BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately In All Leagues
OWNED IN: 2% of Fleaflicker Leagues
ANALYSIS: Brett Cecil had a late start this Spring due to shoulder inflammation and he found himself throwing 87-88 MPH fastballs en route to blowing Wednesday's save vs. the New York Yankees. He now finds himself out of the 9th inning. Cecil will work on regaining his velocity in lower leverage situations for the Blue Jays. Enter Miguel Castro, the 20-year-old Jays flamethrower who, if everything went according to plan for the Jays this preseason, would be in the minor leagues right now. Instead, Castro is the likely new closer for the Jays. You can see our full MLB closers & saves depth charts updated here.
Castro was a revelation for the Blue Jays this Spring and was part of the reason the Jays optioned Steve Delabar to the minors. Castro has high-90s heat, and although he's never appeared above High-A until 2015, he appeared poised well beyond his years in Spring Training games.
Hopefully that poise continues because the Blue Jays don't really have many other options left in the bullpen. Marco Estrada and Todd Redmond are long relief guys, and Aaron Loup had a 13% BB rate versus right-handed hitters in 2014.
It's very tough to predict how a pitcher as young and raw as Castro will perform in the high pressure situations he'll now face as the Blue Jays new closer. It's possible that Cecil finds his way back to his usual 91-92 MPH range in a week or two and reassumes closing duties. For now, Castro is the guy, and a realistic expectations is a solid number of saves and Ks with a fair amount of blown saves sprinkled in. Bottom line: Castro should be owned in all leagues right now and will be the Jays closer until further notice. In any league that counts saves, he's worth picking up.
Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!