The 2024 fantasy baseball season is getting into full swing, and injuries are wreaking havoc to various starting rotations. So many arms have been lost for varying degrees of time, ruining some fantasy rosters all across the landscape in the process.
With that said, these injuries can create open the door to extra opportunities for intriguing players who would have cost much more a month ago. Two examples are promising rookies Slade Cecconi of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Mitchell Parker of the Washington Nationals.
What can these players do for fantasy managers? Let's find out!
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Slade Cecconi (SP, ARI) - 6% Rostered
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting rotation is hurting, with Merrill Kelly (shoulder) and Eduardo Rodriguez (lat) both sitting on the injured list for at least the next month, so they’ve given Slade Cecconi a chance on the major league roster. Although the rookie right-hander was a first-round pick back in 2020, he’s never quite found his way in the minor leagues with a 5.89 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 136 innings (27 starts) in his career at Triple-A Reno.
Cecconi, Arizona's No. 18 prospect for 2024 on MLB Pipeline, is off to a fantastic start during the 2024 regular season, however, posting a 2.25 ERA (2.91 FIP), 0.50 WHIP, and 11:1 K:BB over 12 IP (two starts) in the big leagues. The sample size is way too small to tell if he’s the real deal or not, but Cecconi’s 1.76 xERA and .164 xBA suggest the D-backs could have an interesting player here.
The 24-year-old righty may not be a recommended fantasy streamer in his next scheduled start on Saturday against the division-rival San Diego Padres, but he’s a Champ in the long-term picture with enough underlying metrics to like as well as a clear runway for an extended run in Arizona’s rotation.
Mitchell Parker (SP, WAS) - 40% Rostered
From one member of the 2020 MLB Draft class to another, Mitchell Parker is taking the spot in the rotation of the injured Josiah Gray (elbow) for the Washington Nationals at the moment. Parker is Washington’s No. 21 prospect for 2024, per MLB Pipeline, and he’s also off to a terrific start since being promoted to the big leagues with a 1.69 ERA (1.78 FIP), 0.93 WHIP, and 14:2 K:BB over 16 frames (three starts) despite poor minor league numbers.
The 24-year-old southpaw yielded strong results in his first two starts against the imposing Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers lineups, but he faltered against the last-place Miami Marlins. Go figure.
While Parker’s 2.79 xERA is quite impressive, his mediocre .238 xBA implies some regression could be in store here. Couple that with a lack of overpowering swing-and-miss stuff and Gray’s return perhaps arriving in mid-May, and Parker is a Chump who fantasy managers should not be clinging onto with a daunting matchup against the defending-champion Texas Rangers on tap for May 2.