Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Henry Bolte, A.J. Ewing and Ben Brown

Ewing is debuting at just 21. The 134th pick in the 2023 draft, he’s consistently been one of the most patient hitters in the minors since debut, having walked 14.4 percent of the time and struck out 21.8 percent of the time. Once Ewing reaches base, he’s often going to advance an extra 90 feet without any help. He’s 17-for-18 stealing bases this year. He was 70-for-81 in 124 games last season.

Ewing was hitting .339/.447/.514 with two homers in his 30 games between Double- and Triple-A. Some of his “power” is simply a product of his legs turning singles into doubles, but his exit velocity numbers aren’t bad. He’s not going to hit many homers in the short term, but maybe in a couple of years, he’ll have the potential to get 15 or so per season. He’s probably not ready to hit major league left-handers, so Tyrone Taylor should get some starts over him in those situations.

It doesn’t look like the Mets are getting Luis Robert Jr. back from injury any time soon. Ewing figures to have at least the month to show what he can do, and if he thrives, then he could stick in the outfield and the Mets would use Robert and Juan Soto more at DH. Most likely, he’ll be average at best offensively for now, but if he can hit .250, the speed might make him useful. He has a lower ceiling than Bolte, but he is in the better playing time situation for the short term.

Ben Brown (SP Cubs) - Rostered in nine percent of Yahoo leagues

Going into the season, it looked like the Cubs might have enough rotation depth to allow Brown to settle into a setup role in a potentially dynamic tandem with Daniel Palencia at the end of games. And then Cade Horton went down, Justin Steele had a setback in his elbow surgery rehab and Matthew Boyd messed up his knee playing with his kids. After 12 relief appearances in which he amassed a fine 2.10 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, Brown made his first start Friday, throwing four hitless innings against the Rangers. It suggests he's going to be in the rotation for a good while.

Brown had a 6.30 ERA in his 15 starts last year, so it's understandable why fantasy leaguers have been wary so far. However, adding a sinker and giving hitters two fastballs to worry about has been a gamechanger for him. Not only has the sinker been effective, but it's presence has made his four-seamer considerably better. His changeup is well below average and rarely seen, so last year, hitters could just immediately identify four-seamer or curveball out of his hand. They don't have that luxury any longer.

Brown will lose a little velocity as he gets back to throwing 90-plus pitches per game. While adding the sinker should definitely help in the ERA department, it has left him with less strikeout potential. Also, as nice as it was to see him put up the four hitless innings in his first start, it was against a weak Texas lineup in what's become a terrible environment for hitters in Globe Life Field. Still, it seems like things are going to be different for Brown this time around as a starter. He probably won't outduel Chris Sale while he's facing the Braves on Thursday, but starting next week, he should be a worthy choice in mixed leagues for at least a spell.

Waiver Wire Quick Hits

• Although I have more faith in Graham Ashcraft, Pierce Johnson would seem to be the Reds reliever to roster with Emilio Pagán down. Johnson's flyball tendencies are scary, especially in such a hitter friendly ballpark in Cincinnati, but he has made a habit of never giving up as many homers as it seems like he should.

• No one in the Giants bullpen rates as a great pickup, but I'm still going with Caleb Kilian as my choice of the bunch. The return of Erik Miller from the injured list is going to add even more competition there. Kilian hasn't been as sharp lately as he was at the start of the year; he struck out 14 in his first 10 innings this season but only four in eight innings since.