A couple of left-handed starting pitchers who weren't on Fantasy radars a month ago put up two arguably the two best starts of the night Tuesday. Both are still pretty widely available in CBS Fantasy leagues, though if you're looking to add just one of them, I'm going to tell you to go for the one who is 20% rostered over the one who is 68% rostered. Even though the one who is 68% rostered has been a lot better than the other one this season.
I'm talking about Reid Detmers and David Peterson, if you weren't watching the box scores last night, by the way. Peterson is the one who is more widely rostered right now, and after his 11-strikeout performance against the Red Sox, is now down to a 2.75 ERA for the season and a 1.81 mark since the start of August. Detmers, on the other hand, was a bit less effective than Peterson Tuesday (10 strikeouts in six innings against the Dodgers with one more earned run allowed) and has been significantly worse than Peterson this season, earning a trip back to Triple-A after posting a 6.14 ERA through the beginning of June.
So, why am I still higher on Detmers?
Partially, it's just a lack of faith in Peterson, who has never really shown this kind of strikeout upside before. Even during this excellent stretch, he's been enjoying, Peterson has had just one start in his previous six with more strikeouts than innings pitched. His success of late hasn't been a complete fluke – even before Tuesday, he had a very solid 3.46 FIP over those six starts – but I also think we've seen enough of Peterson to know that he probably isn't an ace, or even a solidly above-average major-league pitcher at this point. It's a nice run, but not one I want to bet on lasting forever.
And, to be fair, I certainly don't think anyone should be betting on Detmers, either. We've all been burned by that one before, and for as good as Detmers was Tuesday night, we're talking about a guy who went down to Triple-A and had a 5.54 ERA in 14 starts. Even accounting for the offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that's pretty brutal.
But, man, Detmers was really good Tuesday night, and it wasn't the first time. In his final three starts at Triple-A, he had 29 strikeouts and three runs allowed over 21 innings of work. And it was more of the same against the Dodgers Tuesday, as he returned to limit them to just two earned runs over his six innings of work with 10 strikeouts to two walks. That he did that while facing the top of the Dodgers lineup three times only makes it even more impressive.
Detmers did it with 18 swinging strikes, including eight each on his fastball and slider. The slider velocity was up a bit since his first time in the majors, and he told reporters before the game he did rework the pitch to try to get it back to where it was a few years ago when he looked like one of the best young pitchers in baseball.
He probably isn't that. It would be unfair to expect that. We've been faked out by Detmers plenty throughout his career. But if I'm looking for someone who could be a difference-maker the rest of the way, I'd rather bet on the guy who has shown significant strikeout upside before Tuesday night.
That's Detmers. You're probably skeptical, and you're right to be. But Detmers has always clearly had the talent, and if there's a chance he's putting it all together, I think the upside is way higher than with Peterson.
Maybe I'll be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time with this specific pitcher, after all.
Wednesday's waiver targets
Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Guardians (22%) – For a while there, it felt like Manzardo might be turning into one of those Quad-A types who dominate the minors but just never gets it done in the majors. He hasn't had a big sample size at the MLB level, but the Guardians' hesitance to call him back up this season raised those questions for me. That still may end up being the case, but right now, Manzardo looks every bit like he belongs, going 5 for 10 with two homers in three games since returning from Triple-A, including 3 for 4 with a double Tuesday. Manzardo has started all three games since returning, and if he plays every day down the stretch, he could absolutely have a breakout month and put himself squarely on Fantasy radars for 2025.
Taylor Ward, OF, Angels (61%) – It's mostly felt like a lost season for Ward, but he is kind of in the midst of salvaging it. He went deep for the third time in four games Tuesday and has hit safe in 13 straight games and 26 of his past 30, with an OPS over .800 in that stretch. It hasn't come with many runs (13) or RBI (15), which is a bummer, but Ward is at least hitting for some power and batting average right now. We've seen Ward be a very useful option for Fantasy in the past, and with his xwOBA up to .353 over the past 100 PA, maybe he can be one yet again down the stretch.
David Festa, SP, Twins (43%) – The Twins have had a pretty short leash with Festa, which is really the only thing keeping me from getting more excited about him. Since coming back from the minors on July 24, Festa has gone six innings just once in seven tries, which is frustrating because he has a 3.13 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 37.1 innings of work in that span. His big frame makes his mid-90s fastball play up, and both his changeup and slider look like at least solid secondaries, so I think Festa has the makings of a pretty useful Fantasy option. The only concern here might be that it might not fully come to fruition until 2025 if the Twins don't give him a longer leash down the stretch. I hope they do.
Cade Povich, SP, Orioles (11%) – I don't want to write a young pitcher going for 10 strikeouts off, especially with how excited I got about Reid Detmers doing the same. But, of course, the big difference here is that Detmers did it against the Dodgers, while Povich did it against the White Sox. Povich finally got the chases he's been looking for at the major-league level, but it's fair to ask if pitching against this current White Sox team actually counts as pitching in the majors, at least from a quality of competition standpoint. Still, Povich has shown flashes in the minors, and the thing about pitching for the Orioles is there are plenty of wins available even against the non-White Sox of the world. So, if you're in a deeper league and looking to speculate on some upside (and Detmers and Festa aren't available, at least), you can give Povich a look.
