Once upon a time, the Milwaukee Brewers made Lucas Erceg a second-round draft pick and expected him to reach the major leagues as a lefty-hitting, slugging third baseman. Things did not quite work out as planned. Still, eight years and several franchises after being drafted, Erceg is the most-added relief pitcher in ESPN standard fantasy leagues, as he saves games for the postseason-bound Kansas City Royals.
Erceg made his MLB debut for the Oakland Athletics last season, posting a 4.75 ERA and a messy 1.58 WHIP (walks were a problem) over 55 innings. A power right-hander who averages 98.5 mph with his fastball but throws four different pitches at least 20% of the time (sinker, slider, changeup as well), Erceg moved to the Royals at the trade deadline and quickly assumed a high-leverage role. He has now thrown 12⅓ scoreless innings for his new team, with 15 strikeouts, only one walk and, most importantly, five saves. Somehow, Erceg is still only rostered in a mere 15.6% of ESPN standard leagues.