Major League Baseball has ejected its first pitcher for use of illegal substances. 

Seattle Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago was ejected Sunday against the White Sox after the umpiring crew checked his glove and decided there was enough evidence to remove him from the game. 

Santiago denies using any illegal substances other than rosin, which is allowed by MLB. 

“I know I wasn’t using anything besides rosin, [which is] given to us,” Santiago said in his postgame Zoom call. “Once [the rules] came up I decided, ‘I’m to use rosin, that’s what we got and I don’t want this to be a big thing and I don’t want this to happen to me.’”

Pitchers have been visibly frustrated with the foreign substance checks and, if Santiago was indeed using just rosin, frustration will grow even more if players start getting ejected for using legal substances.

If you’re as frustrated with your fantasy team as Washington Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer is with the constant substance checks, here are six players available in more than 50 per cent of ESPN leagues.
 

Hitters

Hunter Renfroe, OF, Boston Red Sox (38.0 per cent rostered)

Who would have thought that a move to Fenway park would help a struggling power hitter? Renfroe is enjoying the best season of his career with the Red Sox, hitting .272, easily a career high, with 37 RBI and 38 runs scored.

The 29-year-old outfielder is on pace to blow away his previous career highs of 68 RBI and 64 runs scored. Renfroe is on pace to hit just 22 home runs thanks to a brand new approach. 

This season, the former San Diego Padre has emphasized hitting more line drives and fewer fly balls, resulting in a decrease in homers. Renfroe’s launch angle and fly ball rate sit at career lows, however, his line drive rate and average exit velocity are both career highs.

For now, it seems that Renfroe has turned in his home run power for a focus on gap-to-gap power and it has made him a more complete ball player.

Over his past 10 games, Renfroe is slashing .368/.419/.605 with two home runs and 10 RBI. He consistently bats in the middle of a Red Sox lineup that is fifth in runs scored, so even if the home run power doesn’t return, he will provide plenty of counting stats. 

Myles Straw, OF, Houston Astros (26.8 per cent rostered)

Straw has never been known for his bat, but he has made himself a valuable member of the Astros’ lineup in his fourth major-league season. 

Following a terrible 2020 in which he hit just .207, Straw has upped his average to .270 and is also getting on base at a respectable .343 clip. He has upped his walk rate by five per cent and lowered his strikeout rate by six per cent. 

The 26-year-old has improved every month this season and has been on fire in June, slashing .342/.413/.456 with two home runs and five stolen bases in 22 games. He’s now up to 11 stolen bases on the season, tied for 10th in the majors. 

Straw won’t provide much power, but he’s improved enough as a hitter that he won’t be an average anchor while chipping in with plenty of runs and stolen bases.

Tony Kemp, 2B/OF, Oakland Athletics (23.1 per cent rostered)

Kemp won’t wow anyone with eye-popping numbers. Through 58 games, he has just four home runs and four stolen bases. However, Kemp has excellent on-base skills that have helped him to a season-long slash line of .280/.401/.448. 

Kemp has been on fire this month, hitting above .300 while hitting three of his four home runs. The 29-year-old is a solid addition to any team looking for a utility or bench bat to boost their team ratios while scoring runs. 

Other Options: Josh Rojas, 2B/SS/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (47.1 per cent rostered), Steven Duggar, OF, San Francisco Giants (23.4 per cent rostered), Keston Hiura, 2B/1B, Milwaukee Brewers (40.2 per cent rostered)
 

Pitchers

Joe Ross, SP, Washington Nationals (16.9 per cent rostered)

Ross had extremely low expectations placed on him entering 2021. He opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and did not have an ERA below 5.01 over his past three seasons, jumping between the rotation and the bullpen. 

The 28-year-old righty is now back in the rotation full time and is having his best season since 2016. His 4.12 ERA might not seem impressive, but it’s been inflated by a pair of horrific starts in which he allowed 18 earned runs over 8.1 innings. Outside of those two starts, Ross has been consistent, having produced the same number of scoreless starts as those in which he has allowed any earned runs.

Of course, his habit of getting blown up can’t be disregarded, but when Ross is on he’s a very good pitcher. In June, he posted a 1.73 ERA over four starts, while striking out one batter per inning.

His 28.9 per cent CSW (call strike + whiffs) is a career high, and he’s generating swinging strikes at his highest mark since his rookie season. As long as Ross can maintain these improvements, he will be worthy of a roster spot. 

Amir Garrett / Brad Brach, RP, Cincinnati Reds (16.7 and 2.9 per cent rostered)

The carousel at the back end of the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen continues after their two best arms, Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims, were placed on the injured list last week. 

This has left manager David Bell with limited options in the ninth inning, and it seems like former closer Amir Garrett and veteran Brad Brach are the top-two options. 

After losing his job earlier in the season, Garrett has somewhat righted the ship, allowing just two runs and five hits over his previous 10 appearances, while picking up three saves.

Brach picked up his first save of the season on Thursday and had gone eight appearances without allowing a run prior to allowing a single earned run in Saturday’s win. 

At the moment, it seems Garrett has the upper hand for saves but both pitchers should see save chances moving forward. Until there is some clarity in the situation, both are worth adding to fantasy rosters for managers chasing saves. 

Jose Alvarado, RP, Philadelphia Phillies (17.0 per cent rostered)

We’re doubling up on closers this week, after Phillies manager Joe Girardi said last week that Alvarado, not Hector Neris, would get the next save chance for the Phillies.

Alvarado rewarded that confidence by promptly blowing a save in his first opportunity. Neris would be given the next two save opportunities, converting one and blowing the other.

Archie Bradley earned the save on Sunday but it was Alvarado who was trusted to face the heart of the New York Mets’ lineup in the eighth. 

The back end of the Phillies’ bullpen is a mess. However, Alvarado should have at least a share of the saves moving forward. He has allowed just two earned runs in June and has a 2.57 ERA for the season.

The 26-year-old is striking out a career-high 30.6 per cent of batters but is also walking a career-high 19.4 percent of the hitters he faces. If Alvarado can find the strike zone with any regularity he has the potential to be one of the best relievers in baseball. 

Hitters are hitting just .167 against him this season, a career best. If he can lower his walk rate to last season’s 13.3 per cent, Alvarado will run away with the closer role.

Until then, fantasy managers looking for saves have to take the good with the bad and hope that his raw stuff is enough to keep hitters off balance and offset all of the free passes he gives out.

Other Options: Jake Odorizzi, SP, Houston Astros (47.2 per cent rostered), Ross Stripling, SP, Toronto Blue Jays (41.7 per cent rostered), Tony Gonsolin, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (35.8 per cent rostered)