s hard to see how it won’t be for good. Glasnow is really being thrown into the fire, as the Cardinals rank third in baseball in wOBA vs. RHP, but if any 22-year-old can handle it, Glasnow certainly has the talent to.

Jameson Taillon
is the more polished of the Pirates’ two big pitching prospects, but Glasnow definitely has more apparent upside. He has racked up strikeouts in the minors on the strength of a big fastball that hits the high-90’s and sits in the mid-90’s with movement. Glasnow combines that fastball with a big curveball that rates out as a true swing-and-miss pitch, and a changeup that has been part of his development.

The problems with Glasnow come with the fact that, at 6-foot-8, he sometimes has trouble repeating his delivery, which leads to command issues. He has managed to post a 1.78 ERA this season despite walking 13.7 percent of opposing hitters, but that is a real hurdle for him to overcome. However, he has also been utterly unhittable in his minor-league career, allowing 0.4 HR/9 and 5.4 H/9, pretty ridiculous rates that have so far rendered his control issues irrelevant.

What is going to be interesting to see is how much he can keep that up in the majors. You can get by on stuff in the majors, but the margin for error is a lot smaller. Those 98-MPH fastballs you left belt high will get put in the bleachers, when they might have been swung through by an over-matched 19-year-old.

On the other hand, Glasnow wouldn’t be the first pitcher to overcome wildness in the majors. Many young pitchers are focusing on developing their secondary pitches in the minors, so you might be throwing a handful more curveballs and changeups than you otherwise might if you were just going after hitters. It’s possible Glasnow will lean more on the pitches he is comfortable with, and that could improve his command as well.

Either way, Glasnow is an obvious must-add player in all Fantasy formats as he gets the call. He is available in 38 percent of CBSSports.com leagues, and should be 100 percent added. You’ll only get one start out of him before the All-Star break, but he could be a huge difference maker down the stretch if he can keep his flaws in line.

Kelvin Herrera
, RP,
Kansas City Royals
(32 percent)

Fingers crossed that
Wade Davis
‘ forearm strain is just that and isn’t a sign of a larger elbow issue that could cost him a serious amount of time. Either way, you need saves, and the Royals have a bullpen that is more than capable of stepping up in Davis’ place, led first and foremost by the fireballing Herrera. Herrera emerged as an elite reliever back in 2014, and hasn’t posted an ERA above 2.71 since; that includes his 1.40 mark this season. He has been better than ever so far this season, with his strikeout rate spiking to 33.1 percent, while he has cut his walk rate to 4.7 percent, nearly in half. He has been, by just about any measure, one of the better relievers in baseball this season, and should be able to fill in more than capably in the ninth. The only question is whether the injury-riddled Royals will win enough games to make it matter. Regardless, Herrera should be viewed as a must-add option on the wire if you need saves.

Wei-Yin Chen
, SP,
Miami Marlins
(55 percent owned)

This season has not gone as planned for the Marlins with Chen, who signed a $55 million contract this offseason and sports a 4.83 ERA in 17 starts. He has struggled with the long ball especially, giving up 17 homers already, though seven of them cam in a two-start span in June. Still, he had a 3.54 and 3.34 ERA over the previous two seasons, so we know Chen can be better than he has been, and we’re starting to see signs of it lately. Chen has gone at least seven innings while allowing two or fewer runs in two of the last three starts, and he did that against the
Chicago Cubs
and
New York Mets
, one great offense and another pretty solid one. He had a mediocre start against the lowly
Atlanta Braves
thrown in there, but Chen’s track record is worth betting on, and he could have a solid second half of the season on the way.

Brock Holt
, OF,
Boston Red Sox
(31 percent owned)

Holt missed more than a month after recovering from a concussion, but has been back in the lineup for the Red Sox in four of their last five games, and has gotten back to hitting. Holt has gone 6 for 17 with four extra-base hits and six runs in those four games, and has a solid enough track record that he is an interesting pickup when he is getting playing time. Holt doesn’t hit for much power or steal bases, but Holt is a solid contact hitter who can get on base, and he’s playing in the best offense in baseball, which should help him produce runs as well. Holt isn’t a difference maker, but with
Chris Young
sidelined, he’s going to play pretty much everyday, and is worth a look in that role.