MidWeek Musings

A Gerbilsports miracle has happened. Last night, on waivers, I managed to snag Meadows, Roupp, Nolan Jones, and Ryne Nelson- all without a single $1 FAAB to spend. It was then I realized that I'd like to recommend a few more guys before Sunday. I also tried to get Max Muncy, but alas, that was a failed proposition. Ryne Nelson

Ryne is one of the easiest adds of the season with Burnes set to get a seccond opinion on an elbow that is almost certainly busted. Nelson has been straight up awesome dating back to the all-star break of the 2024 season, and currently boasts a 3.43 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. He's excelled at limiting any kind of hard contact and still managed to post a respectable 42nd percentile K% despite rarely inducing whiffs. His knack for inducing lots of groundballs to go with a few Ks allows him to go deep into games and should make him a top-tier QS machine going forward. With excellent velocity and extension, Nelson's 100 mph perceived velocity 4-seam has an elite run value of 9 and a .188 BA against, and pairs nicely with a cutter that has a respectable 31% whiff rate. Fangraphs projections also adore Nelson, grading him at an elite 108 Stuff+ and 107 Pitching+. If you're looking for a guy that will rack up quality starts at solid ratios, you can't go wrong here. This is a very, very good pitcher.

Nolan Jones This may be a league-winning play, and if you compare his 2024 statcast and 2025 statcast, you'll probably see why. In 2024, Nolan Jones' bat speed clocked in at the 40th percentile, a farcry from his 59th percentile bat speed in 2023 when he was a very solid baseball guy. Well, now it's 2025, and Nolan Jones has a .... 70th percentile bat speed. Oh shit. Yep, Jones is swinging the bat faster than he ever has in his career. And with that, his statcast is starting to look extremely potent. The ball is flying off his bat at a 91st percentile average exit velocity and 82nd percentile Hard-Hit %. To go with these excellent power metrics, he's also rarely chasing outside the zone and maintaining solid launch angles. The production is beginning to catch up to the metrics as he's hit .333 over his last 16 games and is providing a spark at the heart of the Guardians lineup. If this continues, he'll be the primary hitter driving in J-Ram going forward, and that's a metric ton of a run value and counting stats. Add him, quickly, before word gets out that he may be even better than he was in 2023.

Edward Cabrera Earlier this season, I recommended Edward Cabrera on a weekly waiver wire piece, and he proceeded to get absolutely blown up the following start. I was surprised, because under the hood, he was really starting to look like a better pitcher, and his fangraphs projections agreed. Fast-forward a month and it's all beginning to click for Edward Cabrera. And if you're an MLB The Show enthusiast, you'll probably find the reason why humorous - he's throwing his Sinker (fondly remember that Outlier cheese) much less, everything else much more. In fact, in his two most recent starts, he's thrown four pitches more than the sinker - his 4-seam, slider curveball, and changeup (which touches 97 mph lol). He's a brand new pitcher, with a brand new pitch mix - but the results have been anything but mixed. He's given up 0 earned runs over his last two starts and shows no signs of slowing. With elite fangraphs projections of a 106 Stuff+ and 107 Pitching+, and a statcast that is beginning to heat up into the red, Edward Cabrera is an extremely high upside add.

Beautiful Chase % to go with crispy K and Whiff rates.

.160 xBA on the curve and .194 xBA on the slider, whew.

Hunter Dobbins Welcome back to the team, for a third time this year. Maybe the Richard Fitts blowup was a blessing in disguise because Hunter Dobbins is a pitcher that deserves, and has earned, a rotation spot. After Fitts was pulled from his disaster start, Dobbins pitched 5 innings of solid baseball (how fitting), racking up 4 Ks, 1BB, and giving up a single run. His K/BB continues to be fantastic for ratios and as he continues to improve, that awesome 79th percentile chase rate will hopefully result in even more Ks. I decided to peek his pitch mix in this most recent outing, as it was one of his more impressive outings of 2025, and it was interesting to see he dramatically increased his slider usage for the first time this year. Dobbins is a talent young arm still refining his pitch mix, and the upside is hard to ignore.

106 Location+ and 104 Pitching+, nice. I think the Stuff+ plays better than a 97 as well.

Alec Burleson

I drafted this guy and dropped him within two weeks; I was hoping for this type of poduction from the start, but it's nice to see him finally producing, even if it's for another team. Burleson is making some really solid contact with the ball - an 86th percentile whiff with 95th percentile squared-up and 81st percentile averaged exit velocity is nothing to scoff at, and although the xBA is quite a bit below his actual .291 BA, there's too many good possible outcomes to ignore here. If you can't get someone like Nolan Jones or Parker Meadows, this could be a really nice consolation prize. Nothing exciting, but the production should be there.

Kody Clemens

Things have slowed over the past week thanks to pitchers being a bit more wary of Clemens, but the metrics remain strong and I still believe he's worth an add. Not much else to say.

Some other guys that continue to remain interesting and worth watching: Chad Patrick Ben Brown

Bailey Falter

Carlos Correa