Before we get to everything you need to know about from Monday's action … allow me to talk to you into Henry Davis again.
I know exactly what you're thinking: "There's no way I'm falling for this Henry Davis thing again." I was beating the drum for Davis as a breakout this spring, and he was so bad over the first month of the season that he got sent back to Triple-A, with Joey Bart just flat out taking his job before being placed on the IL this weekend with a hamstring.
But consider Bart himself for a moment before you dismiss Davis entirely. Like Davis, Bart was a highly touted prospect with big power and big contact issues who floundered for several years in the majors before finally finding his way this year with the Pirates. Bart was written off by many, including the Giants, before this season, but he looked to be emerging as exactly the kind of impact bat we hoped he might become before this injury, with the underlying numbers to mostly back it up.
That doesn't mean Davis is going to follow the same path, obviously. But it is a good reminder that you shouldn't just dismiss the notion out of hand, especially when it comes to catchers, whose development tends to be especially non-linear even among prospects. They've got a lot more defensive work to do to prepare for every game, which tends to make their development path a bit slower and windier than other positions even in a best-case scenario – and between injuries and that weird outfield experiment last season, Davis has certainly not had the best-case scenario so far in his career.
Despite it all, Davis has remained extremely productive at Triple-A – he hit .307/.401/.555 with just a 22% strikeout rate this season – and if you're looking for upside at catcher, he brings some to the table. Your skepticism is both warranted and noted, but I'm just saying, give the kid a chance before writing him off again.
Here's what else you need to know about from Monday's games:
Tuesday's waiver targets
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs (26%) – There was always a gap between the scouting reports for Crow-Armstrong and the production. The scouting reports made him sound like a guy whose glove would have to carry most of the weight for him to make it at the big-league level, despite very interesting production – including 25 homers and 47 steals in 133 games between Double-A and Triple-A overall. And for the most part in his first tastes of the majors, the scouting reports looked like the better source as Crow-Armstrong entered play Monday hitting just .206/.261/.361 in his first 105 career games, dating back to last season. But he's been much better lately, and it might not just be a fluke – he is hitting .307 with four homers and eight steals over the past 26 games, and August has been the best month of his career skills-wise, with a .378 expected wOBA over his past 74 PA. The thing about Crow-Armstrong is, that he's one of the fastest players in baseball and a legitimately very good baserunner, so if he can just be an average hitter with a bit of pop, he's probably a must-start Fantasy option. He looks like at least that right now.
Nick Pivetta, SP, Red Sox (82%) – There's something kind of funny in the fact that Pivetta's best start in nearly two months came in a game that, technically, happened more than two months ago. A game that likely did not count for your Fantasy leagues, as Pivetta took the mound for the second inning of a suspended game from June. And he was dominant, limiting the Blue Jays to just two earned runs over six innings while striking out 10 and issuing zero walks. It is Pivetta's fifth double-digit strikeout effort of the season, and it comes amid a streak where he hadn't had a quality start since July … and I suppose still hasn't. The stats don't count from this one, but the performance does, and it's Pivetta's most promising in at least a month. If you're looking for a pitcher to add where he's available, this is a reason to do so.
MJ Melendez, OF, Royals (17%) – Is there some post-hype appeal here? Melendez has largely fallen on his face this season, but he's starting to remind us of the talent we once got so excited about of late, hitting .301 with six homers and 14 RBI over his past 23 games, with an average exit velocity of 92.1 mph on his batted balls in that time. Of course, he's also been playing a bit more sporadically of late, and even with this hot streak only just now got his season-long OPS over .700. Which is to say, yeah, it's a long shot that Melendez is going to be a difference maker for Fantasy, but I don't mind riding the hot hand when that hand belongs to a 25-year-old former top prospect with Melendez's raw power.
Whit Merrifield, OF, Braves (20%) – The Braves might have something here with Merrifield. They've been churning through a series of also-ran veteran types, but Merrifield seems to have stuck, starting 25 games in a row as of Monday's five-hit effort against the Twins. He is now hitting .313 since joining the team, with one homer, 17 runs, and five stolen bases. It's a pretty empty average (and the five hits Monday are carrying a lot of weight here), but he brings a bit of speed to the table that could matter in Roto leagues, especially with triple eligibility.
