The first month of the season can have a heck of an impact on how we view players the rest of the way, and it can take an awfully long time to recover from that. And getting too anchored to those early-season results can cause Fantasy players to miss the forest for the trees with some players.
Take Alex Bregman, who plenty of Fantasy players were probably already predisposed to not believe in, given his fall from the days when he was one of the game's truly elite hitters in recent seasons. How many of you just wrote him off when Bregman opened the season in a deep slump, hitting .201/.270/.264 in his first 37 games? Did you realize he's hitting .277 with eight homers, 12 runs, and 16 RBI in his past 21 games? Until Frank Stampfl brought it up on Monday night's Fantasy Baseball Today, I'll admit, I hadn't.
Or take Nolan Gorman. One of last season's breakout stars looked like a complete fluke after the first month or so of the season, and a guy who might have more power upside than anyone at the second base position found himself dropped in countless leagues. And he's still available in 26% of CBS Fantasy leagues, despite the fact that, after homering twice Monday night against the Astros is now up to a .230/.318/.494 line for the season, with a 36-homer pace.
Gorman still deserves to be rostered in all leagues, and there's still a chance for those of you in those 26% of leagues where he's available to take advantage of the skepticism created by his slow start. But, given the run he's on right now – five homers in his past six games, nine in his past 19 – this might be your last chance.
In the rest of today's newsletter, we're recapping the rest of Monday's action, starting with the other top waiver-wire priorities to look for:
Monday's top waiver targets
Francisco Alvarez, C, Mets (68%) – Between his own slow start and then thumb injury, Alvarez remains more widely available than he probably should be even as he has begun his minor-league rehab assignment in recent days. The schedule looks like it's going to delay his return from the IL – the Mets play just three games over the next week as they get set to travel to London to take on the Phillies this weekend, a series Alvarez is not expected to participate in. But as of Monday, Alvarez seems like a good bet to be activated next week when they return, and there aren't many players with more upside at the catcher position; certainly none this widely available.
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Connor Norby, 2B, Orioles (14%) – With Jorge Mateo placed on the IL, the Orioles called on one of their seemingly dozen interesting young hitting prospects to replace him, with Norby getting the call for his MLB debut Monday night. Norby went 0 for 3 with a couple of strikeouts, but has remained a very productive hitter in the high minors, hitting .293/.365/.501 with 34 homers and 17 steals in 198 games at Triple-A over the past couple of seasons, including an .884 OPS this season. He doesn't have the upside of a Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, especially as a power hitter, but I'll always take a flier on a talented young player if I have the roster spot to play with. Let's see if he can get hot and make a difference.
Adam Mazur, SP, Padres (5%) – Mazur moved quickly through the minors, making his debut last season after being a second-round pick in 2022, and he'll make his MLB debut after just 28 professional starts as he's being called on to start Tuesday against the Angels. Mazur dominated Double-A to open the season, sporting a 1.95 ERA in six starts, but stumbled a bit since getting to Triple-A, where he was tagged for 15 runs in 19 innings in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast Leagues. Mazur hasn't shown a ton of strikeout upside so far, with a 23.6% rate in the minors, which probably limits his appeal for Fantasy at least a little bit. It might just be a mid-rotation ceiling, though guys like that have had a lot of success in the much more pitcher-friendly environment of the majors this season, so I'm willing to give him a look if I have a roster spot to play with, just in case he gets hot.
Noelvi Marte, 3B, Reds (37%) – By the time Marte's 80-game suspension was announced this spring, he already seemed like he might be the odd man out in the Reds crowded infield situation. But now, with Marte set to begin a minor-league rehab assignment and eligible to return from his suspension by June 27, the path to playing time suddenly looks a lot more clear. Elly De La Cruz isn't going anywhere, surely, and neither is Jeimer Candelario, given his contract and recent play. Outside of those two, it doesn't seem too hard to project Marte for consistent playing time with Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the IL, Jonathan India struggling, and Nick Martini playing pretty much every day at DH. Marte hit .316/.366/.456 in 123 plate appearances in the majors last season and could be a legitimate five-category contributor once he's cleared. Don't forget about him.
