Looking for someone to park on your bench with the potential to pay big dividends not too far down the road? John Laghezza has you covered, offering up a stash candidate from every National League team. Be sure to check back next week, when he’ll cover the American League stashes.

Arizona Diamondbacks 

Emmanuel Rivera (1B/3B) hasn’t popped up on many radars yet, garnering only part-time duties since his promotion on April 26. The majority of the games he has played, however, were spent batting in either the two- or three-hole — pretty valuable real estate considering it’s desert-front. Rivera has shown elite contact skills (94% Zone-Contact) to go with a .841 OPS and plus batting average. Given the team’s willingness to prioritize him in the order thus far, we could be talking about solid and balanced contributions on a good, young offense down the stretch.

Advertisement

Atlanta Braves 

Vaughn Grissom (2B/SS) wound up among fantasy baseball’s largest early disappointments while trying, and failing miserably, to transition to shortstop for the Braves, earning a demotion on May 6. Well, he’s back to beating up Triple-A pitching, contributing in all five categories (.309/21/11/2/5) in 27 games since his minor league return. Grissom’s getting reps at SS for the Gwinnett Stripers, and is still an Ozzie Albies injury away from being the waiver wire’s crown jewel. Every year we see similar asymmetric career arcs take shape, so keep an open mind even if he’s burned you in the past.

Chicago Cubs

Ben Brown (SP) laid waste to Double-A hitters through his first 20 IP to the tune of a 0.45 ERA, surrendering a single earned run while striking out 30 batters. He earned an immediate promotion to Triple-A and picked up right where he left off. Funny as this may sound, don’t let the “inflated” 3.75 ERA fool you — it was all about one bad day (7 ER, 3 HR) at the office. The other four games started resulted in 1 ER or less, and a 13.5 K/9 at the level. Jameson Taillon’s season ERA just eclipsed the 8.00 plateau, and it’s likely only a matter of time before the Cubs consider replacing him. Considering the state of pitching, I definitely want to be two weeks early rather than one day late on this one.

Cincinnati Reds

Andrew Abbott (SP) continues to thrive in the redraft shadows of emerging stars Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. The 24-year-old southpaw looks incredible right now through 54 IP across two levels — 2.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 42.7% K : 8.1% BB, 1.3 HR/9. The Reds may not be great (or even good), but winning a division is a relative feat and they’re currently only three games off the lead. Given the aggressive pitching call-ups across the league, Abbott’s a classic stash before the squares catch wind of the impending situation.

Colorado Rockies 

Justin Lawrence (RP) should be the next man up in the Rockies bullpen for saves after they eventually tire of rolling out Pierce Johnson and his inflated 6.23 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 12.5% BB, and 2.08 HR/9. Leave it to Colorado to show unbridled loyalty to the absolute worst combinations of skills a closer can have. That said, it’s that same loyalty we’re looking to acquire in Lawrence, whose 1.13 WHIP, 53% GB, and 0.31 HR/9 are in stark contrast to the incumbent. Daniel Bard is lurking as well, but I’m not letting the 0.63 ERA fool me. In my opinion, a 6.04 SIERA, +18% BB, and 11.4% Barrel need to correct course before Bard is back in the ninth inning.

Advertisement

Los Angeles Dodgers 

Michael Busch (3B) already got a quick sip of coffee in the majors this year during a brief paternity leave for regular third baseman Max Muncy. Though he didn’t hit in those seven games, I couldn’t care any less. I’m more interested in the fact Busch appears to have the inside track to be the next Dodgers promotion. I know LA is leading the division right now, but the Diamondbacks are hot on their trail and there isn’t a single hitter in the back half of the Dodgers lineup with a +.240 BA. Busch’s elite on-base skills could even translate to a favorable lineup spot in a best-case scenario.

Miami Marlins

Trevor Rogers (SP) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Jupiter starting next week, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Just as it looked like he might be coming back to form with a really strong outing vs ARI (6 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7K), Rogers hurt his bicep and hit the shelf. I have no clue what we’ll get upon return, but I do know we’ve seen the upside potential and right now the price is right. We all see the current waiver wire environment for pitching — $1 FAAB dollar now, or $300 FAAB dollars after a dominant MiLB game. The choice is yours.

Milwaukee Brewers 

Sal Frelick (OF) underwent surgery in late April to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. While he’s still probably about a month away from game action, I think now is the time to stash him, especially if you’re looking for AVG + SB in 5×5 formats. The Brewers offense has been completely unable to get going and its in dire need of a spark, occupying MLB’s bottom-six in Team BA, OPS, K Rate, Double Plays, Average EV, wOBA, and wRC+.

New York Mets 

Ronny Mauricio (SS), the Mets’ 22-year-old switch-hitting prospect has roto managers on notice, destroying Triple-A pitching through 227 PA — .341/37/33/7/9. How long will the Mets avoid injury and the temptation to call up Mauricio? I’m not exactly sure, but I do know he’s going to demand extreme competition if we wait until news breaks his way.

Philadelphia Phillies

Darick Hall (1B) will finally be heading out on a rehab assignment with Single-A Clearwater, which should put him on track to return to the Phillies within the next few weeks. While scoring may be up across the board league-wide, home runs have been especially difficult to acquire via free agency, and Hall provides a potential pathway to power. He’s coming off of a really strong 37-HR season between MLB and Triple-A, posting a gaudy +17% Barrel rate as a rookie.  I’d imagine his return will go as his strength goes, so don’t be surprised to see him up before Father’s Day if he shows the prodigious power he’s known for.

Advertisement

Pittsburgh Pirates

Roansy Contreras (SP) finds himself in the Pirates bullpen after falling well short of heightened expectations entering the 2023 season. The sophomore righty’s year-to-date line — 4.33 ERA, 5.40 SIERA, 1.38 WHIP, 16.4% K : 10.4% BB, 31.9% FGHH, 0.87 HR/9 — won’t impress, but also shouldn’t be cause for outright dismissal. Two of Contreras’ three pitches carry a +34% Whiff Rate and I think the pitch mix toward featuring his slider was a positive one. The pink elephant in the room is the year-over-year degradation in fastball velocity and shape, but at only 23 years old there’s still time to right the ship. These Pirates are currently contending, and I can’t imagine them having better options in-house when the inevitable need for a starter arises.

San Diego Padres

Tim Lopes (2B) continues to wreak havoc on opposing Triple-A pitching and could be the perfect fit for San Diego’s specific MLB needs. The Padres offense is struggling to get on base while also rolling out Rougned Odor every day to play second. Something’s gotta give, so enter Lopes. The 28-year-old has been tearing it with the El Paso Chihuahuas as a 5×5 stud through 223 PA (.304/41/31/9/11) and, at his age, there’s no reason to sit on him in the minors. I think he may be soon looked to for an added spark in San Diego, and if he can sustain his elite on-base skills, we could be talking about the leadoff hitter for an extremely talented offense.

San Francisco Giants

Kyle Harrison (SP) is giving off pretty strong “Wild Thing” Rickey Vaughn vibes, currently rocking a 40.1% K-to-20.4% BB ratio through his first eleven Triple-A starts this season. Obviously, the guy’s electric, posting a 15.99 K/9, but he’s also suppressed contact and kept the ball in the yard. As for the control, it’s clearly an issue, but not one beyond correction. For reference, after walking 21 batters in his first 15.2 IP (27.3% BB), that number dropped to 10 hitters over his last 18.2 IP (13.3% BB) which borders on viable considering the concurrent +45% Strikeout rate.

St. Louis Cardinals

Jordan Walker (3B/OF) embodies the perfect case of how a tsunami of preseason irrational exuberance can quickly turn into a post-hype discount. Walker was fantasy baseball’s hot air balloon after obliterating pitchers in spring training, earning a promotion to the big club. Unfortunately for Walker, the combination of strikeouts and ground balls forced the Cardinals’ hand and he was sent back down to Memphis to figure it out with the Redbirds. Though the box score suggests his struggles have continued, Walker has personally been very vocal about his challenge of trying to force an increase in launch angle. He said he’d be going back to the basics that got him there, and he’s hit .298 with a .894 OPS, two homers, and a steal in the past two weeks.

Washington Nationals

Stone Garrett (OF) is still my fantasy crush out in the nation’s capital, and I refuse to get off the train until this young man gets a shot at regular playing time. He’s still on the outside looking in as the fourth outfielder in Washington but should be the next up for opportunities if (and when) Alex Call, Lane Thomas, or Corey Dickerson fail and/or get injured. Garrett’s playing sparingly and the season stats have begun sinking.  However, that hasn’t stopped me. I’m still stashing Garrett in the very last bench spot of any desperate 5×5 team I can. Fantasy stashes are all about the upside and I’m not quite done dreaming on his monstrous 524 PA sample (.275/86/105/32/18) across Triple-A and MLB in 2022.

(Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)