Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top 10 Pickups for Week 25
A new week, another batch of waiver-wire additions just the way you like 'em: hot and fresh out of the oven.
From now until the end of the fantasy season, you'll find a rundown of the top waiver-wire pickups right here every Monday as you get set to face another week of lineup decisions and roster additions.
Some players mentioned last week—including Jarred Cosart, Derek Holland, Xander Bogaerts, Drew Storen, Wade Davis, Juan Lagares, Edinson Volquez, Tyler Matzek and Joe Panik—are already owned in many leagues, but they remain quality pickups if they're available.
In the interest of keeping the names new, though, let's avoid any repeats. Here are the top 10 waiver-wire pickups for Week 25.
Just Missed
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Trevor Bauer, SP, Cleveland Indians (7.3 Percent Owned)
Clay Buchholz, SP, Boston Red Sox (24.6 Percent Owned)
Chris Young, OF, New York Yankees (14.4 Percent Owned)
Lorenzo Cain, OF, Kansas City Royals (49.4 Percent Owned)
Russell Martin, C, Pittsburgh Pirates (35.6 Percent Owned)
Juan Uribe, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (17.8 Percent Owned)
Adam Lind, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays (37.3 Percent Owned)
Alejandro De Aza, OF, Baltimore Orioles (42.2 Percent Owned)
Robbie Grossman, OF, Houston Astros (0.3 Percent Owned)
Yasmani Grandal, C, San Diego Padres (1.2 Percent Owned)
Josh Collmenter, SP/RP, Arizona Diamondbacks (4.4 Percent Owned)
Trevor May, SP, Minnesota Twins (0.3 Percent Owned)
Yusmeiro Petit, SP/RP, San Francisco Giants (24.1 Percent Owned)
Jed Lowrie, 2B/SS, Oakland Athletics (44.2 Percent Owned)
Nick Tropeano, SP, Houston Astros (0.0 Percent Owned)
Nathan Karns, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (0.1 Percent Owned)
T.J. House, SP, Cleveland Indians (2.5 Percent Owned)
Matt Clark, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (0.1 Percent Owned)
No. 10: Avisail Garcia, OF, Chicago White Sox (6.4 Percent Owned)
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An early-season shoulder injury prevented Avisail Garcia from gaining much-needed developmental time, especially in the majors, for which he's still young at 23 years old. And while he hasn't been great since missing more than four months—and 113 games—Garcia has contributed enough to be a useable reserve.
Perhaps with a few weeks under his belt, he can have a solid finish to an otherwise lost year. In September so far, Garcia has gone 11-for-40 (.275) with a home run and three stolen bases—and all of the production in those two categories has come in his past five games.
The Chicago White Sox need to get an idea of what Garcia, a former prospect acquired from the Detroit Tigers, might provide as they look toward 2015. The playing time should be there, so it's up to Garcia to continue producing like he has of late.
No. 9: David Freese, 3B, Los Angeles Angels (15.5 Percent Owned)
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Heading into September, David Freese was on an 0-for-17 skid that he extended by three at-bats in his first game of this month. Since then, however, the 31-year-old has been getting it done.
Freese has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 contests, going 15-for-39 (.385) in that span, while tacking on a pair of homers and nine RBI, too.
The Los Angeles Angels' lineup is the highest-scoring one-through-nine in the sport by quite a bit, and the club has been a juggernaut as it pushes toward the top seed in the AL. Hitting behind Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols is a good place to be, and Freese has been taking advantage.
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No. 8: Jedd Gyorko, 2B, San Diego Padres (21.8 Percent Owned)
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Despite the fact that he missed a chunk of 2014 from early June to late July and is barely hitting .200, Jedd Gyorko has an outside shot to match his 63 RBI as a rookie. That's not bad, right?
The soon-to-be 26-year-old won't come close to last year's surprising 23 home runs—he has 10 in 98 games—but with some timely knocks over the final two weeks, Gyorko will add to his 50 RBI.
Gyorko has managed to get a hit in seven of his past eight, and four of those have been multi-hit efforts. He's also tallied five extra-base hits, including a homer, in that span. Expanding the scope, Gyorko has hit .268 since returning on July 28, which proves to the San Diego Padres—and fantasy owners—he's past the sub-.200 average he carried around while on the disabled list for almost two months.
No. 7: Drew Hutchison, SP, Toronto Blue Jays (7.1 Percent Owned)
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Drew Hutchison made an appearance or two in this column during the first half, because he got himself off to a strong start and looked like a savvy pickup worth holding onto for the year.
Alas, the 24-year-old has had his share of hiccups and has surrendered at least five earned runs in eight of his 29 turns. That's to be expected, however, given Hutchison's age and the fact that he's in his first full season in the majors (not to mention, he lost 2013 due to Tommy John surgery).
What's more important for owners right now, though, is that over his last four games, the Toronto Blue Jays' righty has been dominant, allowing just five earned runs—total—on 24 baserunners, while sporting a 32-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25.1 frames. For the year, Hutchison is striking out 8.5 per nine, so if you need a lift in that category, he should help.
Besides, even with a tough matchup against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, it wouldn't be the most shocking thing if Hutch were to post another quality start or two the rest of the way.
No. 6: Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Minnesota Twins (13.3 Percent Owned)
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Similar to Hutchison, you've seen Oswaldo Arcia's name here a couple of times before, too. In the past, it's been mentioned how so much of the super-streaky Minnesota Twins' slugger's fantasy value depends on whether he's in one of his good—or bad—stretches.
Well, he's been the "good" Arcia for the past two weeks. Over his last 10 games, the 23-year-old is 11-for-31 (.355) with three home runs and eight RBI. That brings his season totals to 17 and 51, respectively.
With nothing to play for this year, the Twins are going to give as much PT as possible to Arcia to prep him for the very likely possibility of opening 2015 as their everyday right fielder. The hope, then, is that he can stay hot for the final 13 games.
No. 5: Brandon McCarthy, SP, New York Yankees (32.4 Percent Owned)
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A change-of-scenery candidate who was throwing better than the results indicated in the first half, Brandon McCarthy was recommended as a pickup in early July when he went from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees. He hasn't disappointed; in fact, he's been better than expected.
Perhaps knowing he's going to hit the open market in two short months, the 31-year-old has positioned himself nicely for a solid payday by putting together a 2.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 8.1 K/9 in 12 starts for the Yankees.
In his latest outing, on Friday, McCarthy hurled seven shutout innings, allowed only four baserunners and struck out six—and did so against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles at hitter-friendly Camden Yards.
That should be more than good enough for owners, except McCarthy is still owned in only about a third of ESPN leagues. C'mon, people! Add in start time for Wednesday, when he goes against the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.
No. 4: Rusney Castillo, OF, Boston Red Sox (N/A Percent Owned)
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The Boston Red Sox are about to unleash their newest toy.
Over the weekend, news came down that Cuban defector Rusney Castillo, who inked a record $72.5 million deal with the club in late August and has been playing in the minors to get back up to speed, is set to join the big league team on Tuesday, per Ricky Doyle of NESN.com.
The 27-year-old is very clearly a huge part of the Red Sox's plans as they hope to return to relevance in 2015 after a disappointing title defense this year. Look for Castillo, who has the tools to be an everyday center fielder in the majors with good speed and some pop, to play fairly regularly down the stretch so he can get his feet wet.
Even with fellow rookie Mookie Betts now handling second base with Dustin Pedroia out for the year, Castillo might not play everyday—Jackie Bradley Jr. is still around—but he should be motivated to flash his stuff, so he could put together some quality production in a short span.
No. 3: A.J. Pollock, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (15.8 Percent Owned) -- already
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Just as he was returning from a three-month stint on the DL, A.J. Pollock was included in this space because he had been in the middle of a very nice campaign at the time he suffered a fractured hand on a hit by a pitch at the end of May.
In the two weeks since returning, the 26-year-old has picked up where he left off, hitting .286 (10-for-35) with a homer and four stolen bases in 10 games.
If you're chasing to catch up in the "SB" category, Pollock can provide a lift, but with 29 extra-base hits, including seven home runs in 62 games, he's got enough pop to pitch in elsewhere, too.
No. 2: Kevin Gausman, SP/RP, Baltimore Orioles (6.1 Percent Owned)
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Kevin Gausman, the No. 4 overall pick in 2012, has pitched very well for much of his rookie season with the Baltimore Orioles, but the 23-year-old right-hander looks to be coming into his own at just the right time for the O's—and fantasy owners.
His 3.57 ERA and 1.34 WHIP have been helpful, but Gausman was leaving a little to be desired with his strikeout rate, especially for someone who throws in the mid- to upper 90s like he does. Well, after whiffing at least as many batters as innings pitched each of his past five turns—or 32 over 30.1 frames total—he's now up to 7.0 strikeouts per nine for the year.
As the Orioles run away with the AL East crown, Gausman is throwing like a starter who deserves to be in fantasy rotations every time out—not one who is owned in fewer than 10 percent of ESPN leagues. Next up? Friday at home against the playing-for-nothing Boston Red Sox. Give Gausman a go.
No. 1: Jose Quintana, SP, Chicago White Sox (36.1 Percent Owned)
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Jose Quintana just might be the most overlooked starting pitcher in fantasy baseball.
Despite numerous calls for owners everywhere to pick him up, keep him and use him, the 25-year-old lefty with the 3.30 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 8.0 K/9 has seen his ownership numbers fluctuate (i.e., dip) throughout most of 2014.
It's a shame, then, that his latest outing—a seven-inning, three-hit, one-run, 13-strikeout gem against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday—was left on the bench (or even the waiver wire) in many leagues.
Sure, Quintana didn't have the greatest August (4.58 ERA), but he's clearly back on track in September (1.38), so go grab him for Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Stop ignoring what's good for you already.
All ownership percentages courtesy of ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues were not considered. Statistics are accurate as of Sept. 15 and are courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.
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